Even when the sun is shining, you may not get as much natural light in your home as you want if your windows are covered in fingerprints, splattered bugs, or water spots. To get the most out of the sunny days, washing windows is at the top of our spring cleaning list—and it should be on yours, too.

Homemade Window Cleaner Recipe

It’s always a great idea to save some dollars and keep things simple by mixing up your own DIY window cleaner. This recipe takes nothing more than a few pantry staples you likely have on hand. The following homemade window cleaner is a solution of ingredients that you can actually pronounce, like vinegar and water, and can whip up quickly and leave under your sink for the next time it’s needed. Here’s the recipe for success

• 1. Water
• 2. Vinegar
• 3. Dish Soap

Step 1: Measure Ingredients

For this recipe, you’ll need distilled white vinegar and dish soap. Any brand of vinegar or dish soap will work for this. Furthermore, a fragrant and pleasant essential oil is often nice to add, into the mix.

The optimal ratio for the glass cleaner will be 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/2 a teaspoon of liquid dish soap. In simple terms, the dish soap is just loosen things up and lubricate the surface, so we don’t need as much compared to the vinegar, which is there to actually do the dissolving of grime.

If you don’t have distilled white vinegar at home, lemon juice also works as a substitute! You can use the same ratio of 1/2 a cup of lemon juice to 1/2 a teaspoon of the liquid dish soap.

Step 2: Dilute The Homemade Window Cleaner

Now that you have the cleaning agent ready, you can move on to the next step. Gather a spray bottle with at least a few cups capacity, and put the ~1/4 cup of vinegar and dish soap mixture into it. Once you’ve done that, turn on the faucet and measure out 2 cups of warm water into the spray bottle, which is just enough water to dilute the solution and make it work effectively as a homemade window cleaner. Close the bottle and shake vigorously until the solution is completely diluted and mixed.

This is the part of the process where you can add around 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil if you desire to

Step 3: Clean Your Windows With A Microfiber

Spray the window generously with your new homemade window cleaning solution. With a clean microfiber cloth or sponge, go over the surface of the window, starting at the top and working down to the bottom. Klean Windows Miami tells us why microfibers are an important part of good window cleaning in their own blog: “Microfiber also has a great capacity for attracting and trapping moisture between the tiny fibers – making microfiber cloths great for polishing anything, as they don’t leave any water lines behind after wiping.”

How It Works

Cleaning windows at home involves a combination of mechanical and chemical processes. The chemical process involves the use of cleaning agents that break down and dissolve the contaminants, making them easier to remove. The mechanical process, which we’ll also go over, involves scrubbing the surface with a cleaning solution and a tool such as microfibers, squeegees, or sponges, to physically dislodge the dirt and grime.

Vinegar or Lemon Juice

An acidic agent is needed to dissolve grime of your windows, and the most common one for a household to have is white distilled vinegar. The main reason why distilled white vinegar makes such a good glass cleaner is because it contains acetic acid. This organic chemical gives vinegar its ultra-tangy flavor and intense odor, and kills some bacteria. When you wash windows with vinegar, not only will you be able to break down and remove dirt, grease, and mineral deposits, you’ll also be able to kill germs on hard surfaces around the home.

Lemon juice works in a very similar manner. Lemons contain a large amount of citric acid, a natural chemical we use to make our foods sour. Technically, it’s actually stronger than the acetic acid in vinegar, dissolving grimy fingerprints and streaks even more effectively.

Dish Soap

The dish soap in our homemade window cleaning recipe acts as something known as a https://www.britannica.com/science/surfactant. Surfactants are substances that when added to a liquid, increase it’s spreading and wetting properties. Surfactants are used in various fields, such as spreading dye throughout textiles, or making sure perfumes and colognes are evenly dispersed. The dish soap works this way in our homemade window cleaner, giving some lubricating, smooth properties to our solution that lets the vinegar and water eat away grime more effectively.

Microfibers

For a material to qualify as microfiber, its fibers should be thinner than 10 micrometers, meaning the individual fibers in a microfiber cloth are microscopically small. As stated earlier, this lets microfibers be far more effective at not leaving water spots, because they pick up every available drop of water.

Outside of just picking up water, microfibers excel for other reasons as well. In fact, the fibers in microfiber cloths are so small, they can even trap bacteria and microscopic mold spores. While microfiber cloths aren’t as effective at cleaning away microscopic pathogens as a disinfectants are, microfiber cloths can significantly reduce bacteria in areas you clean – making it highly effective for everyday cleaning, especially window cleaning.

In summary, here are some of the main benefits of using microfiber cloths when compared to other cleaning materials:

• No streaks are left behind after wiping
• Even microscopic particles can be wiped off surfaces
• Cloths attract moisture and can hold up to 8 times their weight in water
• The tiny fibers are suitable for even the most delicate surfaces
• Quality cloths are extremely durable and can last much longer than other common materials

Hiring Window Cleaning Professionals

1. Choosing The Right Company

Choosing the right company for interior window cleaning, exterior window cleaning, or anything else, is very important. A good company will ensure the job is done safely, efficiently, and will leave you satisfied with the job done.

• Lots of Experience: The company you hire should be an industry professional, with plenty of years of experience. Obviously, you can find good services from newer companies; but choosing a longstanding option is a way to get 100% certainty of a job well done.
• Great Reviews: Real reviews from real people are the best way to check if a company’s service is superior. To make sure the reviews are real, check for profile pictures in each review, and inspect them to see if they are unique.
• Pricing: There’s a lot to think about when it comes to pricing. Do you want something reasonably priced with guaranteed quality and customer service? Or do you want to go ultra-cheap, and risk damage from mess-ups?. It can be a tough choice.

2. Important Questions To Ask

Some essential questions to ask your first window cleaning hire are these:

• What is your soft wash roof cleaning process?
• What chemicals do you use?
• How long will the job take?
• Do you have insurance?
• Do you have references?
• What is your pricing?

3. The Best Interior Window Cleaning Service in Madison WI

With all this said, there’s one company that fits the bill. Skyline Services Inc. meets every requirement above. We have over 40 years of experience in the cleaning industry, and have used that to develop efficient job service and incredible customer service. We use only environmentally safe chemicals, ensuring the safety of your home. And finally, we have a 4.9 star average of certified reviews on Google, from our hundreds of satisfied customers.

Skyline is the clear choice for interior or exterior window cleaning in Madison. And who wouldn’t say that on their own blog? But while anyone can say it, we can back it up, with our experience, happy customers, and streamlined processes.