6 Tips to Keep Your Windows Clean This Winter
Winter brings a lot of trials designed to challenge even the most organized of people.
We ensure that slips and falls are preventable with clean, dry floors, mats and shoe racks. Yet, despite sanitizing common areas to reduce exposure and risk of colds/flu, there is an area we overlook.
During the spring and summer, we appreciate the windows in our workspace. They bring in light and help to reduce stress and increase productivity. In the winter, we tend to spend less time looking outside, so the windows don’t always see the same care.
However, they still serve a purpose and deserve to be kept clean and maintained. We still benefit from light coming in through clean windows, especially as the days get shorter; natural light is even more critical.
Here are some valuable tips to help keep them clean, streak-free and sparkly even in the coldest months.
1. Keep The Dust And Grime At Bay
This may seem obvious, especially for the windows on the ground floor, which are at greater risk of being sprayed with salt and ice, as well as picking up environmental dirt and grime. Where possible, they should be wiped down.
The build-up not only makes the windows and your business appear dirty and reduces your curb appeal, but the dirt and grime can damage the surface of the window itself.
From scratching any tints or coatings to the actual glass itself, which will then affect the integrity of the window, making it more susceptible to breaking when the outside temperature drops further.
A soft cloth or paper towel will help to gently remove dirt and keep your windows strong.
2. Avoid Hot Water
When washing the windows, it's tempting to use warm or hot water. Not only does this warm your hands, but it makes the dirt come off easier.
The downside is that it can cause the window to break or crack.
Windows are tempered, and the glazing process helps to reduce the risk of breaking when the inside of the window is exposed to the general heating that gets turned on in the office and the contrasting cold air on the outside.
But, when you use warm or hot water to clean the outside of the window, this can cause breakages, resulting in the replacement of the window.
3. Washer Fluid
Your regular car maintenance will include making sure you have enough wiper fluid in the car to help remove ice and snow, as well as keeping your windshield clean.
By adding a small amount of washer fluid to the water you are going to use to wash the windows, you get the same effect. The dirt and grime will lift off, and the window will sparkle. It will also help to reduce the amount of ice that builds up on the outside.
If you don’t have washer fluid to hand, then vinegar works just as well. A little amount added to the water helps to prevent ice build-up while providing a streak-free clean.
4. Speed Is Your Friend
No one likes to be outside longer than they need to in the winter. By working faster, you not only get inside and warm up quicker, but you can prevent the windows from freezing up while you work.
Ice forming while you try to clean is a pain. So, by working faster, you can get a good clean and shine before the ice takes over the window.
When it comes to Window Cleaning In Toronto, no one understands the importance of speed than the professionals.
5. Change Your Cloths Often
Even if you add washer fluid to the water or vinegar, if no washer fluid is available, changing your cloths often prevents them from freezing and scraping hard material over the window, which can cause damage.
Cleaning anything with a cloth that is pliable and soft is always easier than using something stiff and rigid. It applies to microfiber cloths, as well as the blue cleaning cloths you can purchase.
Even paper towels should be replaced before they get too dirty to prevent damage and having to repeat the cleaning.
6. Look After You
The most crucial window cleaning tool is you. Making sure to protect yourself from the elements couldn’t be more essential.
With the proper winter weather clothing, you can stay warm and carry out your duties without hindrance. Take breaks when needed to go inside and warm up, have a hot drink or food and relax before you brave the cold again.
Check over your equipment as well, making sure that your ladders, window washing tools, such as squeegees and more, are in good condition and safety harnesses for when you clean the higher-up windows will save your life.
Things tend to break more often in the cold, as the colder it gets, the more brittle some materials can become. Frequent safety checks will keep you safe as you clean.
Window Cleaning Toronto: Let It Snow
In an ideal world, there would be some magic film that would cover the windows, without being seen, that gathers the dirt and grime that you then just peel off and throw away.
As this has yet to be invented, manually keeping your windows clean is the only option. But this doesn’t have to be a challenge in the winter.
Washer fluid or vinegar in the water, cool water temps and soft cloths are all part of the window cleaner arsenal required to ensure that Jack Frost doesn’t damage your windows or lock in the dirt.
RBC Clean is your professional window cleaning team, servicing the GTA and Ontario by providing award-winning cleaning services with the skill and knowledge to keep your windows clean and maintained all year round.
Reach out today, call 1-855-493-9259 or check us out online for a quick free quote, and see how we can keep winter off the windows.