Cleaning windows regularly is an important part of home maintenance. As a homeowner, you want to be sure that you are cleaning your windows regularly and effectively, avoiding common mistakes that are easy to make without the right information.

Below, we have listed mistakes to avoid when cleaning your windows, so continue reading if you want to learn more and have sparkling clean, streak-free windows on your home.

1. Using Something Other than a Microfiber Cloth

When cleaning your home’s windows, it can be tempting to pick up any regular cleaning cloth and begin. However, standard towels, rags, and paper towles leave behind tiny particles as you clean, so your windows won’t actually look clear and debris-free after you wipe them down.

Instead, you should be using a microbiber towel to wip down the windows. These towels will leave behind no trace of lint after cleaning, and they won’t scratch windows or stain light-colored window frames. They are just abrasive enough to scrub away debris while remaining soft enough not to damage the window’s glass.

2. Cleaning Windows on A Hot and Sunny Day

It makes sense in most situations to clean on warm, sunny days. However, this isn’t at all the case when it comes to cleaning your home’s windows.

One of the biggest issues people face when cleaning their windows is streaking or hazing of the glass. Typically, this is caused when the cleaner or detergent gets the chance to dry before it is wiped away.

When the sun is shining and the window pane is hot, there is a much higher chance that the cleaner will begin drying and hazing up the window, leaving you with big streaks when you go to wipe it away. You want the cleaner to stay wet for as long as possible as you are clenaing. Instead of doing it in the heat and sun, clean your windows on cloudy days with a mild temperature.

3. Not Dusting Before You Apply Cleaner

When you’re cleaning your windows, it can be tempting to just immediately spray on your cleaner or apply your detergent and begin wiping it away. However, this step in the window cleaning process should be saved for later.

To avoid streaking or linty windows, you first want to remove all of the dust, dirt, and solid debris particles that would otherwise get caught up in the cleaner and simply pushed around the window as you clean.

Use a dry cloth to dust the windows before applying cleaning products, and use window scrapers or razor blades to scrape away any stubborn debris.

4. Washing Windows with Hard Water

Do you often see mineral deposits and build-up in your shower? If so, you probably have hard water and should not use it to clean your window.

Hard water can mineralize on services as you clean, leaving behind stubborn stains on your window that will be more difficult to remove after it dries and sets. If you need to use water with your window cleaning detergent, it is a far better idea to use distilled water if you do not have a water softener in your home.

5. Using Newspaper to Clean Your Windows

Somehow, it became a common cleaning practice shared online to use newspapers to clean your windows. This is a bad idea for a couple of reasons.

All newspapers are made with different materials, so what works once may not work again and it certainly won’t work for everybody. Many newspapers will leave behind the same tiny dust particles as paper towels do when you clean the windows.

Even more frustrating, some newspaper inks can leave behind permanent stains on window frames and even the glass once it combines with your cleaner or detergent. Again, always clean your windows with a microfiber towel to avoid any issues or lint buildup.