One of my biggest problems window cleaning is having streaks where I detail the window after I squeegee. I use a surgical towel and have also used microfiber. I am thinking that my rag is too wet or something. I try to keep it dry though.
I notice my detail streaks in the bright sunlight the most. What gives. I try to touch them up with a completely dry microfiber which seems to help.
I have experienced the same results using the huck towels which is why I don’t use them.
Are you washing them with detergent? If you’re using a lot they can be leaving detergent residue behind
Really? Washers rinse pretty well.
If they were washed or dried with fabric softener, their absorbent properties may have been affected.
Try wiping slower.
Art—What do you use instead then? I am using Huck towels and cheap microfibers. No detergent, no fabric softener.
I only use cheap microfibers for wiping frames and sills. They are terrible for detailing.
Use a dry towel and buff out any wet marks with the dry towel.
Are they wet streaks, that dry out? Or are they residue streaks like from oxidized window frames? Or do they just look like smears? Do you notice them only on the edges or sometimes in the middle of the window? I recently found out that any fabric softener can be a horrible mess. I also think some windows are just that touchy. What type of soap are you using for wcing?
I have used Dawn…same results.
Now I use Unger Easy Glide. I dont use any fabric softener when I dry my Huck Towels. They are wet streaks where I detail. I get them on the corners unless I detail like a mad man with a very dry Hucks Towel. I was wondering if I am doing something wrong because I fight this battle every time I clean. It feels like I have to use a new/dry Hucks towel on every piece of glass.
If your rubber is trimmed to ~1/16", you should be leaving very little solution to wipe.
I prefer to detail with huck towels, but I find the very soft ones to be less absorbent that the “rougher” feeling ones. I typically wrap a double layer (huck folded in half) around either my index finger or my index and middle fingers and wipe in a smooth, consistent motion – top left across to right, down right side, down left side, bottom left across to right.
If there was excess solution after squeeging, I use a small (6") squeegee to detail first. I use a cheap microfiber to wipe the frame and sill after the detailing process if necessary so that my detailing huck does not become overly wet – I use it dry and continue to rotate it to ensure a clean, dry portion.
Wiping a very wet area quickly tends to leave a wet streak that may dry with a residue. If that is the case, you can still use a dry huck to buff any marks that remain.
I keep a cheap microfiber in a small two pocket 77 cent Lowe’s or HD nail apron; a 6" detailing squeegee at my left hip on my tool belt; and 4 or 5 hucks in my Unger ErgoTec pouch (along with other stuff.)
Cut the soap to water ratio to see what happens. When its hot, its a guesssing game sometimes. If you steel wool, it drastically limits the time you have to get the soap off the glass. Steel wool will introduce air into your soap on the glass causing it to dry and streak (like a white haze). Tone the soap down to bare minimum and that should help some. It does for me.
Cut the soap-to-water ratio is a good suggestion. Some types of glass do much better with less soap, so the first thing I do with streaky glass is dilute my solution.
I Agree with Clearchoicewc I am still new to alot and learning after a few years of only part time, now looking at full time… So i have had wondered about some of the same… In the past year I have used only Ungers Easy Glide. But I think I am about to try Dawn for the 1st time… with easy glide tho… if i did miss or leave a residue, after it dried… I found it was actually easier to buff it off with a towel rather than try to detail it while it was wet , bc all i did was smear it… But again im still learning.
Oh and i use Hand towels that “our wives” want clean and haning in the bathrooms… ive tried all the micro this and micro that… nothing beats a $5 hand towel… and you can use it for 3 to 4 homes without worring. atleast thats what i think
Try dog-earing your channels. This gets the rubber right up to, and usually, not over the seal. You hardly need to detail at all on some windows using this method.
Use Scrim instead of micro-fibre. Don’t buy pre-washed, buy un-washed a boil wash them yourself, they’ll last longer. On very hot days when I need to soak the glass I sometimes wipe the sides and top part of the frame [I]just near [I] to the seal with a small cill cloth or something before I squeegee, this stops any excess soapy water getting on the cloth and pane. Also, make sure your squeegee is touching the frame as you go around the glass, doing this with a dogeared channel leaves barely any water or soap on the glass, and needs only the tiniest amount of scrim for streak free detailing.
I use a soft sheep skin chamois to detail edges. Not too thick not too thin, and not a cheap one either. You have to be able to rinse it and squeeze excess water out easily. I would never use a towel, reminds me to much of people cleaning windows with windex.
Hey Mike,
I use towels. And I have never used windex(other than cleaning the wheels on my truck) Wouldn’t using a surgical towel remind you of someone in the medical field>?(I don’t like the results of the surgical towels detailing windows but they work great w/ the windex as I clean the wheels on my truck.
Lately I’ve been wondering about the length of the rubber…if the rubber is not centered perfectly, then the side of the channel with the shorter overlap seems to work better whereas the longer “floppier” side leaves more water. I’ve been considering trimming the rubber to extend beyond the end of the channel consistently.
You seem to be suggesting that 1/16" is the right length, yes?
Does anyone down there use leather chamois for windows? I have to pay $25 each for my chamois and go through 2-4 a year when I’m actively cleaning windows. I think everyone in my city uses the same thing I heard in Toronto they use some kind of towel like… I think they’re called J-cloths, something like that. But that never caught on here.
We use to use chamois but they were too expensive when they didn’t last that long. We switched to a PVA towel. Google Image Result for http://www.aahpaws.com/v/vspfiles/photos/pva-towel-2T.jpg
