How to Clean Outside Windows You Can’t Reach

Last update: 1 year ago

Cleaning outside windows you can’t reach is a complicated task. Finding the best way to execute the job is not an easy accomplishment. You should consider your safety, the height of the windows, and what special equipment is required. Then you need to plan a few things.

First, consider the weather forecast and choose a suitable day. If it is too hot and sunny, the cleaning solution will quickly dry on the glass. It may leave stains you might miss out because of the rays reflecting off the glass. When cleaning high windows you won’t be that fast because there are more obstacles – equipment, height, awareness of falling down a ladder, et cetera. That’s why it is better to choose a cooler, even cloudy day when you can take your time washing the windows.

Your first job is to clear the area around the windows. If there are installed screens, remove and clean them separately. Remove anything that might block your access to the window panes and frames like bars or shutters if that is possible. Move anything that might get damaged like flower pots, kids’ toys, garden furniture, vehicles, et cetera. Also, plan in advance which windows you’ll clean and if you will use a ladder or an extension pole. See if some windows can be removed so you can wash them on the ground to make it easier on yourself.

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How to clean outside windows?

If you are in a good physical condition and feel safe getting on a ladder, you can use one when cleaning ground or first-floor windows. Fit the ladder with anti-slip ladder pads to improve safety and prevent any surface damage.

Yet, a better and safer method is cleaning with an extendable pole, mop and homemade window cleaning solution. The nonprofessional telescopic window cleaning pole can reach up to 16-17 ft, which means you can clean the windows up to the second floor. That way you can eliminate the chances of damaging your property or endangering your health.

What cleaning supplies will you need:

• Broom with long handle/ Vacuum cleaner;
• Telescopic window cleaning kit: telescopic pole, squeegee with a rubber blade, strip washer;
• Bucket;
• Warm water;
• White vinegar;
• Dishwashing liquid;

How to clean upstairs windows without a ladder?

Pick a day with no rain in the forecast and not too much sun. Ideally, a few clouds in the sky will be the perfect setting to clean the windows. You will spend at least a few hours working outside, so chose wisely when to do this job. Also, wet weather will prevent the cleaned windows from drying naturally and it may dirty them up again.

Once you pick the day, gather all the necessary tools, go outside, play some background music or listen to the radio to make it more enjoyable and start the cleaning process.

1. Clean the area around the windows within reaching distance with a vacuum cleaner and for the higher windows use a broom with a long handle. You need to remove any cobwebs and debris before washing the windows with a solution.
2. Add in a bucket full of warm water 500 ml white vinegar and 250 ml washing liquid. Place the strip washer in the bucket to soak for 1-2 minutes.
3. Attach the strip washer to the extension pole and apply the cleaning solution to the whole window with it. Scrub well the entire surface and try to reach every nook and corner to break up all the dirt. Move the strip washer from the bottom corner of the window upward.
4. Once you’ve covered the whole window with the cleaning solution, replace the strip washer with the squeegee to remove the suds, and any dirt and debris. Place the squeegee in the top corner of the window and bring it down to the bottom frame with even strokes. Apply even pressure as you move the squeegee downward. Clean it with a microfiber cloth between wipes. Use the squeegee until you have removed any traces of water.
5. To remove the excess water from the frames use another dry strip washer. That way there will be no dirty water spots left on the surface.
6. Leave the windows to air dry. If in the morning you notice any missed dirty spots you could rewash them with the strip washer and the squeegee.

How to clean outside windows high up from inside?

Living in a block of flats or in a modern high-rise requires more resourcefulness when it comes to cleaning the outside of your windows. The view up there is without a doubt amazing, but to take pleasure in it you should maintain spotless windows. It can be irritating noticing smeared dirt on the glass.

Still, it’s not worth risking your health and safety exploring creative ways to wash these high windows. Climbing on or hanging out of them in an attempt to scrub the furthest corner is dangerous and unnecessary when there are other methods to get them clean and shiny.

If you have high windows and especially if you live in a high rise building, you can invest in some modern cleaning technology. The simplest and more affordable gadget is the U-shaped telescopic window cleaning pole. It is suitable for washing exterior upper-floor panes and helps you avoid reaching out of top-floor windows.

Another rather costly solution is some of the many robot window cleaners models available on the market. In recent years their popularity has risen, and with it, their quality has drastically improved as well. Of course, if you want a good quality window cleaning, you should aim in the higher price range of higher-grade cleaning robots.

However, a cheaper alternative remains the magnetic window cleaners. The process requires your full participation. It is not fully automated as with the robots, which are cleaning the panes without human interference. The results are not always perfect. Some dirty spots may be left. You may need to use the magnetic cleaners multiple times to clean the glass completely.

These two techniques exclude the cleaning of the window frames. This means that you may need a telescopic cleaning pole to reach the outside window frames to wash them.

But is it worth the time, the effort and the risk of cleaning outside windows high up?

How professional window cleaners can help you?

Not everyone is capable or has the right tools to clean high windows. We won’t even talk about climbing out the windows and wash them by hand because risking your life for a shiny window is reckless.

