Seasons of Growth

I was re-reading Rainbow Valley sometime after the birth of the baby and got to the part where the minister's daughters stayed home to clean on a Sunday. They didn't know how to clean the windows and after they were through the windows were still embarrassingly streaky. This got me thinking. People used to clean without Windex and Comet (my 2 favorite cleaning solutions) and things were sparkly. Granted, as one friend pointed out, they used dangerous things like lye, but it got me on my research binge.

I looked up on the Internet on how to clean windows to make them sparkle and came up with the following tips.

• Wash one side of a window with horizontal strokes and the other with vertical so you can tell where the streaks are coming from
• Use a squeegee to prevent streaks on the larger windows
• Eliminate tiny scratches on the glass by polishing with toothpaste
• Wash windows on a cloudy day so the sun won't dry the water and streak the windows.Use a soft toothbrush or cotton swab to clean corners
• To shine the windows use a cloth or clean blackboard eraser
• Polish windows with crumpled newspaper.
• Window cleaners will harm the woodwork so wash from top to bottom to catch the drips

Homemade Glass Cleaner:

2 tablespoons of ammonia, 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 teaspoon of dish washing detergent. Add all ingredients in a small spray bottle and shake well. You can substitute 3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice for the ammonia.

How I Really Clean the Windows from the Inside:

I spray the cleaner on the window and use a microfiber cloth to get the dirt off. Then I use dry crumbled newspaper to polish out the streaks. I make sure that the woodwork is dry and then I'm done. I would use all the tips, but I have fairly new windows. This makes them easier to clean and I don't have scratches in them.

I have to admit that this is the first time we've cleaned our windows. We are motivated by the fact that this is our first house and we are trying to keep up with it. Now I must go and disinfect the rest of the house because of the snot that keeps hanging around. It's a futile fight, but I'm giving it my best effort.