Dish soap , water and a squegee for windows

S

Spice&Wood83

New member
I`m nervous to make this post...
But for years I`ve been using dawn dish soap, water and a squegee on my house windows.
Worked great. Streak free shine.
Faster and cheaper then window cleaner with a better result.

Been doing it for years on our cars....

............................

How much of a cardinal sin is this.
Pretty much just on my `98 Accord ( 380k+ miles ) and our previous Toyota 4 runner and prev. Avalon.
 
No sin... keep doing it. Don`t get suckered into buying this and that for various surfaces. The key is to clean, how you clean is secondary
 
While Dawn doesn`t work as well for me as my Glass Cleaners, if [whatever] works for somebody else that`s all that counts in my book.

I *think* the whole Hatred of Dawn thing has died off here at Autopia, or at least I hope so.
 
I have never thought to use Dawn on glass, but I`m glad that you have and it works for you !

I use a squeegee on all outside windows and on the glass in the shower.. Nothing works better for me than that tool.. I have several different sized ones for windows.. Sure speeds up the process on house windows for sure..

Believe a -Few- Detailing Websites -Years- back, a lot of people got annoyed or something that Sal Zaino recommended using Dawn to wash down vehicles before applying Zaino Z-2 and/or Z-5, no ???

So, who came to the - Rescue- ??? A few Marketers selling new, improved, Car Wash products.. :) :) :)

Dan F
 
Heh heh...yeah...my biggest gripe about washing cars with Dawn (other than the mediocre lubricity) is that it doesn`t clean `em up all that well. Sure never stripped a healthy LSP for me.

Stokdgs- Yep, squeegees and razor blades. That`s how Pros do it, and for good reason.
 
Are not windshield wiper blades a form of a squeegee?? Speaking of wiper blades, I use an APC or rubbing alcohol (IPA) to remove the dead rubber on a blade and them treat with Aerospace 303 Protectant, usually wiped with a blue-shop paper toweling to prolong the life of them and keep them supple and working properly. I like the blue shop toweling because it gets REALLY black from wiping/cleaning off the old rubber and then I can just discard it. I also use this blue toweling when applying 303 to door seals, although old cotton rags (T-shirts or flour sack cloths) work better (no lint and more durable).

Any idea where to find the right type of squeegee for cleaning house windows? Pros get them somewhere.
 
I`ve never used 303/etc. on mine as I don`t want that stuff washing off the blades and getting on my glass. I also worry it might cause streaking even though it apparently does *not* do that for others. Eh, mine last for years so I doubt I`m missing anything.

I usually just wipe the blades with my Glass Cleaner. Perhaps because I`m doing them almost every time a vehicle`s used, that seems to keep things OK.

Lonnie said:
Any idea where to find the right type of squeegee for cleaning house windows? Pros get them somewhere.
Click to expand...

I`ve been using the same Unger Pro-grade stuff since the `80s with no complaints, although I`ve had to replace a few of the fittings for the extension poles. My set came with a batch of different size squeegees and I augmented it with some of their other offerings (longer poles, double-headed squeegee/scrubber units, etc.). IIRC it was kinda pricey, but worth it IMO.

There are other brands of (at least) similar quality that`ll probably show up if you do the dreaded SEARCH of the internet. Just be sure you can get replacement rubber strips as they do eventually wear out. FWIW, the set sold by Lee Valley doesn`t impress me as being as good as the Unger, just in case you run across that one.

I`d sure get a decent razorblade holder too. Mine`s not all that great compared to the ones sold buy Garrett Wade and others. A good razorblade holder/scraper is one of the secrets to making it go quick and easy.
 
I use to do the same only with stoner invisible glass. Then i got a new car that had windows that were all very unfriendly to squeegees, Deep pillars that have an angle and oddly shaped glass think having a rectangle of pure glass on a oval shape.

My old car the squeegee worked great, aside from the annoying drip.

What i do now is dry rub the windshield with a windshield tool (little triangle with a cloth on a stick) if i do spray product on it its light.

Usually i can get those fogging streaks off with a dry cloth, so in hindsight i regret the mess i dealt with using the squeegee.
 
