The best way to clean windows outside

Use a damp microfiber cloth to wipe off any dust, dirt, and dead bugs that remain. Follow these other tips when cleaning:. Dirty window screens can also reduce the amount of natural light in your home.

One of the best ways to clean them is to pop them out, bring them outside, and hose them down with water. Don't have an outdoor space? You can leave the screen in place and do this instead:. Got a bathtub? You can rinse each screen one at a time after dusting and vacuuming in the tub using a handheld shower attachment. Do you hate washing windows?

Several companies produce robot window cleaners that function like robotic vacuums, but for your windows—including the Winbot by Ecovacs Robotics pictured.

Modern models are equipped with higher-speed fan motors that clean more efficiently using a stronger suction that also boosts stability. They're increasingly quieter, too, so you can be at home without being distracted by the noise. Here's how most robotic window cleaners work:. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Best Window Cleaning Services of Magnetic Window Cleaner. Continue to 2 of 5 below. Grab a Mop to Clean Your Windows.

Continue to 3 of 5 below. Apartment-Friendly Window Cleaning Kit. Continue to 4 of 5 below. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.

Too much sun will dry the window cleaning solution before you can wipe it all off and leave streaks on your windows. Remove any window screens and clean them if necessary. Pop off or unscrew the windows screens and set them on a clean tarp or drop cloth outside. Rinse them thoroughly with a garden hose on low pressure to clean off dust and dirt. Shake the excess water off the screens, dry them with a clean towel as much as you can, and let them air dry all the way.

For extra cleaning, rinse the screen, then spray it with a water and vinegar solution. Rinse it again, then let it dry thoroughly.

Rinse all the windows with a water before cleaning. This will get rid of the top layer of dust and dirt. It will make it much easier to focus on cleaning the more stubborn grime off the windows. The easiest way to do this is with a garden hose.

Fill a bucket with clean water and 1 squirt of liquid dish detergent. Fill a clean bucket with clean, cool water from the faucet. Squeeze 1 squirt of liquid dish detergent from the bottle into the water in the bucket to make a window washing solution. Cool water takes longer to dry, so it will give you more time to work before the cleaning solution starts to dry and leave streaks on your windows.

Dip a window scrubber or sponge into the bucket and wring it out. A window scrubber is ideal for cleaning medium to large windows as it will cover more area. A large sponge, like the kind for washing cars, works fine as well. Window scrubbers are wide rectangular sponges attached to a handle of some kind. The handle can often be screwed onto a standard broomstick or telescopic pole.

Scrub the window at all angles with the window scrubber or sponge. Start at the top of a window and work your way down. Scrub in all directions at different angles to cover every part of the glass. Squeegee a narrow vertical strip at 1 side of the window. Start in the top corner, tilt the squeegee so just the corner is touching the glass, and pull it all the way down the glass to create a clean vertical strip along the edge on 1 side of the window. This will make it easier to squeegee the whole window clean using horizontal strokes.

If you are left-handed, start in the top right-hand corner. Use horizontal strokes to squeegee the whole window clean.

Turn the squeegee horizontally and place the edge against the clean strip in the top corner. Pull it firmly across the window to remove the cleaning solution from the glass.

Work your way down the entire window, overlapping your strokes by about 2 in 5. You don't need to rinse the window after scrubbing it with the soapy water because the squeegee will remove all of the solution and leave the window clean. Wipe up any remaining drops of water with a dry, lint-free cloth. Use a microfiber cloth or other lint-free cloth to dry off any drips of water you missed with the squeegee.

Pay special attention to the perimeter of the glass where the squeegee might not have reached all the way. You can also use newspaper to dry your windows.

Reattach any window screens that you removed. Give the screens a final inspection once they are dry and spot-clean any areas you notice are still dirty. Pop them back into place or screw them back on when you are satisfied that they are clean. Method 2. Use a telescopic pole to clean hard-to-reach windows. A telescopic pole is like a broomstick that extends to different lengths.

Screw a window scrubber onto one of these poles in order to scrub tall and out-of-reach windows , then swap a squeegee onto it to finish the cleaning. Then, put a squeegee on the pole and pull it straight down the window, working from one side to the other using overlapping strokes to remove all the water and soap.

Just make sure you have a helper to hold the ladder steady while you are cleaning the windows and be careful! Use a sponge and a custom-cut squeegee to clean multi-pane windows. A window scrubber will be too wide to clean a window that has multiple panes on it, so use a handheld sponge that will fit within each pane. Cut a squeegee to fit the window panes using a hacksaw for the metal part and a utility knife for the rubber strip.

Squeegee each pane clean with 1 stroke from top to bottom with your custom-cut squeegee. Soak stubborn stains with a vinegar and water solution before scrubbing.

Let it soak for minutes, then wipe it with a dry sponge to remove it. Clean mineral deposits off windows with a commercial CLR cleaner. Hard water can leave hard-to-clean mineral deposits on windows. Use a commercial cleaner that is meant for removing things like calcium, lime, and rust to remove these types of mineral stains.