Spring Cleaning: Windowsills & Tracks
Though you probably clean your window glass with some regularity, you may unintentionally neglect the windowsills and tracks. However, these areas need cleaning, too. After all, the last thing you want is for houseguests to walk over and peer out your crystal-clear windows only to look down and see tracks filled with silt or dusty windowsills.
How to Clean Windowsills
Like baseboards, windowsills attract their fair share of dust. Additionally, if you’re lucky enough to live in a climate that allows you to open your windows often, your sills maybe covered with gummy smudges and fingerprints.
You’ll need:
- Spray bottle
- Dishwashing liquid
- microfiber cloths
Fortunately, cleaning windowsills isn’t difficult, and it’s not a very time-consuming task either. Therefore, it should be fairly easy to work this chore into your regular cleaning schedule.
- First, wipe the windowsills with a dry microfiber cloth to remove any dust. If you still have residue left, you can move on to the following steps.
- In a spray bottle, mix a few drops of dishwashing liquid with warm water.
- Spritz a microfiber cloth with your solution until it’s dampened.Note: It’s especially important to apply your cleaner to the cloth — and not the windowsills themselves — if you have wooden window frames. Oversaturating wood can damage the finish or paint. Worse yet, too much liquid could cause the wood to warp.
- Gently wipe the windowsill and the frame. For heavier smudges, apply a little bit of pressure with your fingertips.
- Wipe your windowsills down with a dry microfiber cloth.
- Now that the windowsills are clean, maintain by dusting weekly or every two weeks as part of your routine house cleaning.
How to Clean Window Tracks
Even if you never open your windows, dirt, dust and dead insects will find a way into your window tracks. Because of this, you should make cleaning the tracks a part of your housekeeping agenda during your fall or spring cleaning.
If the dirt or dust in your window tracks is loose, you can use a vacuum cleaner attachment or a small crevice tool to clean it out. For packed on grit, however, you’ll need to put a little more elbow grease into the process.
You’ll need:
- Vacuum with crevice tool
- Plastic putty knife
- Disposable wipes
- Microfiber cloth
Follow these steps to clean window tracks when the dirt is really caked on.
- Prepare the area by using a vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool attachment to clear out any loose soil, dust bunnies or expired insects.
- Use a disposable wipe to remove soil build up from the center of the track.
- Wrap a disposable wipe around a plastic putty knife and angle knife to clean the crevices and corners.
- Wipe the track dry with a clean microfiber cloth.
- Repeat as necessary until all of the dirt is removed.
Make sure your sparkling windowpanes aren’t dulled by dirty surroundings; dedicate a few minutes each week to cleaning windowsills and tracks. The overall effect will be worth it in the long run.
