Clean windows reveal all you’ve been missing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sparkling windows are synonymous with spring cleaning. But before you spend hours (or pay a pro hundreds of dollars) getting them washed, be sure to scratch any dirt-raising chores off your to-do list.

Jobs such as painting the house, sealing the deck, resodding the lawn, laying mulch, refinishing the fence and power-washing siding should be completed before investing time or money on those panes of glass.

Also hold off washing windows if you’re going to replace your flooring. And clean your blinds and draperies before washing windows.

“That’s one of the most common mistakes people make,” says Kerry Rigdon, owner of Rigdon Inc., a residential window washing service in Lenexa, Kan. “Then the windows get dirty again.” To wash your own windows, be sure to have the right equipment.

•For starters, that means having a 10-inch squeegee ($10 to $15), a bucket, mild dishwashing soap, a sponge for cleaning screens and paper towels. If you live in a home with two stories or more, you also need a ladder or an extension pole.

•If someone in the home smokes, use about 4 ounces of white vinegar per gallon of water to get the windows truly clean. If there is mold around window bases, mix a solution of equal parts bleach and water and spray it on the affected area, says Bill Noon, owner of Noonshine Window Cleaning Service in Lenexa.

•Take care if you need to scrape paint off a window. You can delicately use a razor blade. But if you have tempered windows, the blade can scratch the glass.

•Also be careful when you remove storm windows. They can fall out of their tracks, break and cut you. If you bend a storm window or screen, don’t sweat it. They can be fixed at hardware stores for about $30 per storm window and $18 per screen. Remember to wipe out sills. Dirt, leaves and dead bugs can clog ventilation, trap moisture and cause wood rot in the frame.

The good news is that you can get by washing your windows yearly. The bad news is that it’s a tedious, time-consuming task. That’s why Maggie Pfeiffer has it done professionally.

“We used to do it ourselves when the kids were little, when we didn’t have the money,” Pfeiffer said. “Now it’s one of those luxuries. No more fighting streaks.” Pfeiffer has her windows cleaned in the spring, typically before Easter, and one or two times more a year. “They stay great looking on the inside,” she said. “But then the outside gets dirty in three or four months.”

A crew of about six employees shows up at her home. The crew carefully moves furniture inside. The whole job takes an hour or two.

The average price to clean 20 double-hung windows inside and out, plus their storm windows, screens and sills, is about $300 in the Kansas City area. To save time and money, another option is the “half and half plan,” which Noon and Rigdon say is quite common.

It means customers clean the main-level windows themselves but hire a pro to wash the rest on the second story.

Before You Hire A Pro …

•Count your windows and categorize them (double-hung, casement or tilt-in; with or without screens and storm windows). That way you can get an accurate, free estimate over the phone.

•Ask for a copy of the company’s certificate of liability insurance. If a business doesn’t have valid coverage, even if you have homeowners” insurance, you could be in trouble if a neighbor or passer-by were injured by the business’s equipment.

•Ask how they treat the interior of your home. How do they move furniture? Do they take off their shoes so floors don’t get dirty.