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| Otherwise known as how to get a picture of you and your husband at the same time! |
He used a little (just a small squirt) of Dawn Dish soap (note: you can use any dish soap, but that is what I had) squirted in a bucket with water, a sheepskin cleaner, a squeegee, and a rag (to wipe off the squeegee) to wash the windows inside and out.
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| I wear that apron every day, most of the day. Behind me you can see our merry-go-round and our 10-foot high swing set that my husband and his brother made. |
It was fast, it was simple, it required no paper towels or special glass cleaner. It didn’t leave a strong odor of ammonia or anything else behind. It was pennies and faster. It’s not often that something saves you money and time.
Yes, there is some upfront cost.
You’ll need a sheepskin cleaner (pass on the sponge ones; they don’t work well).
Get a good squeegee; it makes a difference. You can get a two-in-one squeegee/cleaner, which is actually what we have. My husband wasn’t happy with the performance of the squeegee on it, so he bought a nicer squeegee.
The bucket can be anything; a dishpan or even water in your kitchen sink is fine.
The rag can be an old shirt or towel. It’s good to wipe off the squeegee in between swipes across the window–especially inside, so it doesn’t drip on the floor.
The dishsoap cuts the dirt on the outside, and the haziness inside, as well as all of the tiny handprints.
Go, go wash your windows the easy way–with soap and water. (Or have your husband wash them!)
I used to clean windows in a factory, we always used dish soap, warm water, a squeegee and a rag! Might I suggest you add a razor blade to your kit, it is so handy to get off those sticky bits that refuse to be quickly scrubbed away. (Just don’t use on tinted windows.)
We have always used vinegar water, a nubby cloth (i.e.washcoth) only for the really dirty spots and a wadded up newspaper to dry – printed works just fine. When we got a squeegee we just replaced the newspapers. As my kids say: Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy! :)Your way might be quicker Brandy – I might have to try it!Lea
I think it’s faster. There’s no smearing, either, which is really nice. Plus, we don’t get the newspaper!
Would LOVE details on the Merry Go Round
Just the way I was taught to do them by my ex-husband, who was a professional window cleaner!Saves a fortune on various sprays and cloths.Sue xx
The newspaper prevents the streaking or smearing too. Last year we washed the whole outside of the house with a low-pressure pressure washer (borrowed from our neighbor)- that was wonderful too, and fast. We live on a very busy road so we get a fair amount of dust – our siding sparkled for about a week! 🙂 It made me feel better about it.
The newspaper prevents and smearing/streaking. We have also gotten free ends of rolls of plain, unprinted newsprint from our local newspaper too.:)Lea
This method works great! We use to live at the Beach and we had sliding glass doors. I use to spend so much time on them, then one day I went to Walgreen’s and a professional company was doing the front doors. The guy was very friendly and told me how he got the windows streak free in just seconds. I was sold, I went and got the equipment and I did the windows that way for 6 years it works !!!It saves time and money! NO STREAKS!
I have to say I thought of u n that apron wearing this past week. I was doing an impromptu cleaning of my stove using a tbsp of bleach n hot water before dropping of my preschooler at school.only wen stepping out did I notice the splotches of bleach on my $2 target black t shirt n thought wat would Brandi say to that…:) thanks for all ur practical wisdom around the house including apron wearing n saving your clothes…sheeba
I won a set of Norwex towels about a year ago and I only use water to clean my windows. One towel for washing and another towel that wipes without streaks. I was shocked when it got the hard water stains off my front window that our sprinkler hits at times.
Where do you buy a sheepskin cleaner like that? My windows need to be cleaned badly, and I am so tired of streaks!
My husband bought that about 20 years ago at a car place, he says, but you can get them at Home Depot or Lowe’s, or even on Amazon. The rubber on the squeegee (since it has both) won’t last that long, which is why he eventually had to buy a new squeegee.
Can you suggest anything for stubborn, sticky road grime? We are just a few doors from a main highway and no matter what I just seem to have gunk in the cracks. Everyone on my block struggles with it. I feel like I just move it around. I really, REALLY miss my tilt in windows.
FYI, when I was a maid we only used hot water to clean mirrors. Everything else streaked.
Im glad to see this post. I was thinking what I was going to replace my windex bottle with after its over. But now I see I dont have to replace it with anything!
Cascade powder dishwasher detergent (just a couple of tablespoons at most) dissolved in water works REALLY well. Especially the kind with the rinse agent in it. I cleans beautifully and leaves no streaks on your windows.
Don Aslett.com sells the sheepskin window cleaner and squeegee – he’s out of Idaho. I use this method too- works great!