Window cleaning for beginners

The most important things in brief

• The windows in the apartment or house need to be cleaned regularly, once a quarter is recommended.
• For many of us, spring cleaning is a more or less welcome occasion to once again ensure clean windows.
• If you are still somewhat inexperienced in cleaning glass, the question arises as to which agents you should use.
• Window cleaning is actually very uncomplicated, you don't need expensive products for it.

Especially in spring, when the sun shines more often into the apartment, we realize that it's time to clean the windows again. Many do this supposedly tiresome work in connection with spring cleaning. The job is a lot less complicated than you might think. Even if the windows have to be cleaned both inside and outside.

It depends on the towels

Anyone who thinks that cleaning the glass panes requires special means that can only be bought at great expense is on the wrong track. Everything you need for window cleaning should already be in your household cupboard. Microfiber cloths are highly recommended here - if possible a coarse and a fine one.

Use the coarser one for wet wiping the window pane and the finer one for dry wiping. If you're new to this topic and you're asking for advice on this subject, you're bound to get plenty of tips. But be careful, some of them should be treated with caution.

Not all well-intentioned window cleaning advice is really good

What the grandmother still knew: This is a dictum for all sorts of tricks when it comes to household chores. And who hasn't been given the tip to clean the windows with old newspapers? But what the grandmother didn't know: newspaper has a rough surface. And that makes scratches in the glass when wiping.

Also from the "Grandma's household tricks" category are the recommendations to clean the panes with baking soda or baking powder. That might clean the windows, but the coarse structure also means that the glass gets scratches.

Water will do, vinegar is optional

But which means should be used to get the panes clean without streaks? It works pretty well with water, provided the microfiber cloths mentioned are available and used accordingly. If you want, add a small dash of vinegar or vinegar cleaner. You can achieve good effects with this and this mixture is also environmentally friendly. If you want to use special window cleaning agents, then ideally pay attention to the environmental compatibility when buying.

You can change the water relatively often when cleaning, there is no place for false frugality here. Of course, you clean the window frames at the same time - and preferably right at the beginning. If you clean the glass first, there is a risk that dirty water will splash or drip onto the freshly cleaned pane when you clean the frame afterwards. If the outside glass is a little more dirty from pollen or road dust, pre-cleaning with a brush will help. However, this should not have too hard bristles, otherwise these would also cause scratches in the pane.