Contents
Household Cleaning Basics
Household Cleaning Tools
Cleaners and Cleaning Solutions
How to Eliminate Household Clutter
How to Clean Ceilings
How to Clean Walls
How to Wash Windows and Glass
How to Dust
How to Clean Floors
How to Clean Your Bathroom
How to Clean Your Kitchen
How to Clean Bedrooms
How to Clean Living Areas
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How to Wash Windows and Glass
To spot clean windows (or any other glass or mirror in the home), use a commercial or homemade glass cleaner. Spray the cleaner on the spot and rub it away with a clean towel or cotton cloth. To clean an entire window, you’re best off using a sudsier cleaning solution along with a squeegee.
Prepare Your Own Window Cleaning Solution
To make a window cleaning solution, fill a bucket with 2–3 gallons of water and add:
- 1/3 cup rubbing alcohol
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid
How to Wash Windows
It’s best to wash windows when they’re in the shade or on a cloudy day. If you wash them on a hot, sunny day, the cleaning solution might dry onto the window before you’ve had a chance to squeegee it off. The window-washing method below works for cleaning the inside and outside of windows. If you’re working inside, spread some towels out beneath the windows to absorb dripping water.
- Dip a sponge into a bucket of cleaning solution.
- Scrub the solution onto the window. Be careful not to apply too much water with the cleaning solution.
- Starting at the top of
the window, move the squeegee horizontally across the window. Angle the squeegee slightly so the top is ahead of the bottom. This will push the dirty water down the window.
- Wipe the squeegee clean on a lint-free cotton cloth.
- Lower the squeegee so that it overlaps the previous stroke by an inch or so. Use another horizontal stroke to bring it across the window. Continue horizontal strokes until you’ve reached the bottom of the window.
- Wipe any residual water or cleaning solution with a clean, lint-free cotton cloth (not the one you’ve been using to clean your squeegee).
- Use another rag to wipe down the woodwork or frame around the window.
How to Clean Window Screens
To clean windows from the outside, you’ll likely have to remove the window screens in front of them. You might as well take the opportunity to clean the screens in addition to the windows.
- Lean the screens against an outside wall.
- Lather them up with all-purpose detergent, and let them soak for 10–15 minutes.
- Clean the screens off with a clean, wet sponge.
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