Window cleaning with scrub and steam

It's November, three o'clock, and the light is fading. You look out into the garden and realise that what you're actually looking at is a film on the inside of the glass — a grey haze of dust, cooking fumes and off-gassing from paint and plastic, settled evenly across the whole pane. You wiped it in spring. It streaked, and you gave up.

Interior window cleaning is one of those jobs where the difference between amateur and professional is immediately visible, and it isn't because we have a secret solution.

What we actually do

The sequence is the whole craft.

1. Scrub first. The glass is washed with soapy water and a wash mop, with a little pressure. The purpose is to loosen the dirt from the glass, not to move it around. Skip this and go straight to the squeegee, and you drag the dirt along with it and get streaks.
2. Steam on what's stuck. Paint splatter, tape and sticker residue, fly dirt and dust baked on around heat sources are loosened with steam instead of a scraper wherever possible.
3. Squeegee with a sharp rubber edge. The water is drawn off in overlapping strokes, and the edge of the rubber is wiped between each stroke. A worn rubber edge is the single most common cause of streaks, and ours is replaced long before it becomes one.
4. Dry finish at the edges. Where the squeegee can't reach, we dry with clean microfibre.
5. Frames and glazing bars are washed, not just wiped over. Drainage points and holes are cleared, so water can run out instead of standing in the frame.
6. Hinges, catches and handles, and the interior window trim.
7. Check against the light, from several angles. A window looks clean straight on and shows everything from the side.

Why it pays off

The obvious point first: daylight. In Vestfold in November there isn't much of it, and a grey haze on the inside of the pane takes a noticeable share of what there is. Clean windows are the cheapest way to make a room lighter.

The less obvious point is the frames. The drainage holes at the bottom of a window frame are there to let condensation out. When they clog with dust, moss and dead insects, the water stands — and standing water in a frame causes discolouration first, then moisture damage to the timber or the seal. It's a maintenance job disguised as a cleaning job.

For a sale or handover, windows are also one of the points always checked, and one of the few where it's impossible to talk your way around what has actually been done.

How often should you have it done?

Twice a year: one round in spring, one in autumn. If you live near a busy road or near the sea, a third round can be worth it — road dust and salt-laden air settle faster than you'd think.

How long does it take?

Around 3 hours for a typical home, depending on the number of windows and how many of them have glazing bars. Glazing bars double the time per pane.

Book an inspection for interior window cleaning — you'll receive a fixed price in writing within one business day.