Then, you have only one option and that is relying on the services of a professional window cleaning company. They have the right equipment and training to perform the job. Depending on the building and how high are the windows, they can clean them from the ground with professional water-fed extension poles which can reach up to the 4th floor and higher. If necessary, they can send rope access window cleaning team or if possible they will perform the job from the inside of your home.

Choosing professional window cleaning services will guarantee your safety, you’ll save time, and as a result, you will have perfectly clean and shiny windows. Do not compromise your health and safety or causing unnecessary damage to any of your windows if they are too difficult for you to clean. However, thanks to the technological advancements in the home maintenance field and because of the available professional service providers, you will always find the best way to clean your windows even if you live high up ‘in the clouds’.

Was this post helpful? Do you have any window screens cleaning tips and ideas that you can share in the comment below or on our social media channels? We’d love to hear them!

What’s the best way to clean outside windows? Cleaning tips for hard-to-reach areas

Cleaning upstairs windows can be tricky! Here’s some advice on how to clean outside windows.

Updated 8 April 2020

By Cleanipedia Team

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Over time, dirt builds up on a window, and it begins to filter the sunlight coming into your home. Having sparkling clean windows and sun-filled rooms can make a real difference to your mood, but cleaning upstairs windows can be daunting. Here’s how to clean hard-to-reach windows.

Keep a lint-free cloth with you to wipe the wet windows once you’ve cleaned them to avoid getting water streaks on your windows.

How concerned are you about disinfecting while cleaning?

How to clean outside windows from outside

Remember that your safety is the most important thing. If a window is only accessible by ladder, it’s best to call in a professional. Never climb onto a windowsill when cleaning upstairs windows – there are better and safer ways to access and clean them.

Cleaning upstairs windows from a sturdy, well-fenced balcony is fine, although you should still be cautious.

One option is using a telescopic squeegee. Some squeegee handles are designed to extend to several metres, allowing you to clean upper windows from ground level. Of course, this will only be appropriate for some homes. You’ll need to stand at a point where you can look up at the window and reach it comfortably, but that’s no use if it puts you in the middle of the road!

How to clean Velux windows from inside

If you have slanted roof windows, they’re probably Velux. Fortunately, these are designed with how to clean outside windows in mind! The entire window can rotate until the outside is on the inside, so cleaning Velux windows is a simple matter; there’s no need to go climbing around on the rooftops.

Open the window by pulling down on the horizontal bar at the top. As you continue to draw the bar down, the window will rotate almost fully, until the outside is on the inside and the horizontal bar is at the bottom.

The ‘top’ of the window, now at the bottom, should have a horizontal bolt on one side. Once you’ve rotated the window as far as it can go, slide this bolt into the corresponding hole in the window frame. This will lock the window in place with the outside pane facing you, and you can now clean the window normally.

Safety Warning

Never put more than your arm out of an upstairs window. If you’re not sure how to clean outside windows safely, call in a professional.

How to clean outside windows from inside using equipment

Bringing the outside to you may be the best way to clean outside windows, but unfortunately it’s not always possible. What do you do if a window can’t rotate?

If you’re prepared to invest in specialist equipment, magnetic window cleaners are essentially two-part squeegees that clean both sides of a window simultaneously. As you move one half across the inside of the window, it magnetically draws the other half across the outside.

There are a few things to bear in mind if you’re using a magnetic window cleaner:

• Get the right cleaner for your window. If a magnetic window cleaner is designed for double glazing, the magnets may break a single pane of glass.
• Spray cleaning solution on both sides of the window, not just the outside, so you can pull the cleaner across smoothly.
• If you can’t apply cleaning solution to the entire window, just spray plenty on the part you can reach and then draw it across the window with the magnetic cleaner itself. Never lean out of the window when cleaning upstairs windows.

With these tips, you’ll be set for cleaning Velux windows, and you should have some ideas for how to clean outside windows of other types as well. Good luck!

Key steps

Here are the main things to remember when cleaning upstairs windows:

• When cleaning Velux windows, rotate the window and lock it into place to access the outside.
• Tools exist to help: telescopic squeegees can clean upper windows from ground level, and magnetic window cleaners can clean the outside of a window while you clean the inside.
• Always take care to prevent a fall.

Here’s how to clean out your bloated hard drive in Windows 10

Is your hard drive feeling a little crowded lately? Having more free space on your hard disk can improve speed. By getting rid of files and moving data to other devices, you can quickly clean your hard drive in Windows 10. Here are the easiest ways to free up PC space quickly.

Empty the recycle bin

Ah, the beloved old recycle bin. It’s nice to know that some things about Windows haven’t changed in a long time. Windows 10 still uses the recycle bin to hide all the files you want to throw away, and emptying it can prove useful in freeing up extra space.

You can right-click on the Recycle Bin icon for the option to empty it directly. If you can’t find the icon, then head to the Start menu, and go to Settings > System > Storage. You will be able to select local storage under This PC — look for and click Temporary Files. Doing so will bring up any locations for temporary files, including Recycle Bin. Tick the box next to Recycle Bin, select the Remove Files option at the top of the screen, and confirm your decision. That’s all it takes!

