Dry It Straight Away

How to clean a window so the glass comes out clear instead of streaky.

A clean window with clear glass and an empty sill in soft daylight, with a squeegee resting on the sill. — A clear window with nothing streaked.

A window is a small job with a clear finish. You can see when it's done.

The trick is the order. Clear the sill first, and finish the glass with a dry pass.

Clear the sill first

A windowsill with a small plant pot, a candle and a photo frame moved off to a table beside it, leaving the sill empty. — Everything off the sill first.

Clear everything off the windowsill.

The sill collects more than anywhere else at that height. If it's still full, you'll be reaching around things and dust will land on the glass you just did.

Let some air in

A window open a little, with a curtain lifted gently by the breeze. — A few minutes of fresh air.

Open the window for a few minutes, then close it again.

Fresh air moves stale air out of the room. Ten minutes with the door shut does more than an hour with it open.

Wipe the sill

A bare, clean windowsill up close, with a small bucket of clean water on the floor below it. — The sill, done before the glass.

Wipe the sill with a damp cloth.

Do the sill before the glass. Anything you push off it will land on the floor, not on clean glass.

Damp, then dry

A window pane with clear, streak-free glass, with a single spray bottle (no label) standing on the sill. — Damp, then dry, and no streaks.

Clean the glass inside with a damp cloth, then go over it right away with a dry one.

Glass streaks when the water dries on its own. The dry pass takes the water off before it can.

Finish with the frame and the runner

The bottom track of a window frame, clean, with the sliding window pane beside it. — The runner is the groove the window slides in.

Wipe the frame and the runner.

The runner is the groove the window slides in. Grit collects there, and it's what makes a window stick.

Short on energy?

Just clear the sill. That's enough for today.

The larger lesson

Windows don't look dirty because of one big thing. They look dirty because of small things left in the wrong order. Sill, glass, then frame, and each step keeps the last one clean.

A whole window in soft daylight with a clean, empty sill and one small plant put back, and a stable step stool folded against the wall. — Clear glass, clean sill.

Clear the sill, then let the glass shine.

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