Lonnie said:
Are not windshield wiper blades a form of a squeegee?? Speaking of wiper blades, I use an APC or rubbing alcohol (IPA) to remove the dead rubber on a blade and them treat with Aerospace 303 Protectant, usually wiped with a blue-shop paper toweling to prolong the life of them and keep them supple and working properly. I like the blue shop toweling because it gets REALLY black from wiping/cleaning off the old rubber and then I can just discard it. I also use this blue toweling when applying 303 to door seals, although old cotton rags (T-shirts or flour sack cloths) work better (no lint and more durable).

Any idea where to find the right type of squeegee for cleaning house windows? Pros get them somewhere.
Click to expand...


Lonnie,
Hope you guys are all good up there !

I have been using these squeegees for over 15 years and they are perfect for house windows.. They come in a lot of sizes. I even have one in the shower..

Heck, I put them on really long Ettore poles and did all my upstairs windows from the ground.. No dumbo ladders, just stand there, use the Ettore washer pad on 1 pole, their correctly sized squeegee on another pole, did all 34 windows really nice, never had to move a big dang ladder around..

They make the rubber refills for these brass or aluminum squeegees also.. I also use their window cleaning soap concentrate and it really leaves those windows clean, shiny, and streak free.. This same glass cleaning soap is great for cleaning all the screens; just wet them, carefully scrub them both sides, rinse, let dry, they come out beautiful every time..

At my little Mother`s house, before she passed away, her windows were NEVER done in decades, so I ordered some Ettore`s window cleaning polish, did that first really well, then the soap, then the squeegee, and they turned out so clear, it was like they were not there..

I never use the double headed tools, because if you put too much of an angle on it it might scratch your glass; I just dont want to take that chance.. Perhaps on single level windows it might be less apt to do this???

Here is the link -- https://www.amazon.com/Ettore-11112...ds=ettore+squeegee&qid=1559281110&s=gateway&s

Dan F
 
Lonnie said:
Any idea where to find the right type of squeegee for cleaning house windows? Pros get them somewhere.
Click to expand...

Get a wagtail. It`s amazing. I got mine from "window cleaning resource" a few years ago by recommendation of a pro.
Ettore work fine.
 
Stokdgs- Ah, yeah, that`s the other one...Ettore! I couldn`t remember the name, just "Italian version of the Unger". Those two are probably what 90-some% of the Pros use.

IIRC Ettore makes/made the orig. version of the rectangular Wash Bucket sold by Griot`s and others too.
 
https://www.autopia-carcare.com/stoner-invisible-glass-reach-and-clean-tool.html

This.

Lightly coat with product, you dont want it to leave wet trails to dry. The real trick is to keep the product on so light that it pick up stuff but isnt left behind.

Now if your inside window is a hot mess youll want to do other stuff, but i use this thing about once a week, takes about 30 seconds to hit my front window. Nothing drives me more nuts than seeing streaks or haze out my window.

You get a finishing pad thats really good dry after you clean, picks up any stray streak marks.

The only way ive ever gotten a spotless inside window with lots of product was with a squeegee, but there was alway a line or two missed, or some edges that didnt get hit, especially where the glass meets the dash.

Guess it depends on how OCD you are and how much time you want to invest.

I like the lazy man tool linked here though, no need to over think it...other than keeping product on the pad so light it wont stay behind, once you get the hang of it its easy though.
 
What has always worked for me on that last little bit of water -- put a smaller, long, thick if possible, cotton towel (that is not washed and dried with synthetics like washer/dryer, sheets, etc..) draped over the squeegee, and go over the glass from the top, and then watch for the outside window channel water, etc., and get the glass perfectly dry, streak free, etc...
Then, move on to the next one..
Dan F
 
bodidly22 said:
wish I could squeegee the inside of the windscreen!!! Ohhh now that`s a dream I do not want to wake from
Click to expand...

Try Sonax Glass Cleaner with a window cleaner tool with a bonnet and thank me later LOL. The Sonax Glass Cleaner is awesome on the inside of the windows. It clings and also if the mf glass towel is not saturated with dirt so it picks it up. It will evaporate streak free and if something is left a new mf towel picks up the last dirt streaking.

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/sonax-glass-cleaner.html#.XPJz96Wew1I

Wondering if something like the Sonax Flexi Blade would work good on glass that are beveled? It`s much more rubber to form after the shape of the glass as a windshield. Even if it`s for paint that I would not use it on it could work great on glass.

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/sonax-flexie-blade.html#.XPJ0C6Wew1I
 
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