Has anyone found a quick fix for the dreaded white, powdery substance.
I have a house that is literally coated in it.
I feel your pain! I have a house like that as well.
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All I’ve ever done is scrub and rinse until it stops.
There was a job once where I did pack it in because it appeared that it would never stop.
nose to glass 
i used to try not to touch frames but now with wfp i take off oxidation on every job
Oven cleaner, wear gloves. DONT use the no scent stuff either because it’s garbage and doesn’t work as well.
Wet the window with your mop, spray one dot of OC on each pane (double hung, 2 dots of OC top and bottom sash) scrub with a white scrub pad until you feel the window actually slipping under your hands while scrubbing. Hit those corners well and try not to use your mop to wet the window again since the OC will eat away at the mop cover.
Try not to breathe it in, wear gloves, and avoid skin contact at all costs. I have a few scars from OC burns… But the windows came out great!
Mike Radzik
Pro Window Cleaning
Central Massachusetts
Home
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This is frames he’s talking about not screen burn.
This space for rent!
Do not use any dish soap, add a little isopropyl alcohol.
This space for rent!
Chris,
If you have a Moermon liquidator that will solve your problem! We have had really good success with this squeegee on those windows because it eliminates having to towel the edges! You don’t have to mess with the glass! They are a cheap blade and light. We have had success to using the waterfed pole on these windows. The way we solve the grey water issue is we train our guys to do a 5 pass method on the top of the pane. This gives a lot of drainage and keeps them from rushing on too quickly. We have had good success with this as well.
Where there are old storm windows the liquidator is turning into the go to tool.
I hope your summer is going well.
if you want to remove by hand get a fiberglass restoration product…rubbing compound , polishing compound.
if you are referring to the white oxidation on vinyl windows… Liquid Bar Keeper’s Friend. apply with white pad. bust out the magic eraser as well.
This week I found that NOT ONE OF THESE REMEDIES HELPED. The mere fact of just a minor touch (no matter if wet or dry) and the stuff was on everything.
Straight water - no go.
Less soap in the solution - no go.
Admittedly I did not use vinegar, but these were so ready to transfer white to anything, I find it hard to believe there would be an instant chemical reaction to not bleed. My helper and I just carefully cleaned glass and avoided the frames like the plague!
I also cleaned and rescreen 8 screens from another property that had the same thing. I scrubbed them with soap and water before rescreening and the stuff came of alright, down to where on most you could see bare metal.
Does anyone have any NEW information or experience of how to deal with the White Menace?
Yeah, don’t touch it and use a lot of towels.
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Was it on the frames , or on the glass it self. Was it screen burn. Use oven cleaner
Was it on the frames. Clean top frame 1-2" of top part of Window rinse let drip scrub window then give it a final rinse rinse rinse rinse below the top frame
It was the frames, no screen burn. Older aluminum white windows. I thought of scrubbing the frames real good first then cleaning the glass, but the oxidized paint would wash off and leave bare metal in spots. Didn’t want to own that responsibility.
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Just reconditioned oxidized window frames this week. Used Flitz Polish works great.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Flitz-2-lbs-Blue-Metal-Plastic-and-Fiberglass-Polish-Paste-Quart-Can-CA-03518-6/205494730
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I trust we are using the right terminology. The white chalky residue which is actually the paint becoming a powder, or white milky mess. I have found that to scrub with water or even soap and water that it soon comes down to bare metal.
The window frames that I reconditioned this week were “tan” and were oxidized due to years of sun exposure. Applied the polish on Wednesday and returned Thursday to clean the windows. I would assume you would have the same results with white frames.
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Mind if I inquire about a charge on that? At $42 per quart, I imagine a little goes a long way.
Not sure if I was supposed to do this, but I used Gutter Zap to remove oxidation from metal frames and it seemed to work out pretty well. I did have to put some elbow grease into it, but it was sure a heck of a lot better than just soap and water.