It should be noted that emptying your recycle bin will only help clean your Windows 10 hard disk if there’s a lot of stuff in that bin. When you first download Windows 10 — and long afterward, depending on your desktop habits — emptying it may not affect your hard drive much at all. If you aren’t sure, take a peek inside your bin and see how full it is first. A few GBs worth of data can still make a difference.

How to delete temporary files and downloads

Remember how emptying the recycle bin took you through the temporary files section? If you want to broaden your hard drive cleaning activities, then you can delete all temporary files.

What exactly are you getting rid of here? Well, Windows temp files manage document editing, some application processes, various printing tasks, and so on.

These files are usually automatically deleted, but sometimes they hang on. Please get rid of them all by ticking the box next to each file type, then clicking on the Remove Files option at the top of the screen.

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Another time files are automatically created occurs when you download anything from the internet. These files pop up in your downloads and tend to stick around — which means they can quickly stack up if you are downloading a lot of content to your Windows 10 desktop.

Go to your Downloads folder via File Explorer > This PC > Downloads and delete any files that you no longer need by highlighting them in groups or individually. This method is a great way to clear out space manually without accidentally deleting something you’ll need later.

How to uninstall apps

Too many apps can lead to an eventual slowdown or lack of space for other content, especially on smaller, lighter Windows devices (looking at you, Surface tablets). Some apps can take up a lot of space — the trick is finding which hog the most room on your hard drive and which you can live without.

From the Start menu, go to Settings, select Apps, and then select Apps & Features. Here, you can see all the apps downloaded. Windows 10 allows you to arrange them by various statistics — if you have a long list, organize them by the amount of hard drive space they are taking up.

See which apps are hogging the most data, and delete those that you don’t use. Double-check that the app doesn’t have anything too valuable, then select it and choose Uninstall.

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How to change how you use OneDrive

OneDrive is a cloud service for Windows, so you would think that all the cloud data it uses would help free hard drive space, not take it up. This is true, except for one particular OneDrive feature — the ability to save files offline, which you may not even know that you are using.

Sometimes this is handy. If you are dealing with sensitive files or big projects with some sharp deadlines, it’s a good idea to have a backup. But if you are using OneDrive and automatically saving offline for every file and doc at work, school, or home, you probably waste hard drive space.

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The OneDrive icon should be waiting on the right side of your taskbar (it may be lurking under the Show Hidden Icons arrow). Click on the Cloud icon, choose Settings (the three dots in the upper-right corner), and then select the Preferences option. Doing so will take you to all the file types that OneDrive is saving offline and how much space each takes up.

Unselect all the OneDrive folders that you don’t need. Remember, you can still access all these files online at OneDrive.com, so you aren’t losing anything.

Use your Xbox One

Microsoft platforms are growing increasingly interconnected, and the convergence is very apparent in Windows 10, which connects more freely to other Microsoft devices like the Xbox One game console. If you have an Xbox One, you can use it to help save some space by swapping out select apps and data. You can stream content from the Xbox to your Windows 10 PC with just a few steps.

This service allows you to store data on the game console and free up your PC if you have content you only use at home. Just remember to delete the data from your PC after you transfer it to the Xbox.

Use an external drive

From USB drives to full external hard drives, one of the simplest ways to clean up your hard drive on Windows 10 is to move extra data outside your computer.

First, hook up a hard drive and make sure that it is properly formatted and ready for uploads. Dragging and dropping a file into the new drive using File Explorer will create a copy of the file, allowing you to erase the original.

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However, it is also possible for you to move large chunks of files at one time. Go to the taskbar and open your File, Explorer . From there, select all the files you want to transfer outside your PC hard drive. Once you have them all highlighted, go to the Home menu at the top of the screen. Select Move To , then select Choose Location . Find your external drive on the list and select it. All of your files will drop into that destination. This is a full transfer, so you don’t even have to erase anything from your computer afterward.

Use a cloud storage service

Purchasing an external hard drive or USB device isn’t your only option for offloading and saving your files. Instead, you can copy your files to free or paid cloud storage services . You can then delete the copy on your PC, which will free up more space on your computer.

Cloud storage is a safe and easy way to store your files. Some of the advantages include the ability to copy your operating system and files to transfer and restore them on a new device if you need to.

Rather than relying on physical storage like USBs and external hard drives, you can use a cloud-based service to “carry” documents with you and access them anywhere you need to. All you need is a login email or username and password to access your files.

Many smartphones will automatically save certain files, such as photos, to the cloud. The cloud is an ideal backup system because you can save your files even if your phone crashes. You’re also able to access any files in the cloud from different devices.

PC users can either drag-and-drop data to cloud storage or upload the files with little difficulty. Be aware of how much cloud storage space you have so you’ll know you have room for all of your files.

Widely-used examples of cloud-based services include iDrive (our favorite), plus Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and iCloud. Companies are constantly developing cloud options, so you’ll be able to find the perfect fit for your storage needs.

Read reviews and consider how big of a name your cloud service has so you can be sure it’s trustworthy and secure. That way, you can practically guarantee your files aren’t going anywhere — ever.