For many home owner window cleaners, their preferred method of cleaning is to use a homemade solution. One of the easiest, although not most effective, is the simple mixture of a bucket of warm water with a small amount of washing up liquid. Cheap and effective (to an extent), this mixture is favored by many usually purely for the fact that is cheap and cleans windows to an acceptable degree.  You have to be a little careful that you don’t use this on speciality windows as it can leave serious streaks; for example, it does not work well on uPVC windows.

However, cleaning windows with washing up liquid and water, after a while, begins to leave windows looking greasy or streaky. After a search on the internet, a look in a local book store or library or speaking to a friend, most home owners will opt for a much more traditional way of cleaning windows. Although on first looking at the ingredients it doesn’t sound as effective as using warm water and washing up liquid, cleaning windows using newspaper, water and vinegar can have fantastic results. Mixing the vinegar with water in a strong ratio (approximately 1 part vinegar for every 4 parts of water), apply to the windows with an appropriate cloth, such as a chamois and dry then buff with crumpled up pieces of newspaper. Whilst a little more effort may be needed on stubborn marks, this process of cleaning windows has worked for many years and is one of the most used ways of cleaning windows all across the world.

Even though most home owner window cleaners do not use any accessories, taking note of the tools professional window cleaners use may help the window cleaning process. For example, it is often said that any non-professional window cleaner should own a squeegee. A squeegee is a tool that is in the shape of a ‘T’ – with the horizontal line being a rubber, windscreen wiper-like blade and the vertical line being a handle – that provides some amazing assistance when cleaning windows. Once the windows are wet and any marks have been removed, the squeegee should be moved over the window, from top to bottom, to remove any excess water. It may seem simple, but using a squeegee will almost guarantee that the window is left streak and smudge free.

One of the more modern ways to clean windows is to use a steamer. Available for use all around the home, they make excellent work of windows – regardless of how clean or dirty the windows are. Fill the steamer with water, plug it in, allow for it to boil and then use the connecting hose and accessory on the window. The steam produced will remove any marks from the window and, once moved over with a squeegee, will leave them looking brand new and as though they have just been cleaned by a professional window cleaner.

Water – without water, cleaning windows is almost impossible. Fresh, clean, warm water provides the basis for almost all cleaning solutions. Whether homemade or professional, the majority of window cleaning solutions will involve, to some degree, a large amount of warm water.

However, it must be noted that in recent years there have been several window cleaning solutions created that require no diluting with water whatsoever. Still in their infancy, these products are designed to not only allow for remarkably clean windows, but to reduce the amount of water needed to clean windows – which can be considerable, particularly for professional window cleaners.

Bucket – Whilst water may be the primary component to any window cleaning solution, having something to put that water in is obviously another major requirement. Although many people simply opt to use their bowl from their kitchen sink, a strong bucket is highly recommended. The tough, sturdy handle will allow for the bucket to be moved between places safely, whilst the added depth (when compared to a kitchen bowl), will mean that more water can be transported around the building, resulting in a reduction in time when cleaning windows.

Sponge / chamois – Having a high quality sponge, chamois or other cloth will aid with the window cleaning process tremendously. With many dedicated window cleaning cloths on the market, a lot of window cleaners simply recommended a quality cleaning cloth. Personal preference is usually the only way to distinguish between a sponge and a chamois in regards to window cleaning, although many believe that the sponge’s texture is a better attribute for cleaning windows.

Squeegee – in essence, a squeegee is simply a windscreen wiper with a handle on it. The idea behind the squeegee is to move it over the window once it has been cleaned using a sponge. Moved from left to right, top to bottom, the squeegee will reduce the amount of streaks or smudges that appear on many windows after cleaning and in most cases will ensure there are no marks left at all.

Ladder – like the squeegee, a ladder is not a mandatory accessory for cleaning windows. However, a ladder can be extremely helpful, not only when cleaning second floor and above windows, but simply for the extra height they provide when cleaning ground floor windows. It may be easy to effectively clean the majority of a ground floor window, but it is difficult to reach and clean properly in the top corners, which is where a ladder provides that extra assistance, ensuring no marks are left on the window once the window cleaning process has been completed.

Will and intention – Without good will or the intention of carrying out a good job, window cleaning will become a chore that is only half-heartedly completed. Thinking about the task in hand and not rushing window cleaning will ensure that all windows cleaned are as clean as they can possibly be.