How do I clean my window tracks?

For many people, saving money is a big deal. So for those of you who would like to be able to clean your window tracks like a professional, this is written just for you.

To be able to clean your window tracks, you don’t need to be able to identify the various different kinds that there are. If you are looking at your window tracks and see that there really is not much space to work with, have no fear…there are several different tools you can use to be able to get in there and make them look good as new.

I must mention first though, that depending on how old your windows are and how long it has been since they were cleaned will determine how good the final result will be. For instance, if your windows are 20 years old and the frames and tracks are aluminum, the corrosion will play a big role in what the end result looks like. Sometimes the dirt just gets in that corroded area, and unless you use sand paper and sand that corrosion down, it will look somewhat dirty still. So, in this case looking as good as new may not apply, but they will be clean and look much better than if they were not.

Tools you will need:

Minivac or a vacuum cleaner that has a hose for attaching different tips

Old tooth brush (or toothbrush shaped wire brush)

Old butter knife (or a thin putty knife, toothbrush shaped wire brush)

Clean rags, thin material

Dawn dish soap and a pinch of Tide laundry detergent

1 old bath towel

1 empty spray bottle

                The above named tools and things you will need are things that will get the job done, and even most professionals will use the same things.

How to do it:

Okay, first take out your vacuum cleaner and set beside the window that you will be cleaning. Next, grab a small bucket and fill it with about 2 gallons of water. Next, squirt just for about one second the dish soap into the bucket, then add a pinch of Tide and gently stir with your hand just so the Tide will disappear. Bring that bucket and your rags and butter knife over to your window.

Take your bath towel, and lay it on the floor out of your way. This is where you will set your window.

Now, ideally you will want to remove the movable part of the window out of the frame. On most windows you can do this by first looking at the inside of the top track. There should be a plastic tab that prevents the window from coming out. All you need to do is open the window passed that tab, towards the wall, and lift the window up and out.  Now, take the window you just pulled out, and set it on the towel leaning against a wall.

Plug in your vacuum cleaner, turn it on, and while you are vacuuming the tracks, take your toothbrush or wire brush and brush the tracks to dislodge the caked in dirt. After you are done with that, take your spray bottle and fill it up with your solution, and spray the tracks down. Take your butter knife and a rag, wrap the knife once with the rag, and use the butter knife to clean the tracks. This should be able to get those hard to reach areas. Repeat until it is clean, then use a dry rag in the same way to remove the water and the solution.

Before you put the window back in the frame, flip that window upside down and use the same solution on one of your dirty rags and clean the part of the window that will be in that part of the track. If you don’t do that, as soon as you put that window back you will have dirt back in the track.

Make sure the window frame is nice and clean and dry. Put the window back the same way you took it out, and BINGO, you now know how to clean your window tracks.

How this will save you money:

Even though this was written by a professional window cleaner, even the professional window cleaner likes tips on how to save money…we all do.

This will save you money because you won’t have to hire a professional to do it for you. That can be costly for some, as track cleaning can cost 5 dollars per track and with a home that has 30 windows or more, that’s a nice chunk of change.

If a window cleaning service is what you would like or already have, and your service provider does not do your tracks, it will save you money in the long run if you have them do it for you, and if it is maintained it will not cost so much as only doing them once a year. For instance, if they charge you an extra 100 dollars for the first time, the next cleaning (if it is a regular cleaning) will not cost that much because all that would be needed on the next cleaning is nothing compared to something done once a year or even longer. So that 100 dollar price tag could go down as much as 80 dollars (meaning your window cleaning cost with tracks included could only be 20 dollars more).

If you are in the San Diego area, and would like a window cleaning service at your home or business, please give us a call (619)634-9580, or even if you just have questions regarding this article on how to do it yourself…I would be happy to walk you through it.