Part 9 in Gretchen’s Journey
“I Might Do Windows”A longtime joke is that if you hire a maid, you may have to confirm that he/she will “do windows.” For whatever reason, that seems to be a task that even housekeepers do not enjoy completing. I can see why. Whenever I attempt to accomplish a task that involves glass, “streaky” and “messy” come to mind!
We have lived in our house for six years now. Perhaps my husband used his power sprayer on our windows, and he might have used Windex a time or two. I am pretty sure my mother-in-law has washed some of our windows. I must confess that I am not certain that I ever have done much with them. They have been a bit neglected. Which is rather sad because I even have double hung windows. You know the kind that swing inside, so you can do all of your cleaning without having to be outside in the elements or without standing on a ladder?
After getting the window polish cloth from Norwex, I decided that maybe I should actually try doing windows. So with damp Norwex Enviro Cloth in one hand and my Window Cloth in the other, I set out to tackle this chore that is often done as a part of spring cleaning. ‘Tis the season for that after all.
My living room has eight windows. Despite the fact that four of them are underneath the protection of our porch roof, they all get rather dirty. Full of spots, they were in need of a good cleaning. I set to work and was done in less than 30 minutes. With all eight of them, inside AND out. For once, they all look, streak-free, clean and sparkling. And I have to admit – that washing the windows was almost fun. Definitely feeling a sense of accomplishment, I kept washing the windows on the whole main floor. (Unfortunately due to lack of direct sunlight from the porch roof my living room window pictures were difficult to distinguish between before and after! But believe me – I could tell a HUGE difference!)
Moving upstairs to my bedroom, I was amazed at just how filthy these windows are. I am not sure how we were able to see out of them. Definitely a noticeable difference between before …
And after … (pictures shown with the windows open for cleaning!)
So I just might start doing windows. Or better yet, I will have my children rise to the challenge. Recruiting one of my children to help was rather easy. Since no chemicals are involved in the process, this is now a simple chore that even my kids can complete well.
~ Gretchen
I’ve tried the window cleaning cloth about 3 times and hope you can tell me what I’m doing wrong. I use the green cloth first and finish with the window cloth. The window cloth really drags on the glass and I’m left with streaks. I assumed maybe there was a residue on the glass initially but I can’t think there is still anything left. Almost ready to back to the bucket and squeegee. Thanks!
Hi Lois. Thanks for reaching out. Are you using the enviro cloth quite wet, folding it in four, and then holding flat against the window? If your glass is warm from the sun when cleaning, you may not need to polish with the window cloth much at all. You certainly shouldn’t be getting streaks. Please email me your phone number and I would be happy to give you a call to troubleshoot. Thanks!
What can also be happening is your Enviro cloth is not wet enough (Getting the whole cloth wet and then tightly wringing it out, works for me)
You window needs to be wet for the window cloth to keep from dragging, giving you the ability to polish the window w/o drag.
The streaks you’re seeing can also be from not using clean water to rinse your Enviro cloth.
Another issue can be if you’re doing a really dirty window, like the outsides can get.
I found out the hard way, if I “wash” 1/2 of a patio patio door window, polish it and then rinse out my cloth before doing the lower 1/2, I don’t have streaking from the increased dust/dirt that is more prevalent on the outside.
You are right though, you can also be getting streaks from prior product residue
Try hot water and one of the non-abrasive, open weave cloths before using the window cloth. Maybe the mesh dish cloth will be helpful
Have FUN!!!