Windows are some of the first things your customers see when they come across your business or building. Keeping these windows clean can reflect on your brand as a business and is crucial to attracting valuable customers.
However, there may be streaks left even after you clean your windows. These pesky streaks may be hard to remove and can ruin a perfectly good window cleaning.
This article will run you through the common reasons and fixes for this streaky residue that makes your windows lose their sparkle.
You may see a trickle vent just above the glass frame of your window and a similar adjustable vent on the inside. These allow fresh air into your home for improved ventilation and reduced dampness.
However, when these vents collect dust, pollution, or cooking residue and are left uncleaned, they become filthy. You may not notice this dirt as it is hidden within the vent. This hidden dirt may only see the light of day when it is blasted from its hiding place during a window cleaning.
This dust will flow with the water causing dirty streaks on your window dripping directly from the vent.
If you hire a reliable window cleaning company, they will make sure to scrub and jet your window vents clean to avoid these dirty streaks. However, particularly dirty vents may require several cleans before they start to run clean. You will need to regularly wash these vents to ensure that no dirt gets trapped there again.
If you have a UPVC window, it most likely has a thin bead of rubber running the gap between the glass and the frame itself. These hold the glass in place and seal against moisture or rain from the outside.
As your window gets older, this rubber seal may start to degrade and leave dirty black streaks on the glass and UPV.
Cleaning these streaks would require an abrasive liquid called “rub out” or a strong degreaser. To get rid of these streaks long term, you may need to get the beads replaced, or if the company does not offer that type of work, you may need to get the entire UPVC unit replaced.
For windows with rubbers still intact and just slightly aged, you may be able to clean and coat them with car wax or rubber restorer solution. Although this is not a complete fix, this can help extend the life of a worn-out seal for a few more years.
A double-glazing window unit has two pieces of glass with a void in between. The gap offers energy-saving properties as it blocks warm air and moisture from leaving and entering your home.
Usually, this void is sealed with a solid seal to prevent moisture and dirt from entering. However, these seals can degrade over time, allowing residue and condensation to build up in the void. Sadly, the only way to fix this problem is to replace the unit with a fresh one.
There may be various reasons why dirty streaks are left on your window despite having been cleaned recently. It is best to hire a reliable window cleaning company to help figure out the problem and fix it for you.
In some cases, your window would just need an extra clean, while in others, you may need to get the unit replaced entirely due to its age and degradation.
