If you’ve spent most of your adult life living in an apartment then, like me, you may not think to much about washing your windows.  Once you buy a house, however, or even the first time you rent an apartment in a smaller building with a less than active landlord, you’ll notice that dirt and cobwebs build up awfully fast.

The best times to wash windows are the end of fall and the end of spring.  This allows for temperate weather, and prepares windows both for the beautiful vistas of winter and for having your windows open for the summer breeze.  If you have a whole house to deal with, it’s probably a good idea to break the house up into sections.  If you want to get it all done in one day, invite some friends over, put out some snacks, pump up the tunes and make a party out of it.

Pick a day that’s not too sunny, both because sun means heat and sun burns, and because too much sun makes your windows dry too quickly and leaves streaks.  You’ll want to do the exteriors before the day gets warm, so start with those early, or do them last once the heat of the day is past.  Start by sweeping off the sills and the corners of the windows to get as much dirt and debris off as possible.  Then spray the window down with glass cleaner and wash the window in circular motions.  Dry with a squeegee first, then wipe away left over moisture and streaks with paper towels or old newspapers (watch out for newsprint on your hands if you go for the later).

The same procedure applies for interior windows, but you can use the brush extension on a vacuum instead of a broom to clear the running tracks of the window and the sill.  Once windows are dry, go over them again with a soft cloth to get any streaks!