WINDOW-CLEANING TOOLS & SOLUTIONS

Experienced window washer.  Own tools and equipment. Experienced with construction clean-up and post-construction of windows. Removing glue over spray stucco, paint, stickers, and wiping down the metal frames.  

CLEANING SOLUTIONS
Ammonia as a window cleaner.  She says it leaves no streaks.  And she adds "any old" soap.  Claims it's cheap to make.  Ah, yeah.  Last she adds rubbing alcohol! Never heard of that as a window cleaner.  All of this is new to me.  What do you think?  WINDOW CLEANING W/ AMMONIA & VINEGAR 

                                          I'd have thought that vinegar was the best.

WHICH CLEANSER WORKS FOR WHICH SPOTS?

Ammonia removes grease stains or fingerprints from glass.  White vinegar removes water spots, such as from rain or previous cleaning, from the glass. 

Don't combine ammonia and vinegar in the cleaning solution. Ammonia is an alkali and vinegar is an acid, so the two cancel each other out and become neutral, losing all cleaning power.

HOW TO GET WINDOWS STREAK-FREE?

The suggestion was made to rubbing alcohol to leave the windows streak-free. Never heard of that either.  Another writer suggested microfiber cloths (from the auto department at Walmart) with Invisible Glass to get the windows streak-free. The Invisible Glass does have alcohol in it and I agree to only use those rags for windows and do not use fabric softener and air dry them.

One important note is to never clean a window that has direct sunlight on it as it will definitely streak. Time it that they are cool, and in the shade.

For windows anyway, it sounds like ammonia is the powerhouse cleaner. Windex's active ingredient is ammonia.  It will remove most stains that appear on glass. What role then does vinegar play? Only superficial, frequent cleanings should you use vinegar.  I don't know.  

For drying a window, always choose micro-fiber cotton cloths.  

AMMONIA & VINEGAR

2 parts warm water; 1 part ammonia; 1 part vinegar.  That's one recipe.  

Another recipe calls for 1/3 ammonia and 2/3 water.  I guess it would depend on the glass stain.

One observer noted that certain windows, like Pella Windows, have ratings. Ratings for what I do not know.  She recalled reading a warning "Do Not Use Window Cleaners with Ammonia" as it can harm the Low E rating on that particular window.  She finished by recommending that she always uses vinegar and water and a squeegee.  

FENESTRATION ENERGY RATINGS

Did not know this.  Some windows are manufactured and sold based on their energy rating, a system established by the Feds.  There are some discrepancies as to which part of the window responsible for its energy rating. Those discrepancies are covered here.  Seems like the main window manufacturer that these upscale, residential windows and their ratings cover are EnergyStar Windows.

You can see the different energies that are rated.  My question is, "Will the same window cleaning products on standardized windows work on these specially designed windows?"

WINDOW CLEANING TOOLS  

Unger water-fed pole, $621.85 at Amazon.

ETTORE SQUEEGEE