Window washing is a tricky chore. Even before getting started a cleaner needs to be chosen and there are a lot of cleaners to choose from. For example there are window cleaners for house windows and window cleaners for car windows. To me it's all glass, so I would think only one cleaner ought to be needed. The other tricky problem is that the cleaner I use to wash my mirrors is not the same as my window cleaner. It seems to me like they should be doing very similar actions, but apparently they are differently formulated. So just going to the store and picking out a good window cleaner can be quite the challenge.
Recently I washed my windows, and, running low on my old cleaner, I had to go and make the decision of what product to get. In the end I sided with the original one I had been using because it has ammonia in it. I have been told by Mom's, the world's largest authority on cleaning, that ammonia is great for chasing away bugs. Where I live I have a ton of spiders. I bat down their webs and the next day it will look like I was never even there. Fortunately they stay outside for the most part, but nevertheless I don't like being hit in the face with a web everytime I venture outside.
After selecting a cleaner you then have to select a fabric. Long ago I heard newspaper is the way to go. In fact I'm told the best way to wash car windows is to use Diet Coke and newspapers. Apparently the acid in the coke will eat through all your grim on the windows. Don't use regular Coke though because the natural sugar will make a syrupy mess. Anyhow, I wasn't about to use any pop whatsoever on my windows, considering I already have a bug problem. I don't think ants are going to take the Pepsi challenge on the fact that I used Diet rather than regular. The newspaper however is intriguing. I've never used that before but imagine it would be difficult to work with. It's not exactly as free flowing as a towel and it doesn't seem like it would be very absorptive. But unlike towels it probably wouldn't leave fuzz everywhere. Rags can work, but I find I need a lot of them because once they get soaked through you can't use them for drying. So I used paper towels. Not very environmental I know. The other option is to use a squeegee but my windows are in small panes, and I can't one of them inside the boundaries of the pane.
Okay cleaner check, fabric check. Now I'm ready to clean. And what a breeze it was. I sprayed my cleaner, wiped it off, and that section of window looked great. Next section, same process, it too now looks great. Then I step back to take a look at my work so far. But uh-oh, even though just one minute ago my first section looked great now I'm seeing streaks. So now I have to go back and really push hard with a fresh paper towel to get rid of them. But their presence seems odd. After all just a minute ago I had no streak. And now I see them on the second section I worked. And all this hard rubbing is starting to make this chore suddenly much more difficult and frustrating. Plus you can't always see the streaks. Sometimes you have to orient yourself in odd positions. Like you finally get the windows done, go back in, put everything away, and then see from the inside looking out that it appears all you've done is simply spread a foggy film over all your windows.
Finally I had all the streaks under control and was ready to call it quits. At this point I called my Mom because I knew she'd be so proud I washed my windows. When I told her about the streaks she said the problem was that I washed them in the sun. That was something I didn't know. So on this tutorial Thursday let us all learn that windows should not be washed in direct sunlight because otherwise you will get streaks. There are other chores you would be best served by not doing in direct sunlight. Applying car wax is one such chore. You should always park your car in the shade when applying car wax.
Even though the simple chore turned into a rather laborious process, the results were worth it. If you haven't washed your windows in awhile and if they have grim on them you might be used to looking through them as they are. But at least for me the difference between my now clean ones and the grimy version is incredibly large. In fact a few years back I gave a speech for a retreat and used this process of cleaning windows as an analogy for cleaning our souls. Anyway, the difference was spectacular and now I'm very happy everytime I look out of them.
The cleaning took place during the middle of my afternoon. The very next morning, I had brand new spider webs up over my doorway. The ammonia did not run them off.
Recently I washed my windows, and, running low on my old cleaner, I had to go and make the decision of what product to get. In the end I sided with the original one I had been using because it has ammonia in it. I have been told by Mom's, the world's largest authority on cleaning, that ammonia is great for chasing away bugs. Where I live I have a ton of spiders. I bat down their webs and the next day it will look like I was never even there. Fortunately they stay outside for the most part, but nevertheless I don't like being hit in the face with a web everytime I venture outside.
After selecting a cleaner you then have to select a fabric. Long ago I heard newspaper is the way to go. In fact I'm told the best way to wash car windows is to use Diet Coke and newspapers. Apparently the acid in the coke will eat through all your grim on the windows. Don't use regular Coke though because the natural sugar will make a syrupy mess. Anyhow, I wasn't about to use any pop whatsoever on my windows, considering I already have a bug problem. I don't think ants are going to take the Pepsi challenge on the fact that I used Diet rather than regular. The newspaper however is intriguing. I've never used that before but imagine it would be difficult to work with. It's not exactly as free flowing as a towel and it doesn't seem like it would be very absorptive. But unlike towels it probably wouldn't leave fuzz everywhere. Rags can work, but I find I need a lot of them because once they get soaked through you can't use them for drying. So I used paper towels. Not very environmental I know. The other option is to use a squeegee but my windows are in small panes, and I can't one of them inside the boundaries of the pane.
Okay cleaner check, fabric check. Now I'm ready to clean. And what a breeze it was. I sprayed my cleaner, wiped it off, and that section of window looked great. Next section, same process, it too now looks great. Then I step back to take a look at my work so far. But uh-oh, even though just one minute ago my first section looked great now I'm seeing streaks. So now I have to go back and really push hard with a fresh paper towel to get rid of them. But their presence seems odd. After all just a minute ago I had no streak. And now I see them on the second section I worked. And all this hard rubbing is starting to make this chore suddenly much more difficult and frustrating. Plus you can't always see the streaks. Sometimes you have to orient yourself in odd positions. Like you finally get the windows done, go back in, put everything away, and then see from the inside looking out that it appears all you've done is simply spread a foggy film over all your windows.
Finally I had all the streaks under control and was ready to call it quits. At this point I called my Mom because I knew she'd be so proud I washed my windows. When I told her about the streaks she said the problem was that I washed them in the sun. That was something I didn't know. So on this tutorial Thursday let us all learn that windows should not be washed in direct sunlight because otherwise you will get streaks. There are other chores you would be best served by not doing in direct sunlight. Applying car wax is one such chore. You should always park your car in the shade when applying car wax.
Even though the simple chore turned into a rather laborious process, the results were worth it. If you haven't washed your windows in awhile and if they have grim on them you might be used to looking through them as they are. But at least for me the difference between my now clean ones and the grimy version is incredibly large. In fact a few years back I gave a speech for a retreat and used this process of cleaning windows as an analogy for cleaning our souls. Anyway, the difference was spectacular and now I'm very happy everytime I look out of them.
The cleaning took place during the middle of my afternoon. The very next morning, I had brand new spider webs up over my doorway. The ammonia did not run them off.
1 comments:
Newspaper is best. Use it!
Also, it is grime. Not grim.
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