Can bleach from pressure washing make glass windows cloudy?

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1

I have a potential customer that asked me this question earlier this evening. He provided no images.

[B]I have had our stucco house pressure washed for 8 years now and was wondering…the person I used uses bleach for the job…does that not cloud the glass windows of houses…my windows seem to have a film that will not come off even with Oreck Non-Ammonia Spray Glass Cleaner…Thanks! Lee[/B]

With this bit of info, I would like to respond with something other than, 'Go get a pro window cleaner.'
My first response wants to be no of course not. And with no images, who knows without seeing in person what he has going on?

I’m looking to learn a little about this and provide an intelligent response. Anyone willing to help me in this?

2

Does bleach cause clouding of glass? No.
Not sure what’s going on at the customers house but he could be experiencing a few different issues.

  1. Could be condensation in the glass caused by water entering bad seals.
  2. The windows weren’t properly rinsed and that would leave a residue on the glass.
  3. If he’s got vinyl windows the vinyl may be oxidized and leaving a residue on the glass after rinsing.
3

^haim is right, unless…

i’m wondering how glass with a “self-cleaning” coating (titanium oxide) might respond to a caustic like bleach. i could see it reacting badly if the SH wasn’t rinsed thoroughly. SH will corrode metals and a delicate coating like titanium oxide might show some effects. this is just conjecture though.

4

That was a quick response. Thank you.

It’s all pretty much conjecture at this point. Definitely need more info. I nixed the idea of vinyl, since he specified glass, and I was relatively sure bleach would not leave an un removable film if rinsed enough. I never knew of the titanium oxide coating. This gives me a starting point at least to continue the conversation.

Let’s say the bleach wasn’t rinsed enough on non-vinyl, non coated glass, what would be a solution or starting point to remove the residue, or test if it was actually from an unrinsed cleaning solution containing bleach?

5

i would be looking at a One Restore situation. 50/50 dilution with water, applied with strip washer on cool shaded glass, dwell time of less than a minute, rinsed thoroughly, and then cleaned traditionally.

even money says that does the trick, regardless of the source of the haze. or at the very least, it will make a dent in the haze, and then you can incrementally up your dilution rate and dwell time.

of course, when working with acids always perform a test in an unobtrusive spot.

6

I do know that glass not thoroughly rinsed after a house wash is susceptible to problems.
About 4 years ago we were just about done with a house and window wash and the heavens opened up. I had to quickly pack up my machine. I came back 2 days later to finish up the tiny amount of PW and the rest of the outside windows. Where I had left off, some of the glass had spotting where I had apparently not rinsed enough. It was very hard to remove, and that after only 2 days. I’m not sure if I would say it was ‘cloudy’, though. Pictures might reveal with this homeowner, [MENTION=37821]Ultimate[/MENTION], that his interpretation is different than others.

7

A hot house wash mix (10-12% SH) or roof mix can certainly etch glass if it’s not rinsed well, especially if the sun is beating down on it.

8

Thanks for the help everyone.

9

this is correct. A local company here has a reputation of trashing windows. Myself and another company have both done major clean-up after them. One Restore is your best first shot.

10

I recently did a job where the building gets soft washed yearly, and they all have fogged up glass… Only thing that cleaned them up was bio clean and a white pad… But it was a PITA