How often should you clean the windows?

The most important things in brief

• How badly the outer panes of the windows get dirty usually depends on several factors.
• If you live on a busy street, more dust and fine dust settles on the glass.
• The time of year also has an effect on the degree of pollution.
• Insects and pollen contaminate the panes in spring and summer.

The soiling on the inside, on the other hand, is even and not dependent on external factors. If you have children, however, you have to reach for a cleaning bucket and microfibre cloth more often, because the little ones like to leave little works of art on the glass with window paint. Or they simply touch the panes directly with their hands.

Clean once every quarter

Dust also settles on the inside, so it is necessary to clean the windows regularly. If you don't want to wait until the pollution bothers you, then you should clean your windows about four times a year - that is, once every quarter. Of course, this is only a guide value, because if you have a temporary construction site near your home, for example, you will definitely have to clean the windows more often.

During the warmer months of the year, pollen and insects are increasingly on the move, making the outside of the glass dirty. While the pollen usually forms a thin, yellowish layer on the panes, insects that hit the glass leave unsightly stains. This may make window cleaning necessary an extra time in spring and summer, otherwise it is sufficient about once a quarter.

Cleaning windows: also a question of personal perception

Personal perception of cleanliness also plays a major role in the question of how often windows should be cleaned. If it bothers you that dirt and dust get onto the pane from outside during a downpour, then you probably need to grab a rag and cloth more often.

Other people are not bothered by the view out of the window when - to put it exaggeratedly - they can no longer see much of the environment outside through it. We all tick differently here. But why do we get the nerve to clean the windows at some point during spring cleaning? This usually has a very banal reason, because when the sun shines more often in the apartment again, we only notice how dirty the windows have become over the long winter months.

Obligation to clean windows as a tenant?

Anyone who lives in a rented apartment should take a close look at the house rules. It is possible that there is a passage in which it is formulated that the external appearance of the building must meet certain requirements. For tenants, this means that they must not let the windows get completely dirty.

If there is no such passage in the house rules or in the rental agreement, then you as a tenant can theoretically (and if you feel comfortable with it) leave it uncleaned even if thick layers of dirt and dust have already formed on it. As a resident of a detached house that you own, you never have to clean your windows anyway if you don't want to.