Construction leaves your home with a lot of debris spread all over the place. Windows are among the essential elements that need deep cleaning after that. However, post-construction window cleaning might get a bit trickier than routine cleaning.
You will find dashes of paint on its glasses, sawdust, adhesives, and other residue stuck to its frame and tracks. To help you with that, here is a simple, post-construction window cleaning guide designed by our experts at Marino Cleaning Services.
4 Easy Steps To Clean Windows After Construction
⇒ What You’ll Need:
- A duster
- A heavy-duty vacuum
- A spray bottle
- A glass cleaning solution (commercial or DIY)
- Vinegar
- Warm water
- A dishwashing liquid
- A few rags or microfiber clothes
- A single razor blade or glass scraper (or a super fine-graded steel wool)
- A squeegee
⇒ Step One: Clear the loose dirt
The first thing you need to do is remove the loose construction dirt and grit on the surface of the windows. You can use either a broom, a duster, or a vacuum cleaner to do that.
However, we would advise first dusting your windows thoroughly and then vacuuming too. Make sure you use a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner with a hose instead of a normal one.
The debris left after construction is much more abrasive, so a regular vacuum cleaner may not be sufficient. Pay attention to the sills and tracks where you may find loose grit and debris.
Not dusting this dirt off before cleaning with a solution is one of the common window cleaning mistakes, as the abrasive debris might get dragged while cleaning and can scratch the glasses.
⇒ Step Two: Saturate & Scrub
Once you have cleared the surface debris, you can move to the major challenge of cleaning the stubborn builder’s residue from your windows.
There are several ways you can do it. Here is what we suggest:
- Take a bowl of vinegar and bring it to a boil. Once done, dampen a cloth or a rag into it and try to wipe away any stains and stuck residues on your windows. Use thick rubber gloves to avoid burns.
(In most cases, warm vinegar will help loosen any paint or sticky residue and help it come right away with ease as you clean it with a rag.)
If the residue is still not removed, you may need to use a stronger method to clean it.
- Make a mixture of dishwashing liquid and warm water in a bowl.
- Dip a microfiber cloth or a rag in this solution to wet and gently scrub the spots to clean.
- Now, you will need to use a blunt blade to carefully lift up any post-construction paint spots or sticker adhesives from your windows. For that, the soap will lubricate the window surface to avoid any scratches while scraping.
- Take the blade or glass scraper, and by positioning it at a 45-degree angle, try to lift the residues in one single swipe in a slow and firm move.
Additional note:
Although warm vinegar or soapy solution is enough to scrub away the post-construction residue from your windows, you can also try using some other alternatives like acetone, rubbing alcohol, or mineral spirits to remove stubborn paint or other such stains.
⇒ Step Three: Deep Clean
Once you have removed all the stuck residue from your windows, it’s time to give it a final clean-up.
You can use your normal window cleaning solution or simply clean your windows thoroughly with a DIY mixture of white vinegar and water in equal portions.
- Spray the mixture on the window, and clean it with a lint-free microfiber cloth.
- We recommend letting the solution sit for at least 30 seconds (or as mentioned on its label) after you spray. That will help loosen the dirt effectively before you clean it off.
- Always clean your windows from the top to bottom manner to prevent the solution from dripping on the already-cleaned areas.
- We always prefer to clean windows in just one direction. Clean horizontally on one side and vertically on the other. If any streaks remain, you will easily know which side to reclean.
⇒ Step Four: Wipe and Dry
Use a high-grade squeegee to wipe off excess water and solution from your window glasses. We suggest using a squeegee for large glass windows and preferring a microfiber cloth for smaller ones.
Once done, give it a final clean-wipe with a dry, lint-free cloth. That will remove all the moisture from the windows and leave your windows sparkling clean after construction.
