There are hundreds of articles out there on how to best clean your glass and get a good shine on it, but what about the rest of the window? Even if you clean the glass to the point that you can’t tell that it’s there, if the area around it is never cleaned the whole window will still look dirty.
Step One: Remove the Screens
To get the best clean on your window, you need to remove all of the obstructions; which includes the window screens. It is best to give the window screens a good scrubbing before you put them back on the windows, but as long as you at least hose them off and get most of the dirt off of them it will be okay. Just don’t put the screens back on the windows until the water you are spraying on the window screens runs cleans and they are dry. (The clear running water means that you got all of the loose dirt of them.)
Step Two: Vacuum the Loose Dirt
Next, take the vacuum cleaner and with the thinnest attachment it has vacuum out all the dirt and dead bugs from all the nooks and crannies in the window tray, the window sill, and everywhere around the window. If you have a shop vac do the same outside. You could spray down the area around the windows on the outside instead of vacuuming, but if you have hard water in your area you will be getting the glass of the window dirty while you are trying to clean the area around it.
Vacuuming up the loose dirt will make cleaning up the more stubborn, stuck-on dirt easier. It will also prevent the loose dirt from getting wet and just spreading around creating a worse mess when you do try to clean.
Step Three: Clean
Use your favorite cleaner or homemade solution for the non-wood parts of the windows. Because these parts are usually dirtier, the cleaner will make it easier to get them cleaned up than if you were to use a damp rag.
However, with the wood around the windows you want to just use a damp rag. By using as little liquid as possible, you help to protect the wood and prevent mold growth and rot. After you are done with cleaning the wood part around the windows, dry it with a clean cloth.
