How Do Professionals Clean Windows?

Before considering cleaning your own windows, it’s helpful to ask how do professionals clean windows? Pros use a combination of specialized tools, a simple cleaning solution, and a specific technique to achieve streak-free windows on interior and the exterior window faces. Below is a simple breakdown of the process, the tools, and the considerations involved in professional window cleaning. 

The Basics of Window Cleaning

Before worrying about how to clean high-rise windows it’s vital to understand the basics every window washer uses. These experts all use cleaning tools, solutions, and techniques to achieve clear windows. 

Basic Window Tools

• Window Mop
• Window Squeegee
• Window Cleaning Bucket
• Abrasive Pads
• A Window Scraper
• Replacement Scraper Blades
• Cleaning Solution

Choosing the Right Cleaning Mixture

Finding the best professional window cleaning solution is vital for anyone looking to clean windows at an expert level. Many people overcomplicate this though. While you are probably wondering “what kind of soap do professional window washers use?” the answer to this question is likely much simpler than you assume. 

Experts either use a low-suds cleaner like Glass Gleam 4, or they rely on dish soap for cleaning windows. The best window cleaning solution is made from one of those two cleaners according to window experts from around the world. 

Why Professionals Use Dish Soap

Many experts prefer using a cleaning solution made using a few drops of dish soap to 1 tsp of dish soap for each gallon of water. Mix the two ingredients together and use the solution to attain a streak-free clean on interior and exterior windows. The suds from dish soap allow a squeegee to slide freely, making it one of the easiest window cleaning solutions available. 

Why Pros Use a Low-Suds Window Solution

When window professionals don’t rely on a simple dish soap solution, they use a concentrated window cleaner such as Glass Gleam 4. This cleaner helps create the best shine on finished windows but doesn’t allow a squeegee to slide as well as dish soap does. Consider mixing in a wetting agent like Winsol Super Slip to maintain the best window results while helping your squeegee slide more freely. Super Slip is an excellent additive for use on extremely hot days to slow down dry times and to ensure a streak-free finish. 

Using the Proper Cleaning Technique

The secret to cleaning windows without leaving behind streaks is to use the proper technique and the right tools. Whether you want to know how do you deep clean house windows or you’re curious about how you clean interior windows professionally, you can achieve impressive results with a handful of tools and proper technique. 

The Technique to Clean Glass without Streaks

Begin cleaning your window by adding your cleaning solution to a window cleaning bucket. Now dip the window mop and scrub the window using even pressure to apply suds to every part of the glass. Now, start in the top left corner with your squeegee and pull the water along the top edge to the right-hand side. Use a back-and-forth fanning technique angling the squeegee to face horizontally with it being wide in the same direction as the top and bottom edges of the window. Sweep the water down and to the side to move it from the top of the window to the bottom edge. Carefully finish your last run on one of the lower window corners to create a streak-free finish. 

The fanning technique takes significant practice, but all professional window cleaners use it to achieve a streak-free finish. 

Clean with Abrasive Pads

Any high-traffic or very dirty window sections should be scrubbed using an abrasive pad before being squeegeed off. Use a 3M finishing pad for minor grime, use bronze wool for medium grime, and use a new 0000 steel wool pad for seriously tough grime. Scrub the dirty sections and then squeegee off the window like normal. Be careful to avoid using abrasive pads on tinted windows, and always use a fresh steel pad to prevent scratches caused by rust. 

Clean the Frames

To avoid water and suds buildup around the window frames wipe the edge off using a lint-free rag after you’ve finished cleaning the windows. 

When to Razor Windows

Only the most stubborn windows should be cleaned using a razor blade. Razors can scratch windows when used improperly. Tempered windows should never be razored to avoid scratches. 

Professionals use a fresh blade in a razor scraper and apply moderate pressure when cleaning. They start near the outside edges, moving outward, then they move into the middle and move out again to finish scraping. The windows are cleaned with a squeegee like normal. 

Cleaning Unreachable Exterior Windows

Professionals clean unreachable exterior windows using specialized equipment. For 2nd-story windows, a cleaning pole with a squeegee and mop is used for efficient cleaning. 

For taller buildings cleaners rely on ladders equipped with ladder jack scaffolding, or they assemble scaffolding towers for cleaning. Equipped with the best window cleaning solution for outside cleaning and the right tools to reach the windows a professional can clean unreachable exterior windows rapidly. 

How Professionals Clean High-Rise Windows

One common question that people have is how do you clean high-rise windows outside? Professional cleaners use specialized suspended harnesses, and high-rise window washing scaffolding held by cranes and harnesses to reach the windows. Once outside the high-rise windows, the pros use a simple squeegee, mop, and a bucket of window solution to clean these high windows. Even the tallest buildings in the world are cleaned in this way. 

With access to ladders, scaffolding, buckets, window solution a squeegee and a mop experts can clean nearly any window in the world. It takes practice and experience to achieve professional results, so most people hire window cleaners to keep their homes and businesses looking good.