Table of Contents
The short answer
The best window cleaning solution is a plain one: a bucket of clean water with a few drops of washing-up liquid. Professional window cleaners use little else on ordinary glass. What gives the streak-free finish is how the water goes on and, above all, how it comes off. A soft applicator wets the glass and loosens the dirt. A squeegee with a sharp rubber takes the water away in one pass. A dry, lint-free cloth finishes the edges.
Streaks are residue. Something was left on the glass when the water dried: soap, dissolved dirt, minerals from the water, or lint. Every part of the method below exists to leave nothing behind. On tinted film, on coated glass and on anything you are unsure about, the rule tightens: a soft cloth, mild soapy water, no blade, no abrasive pad and no ammonia.
This guide covers the solution, the tools, the method step by step and the cautions for treated glass. If you would rather have it done, IHR Dream Cleaning's window cleaning service is booked by the hour, and two hours by one cleaner is AED 65 with your own products or AED 75 with ours.
Why windows streak
Knowing the cause tells you which fix to use. These are the common ones, and most streaky windows have two or three of them at once.
| Cause | What you see | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Too much soap or spray | A smeary film that shows in low sun | Use less: a few drops in a bucket |
| Hot glass or direct sun | Dried runs and arcs where the blade or cloth passed | Work in shade, a section at a time |
| Dirty water or cloths | Grey haze, worst at the bottom of the pane | Change them before they look dirty |
| Dust not removed first | Muddy lines along the edges and the sill | Vacuum and wipe tracks and frames first |
| Worn or nicked rubber | A thin line of water in the same place on every stroke | Turn the rubber round or replace it |
| Minerals in the water | White spots where drops dried | Take every drop off; never air-dry |
| Softener or lint in the cloth | Fine smears and fibres | Wash cloths without softener |
Heat is the local problem
In Abu Dhabi the glass itself is often the difficulty. A sunlit pane is hot enough to dry a film of water in seconds, and whatever was dissolved in that water stays where it dried. Clean each side of the home when it is in shade: east-facing glass in the afternoon, west-facing glass in the morning.
Indoors the AC helps, but a pane with the sun on it is still warm. Wet and squeegee one section at a time, and never wet a whole wall of glass before you start taking the water off. We avoid cleaning glass in direct midday sun where possible, for exactly this reason.
The solution: what goes in the bucket
A cleaning solution for glass has two jobs. It has to loosen grease and dirt, and it has to let the squeegee glide. Washing-up liquid does both. Add a few drops to a bucket of clean, cool or lukewarm water. If the water foams when you stir it, there is too much, and soap that is not taken off is itself a streak.
Other liquids have their uses, and each has surfaces it should stay away from.
| Solution | Good for | Keep it away from |
|---|---|---|
| Water with a few drops of washing-up liquid | Almost all glass, inside and out | Nothing, if used sparingly |
| Ammonia-free spray glass cleaner | Small panes, mirrors, touch-ups | Hot glass; heavy use builds a film |
| Diluted white vinegar | Light mineral film on plain glass | Marble and other natural stone; coated glass unless its maker allows it |
| Ammonia-based glass cleaner | Plain, untreated glass only | Tinted film, coated faces, mirror edges |
| Purified water | A final rinse; pole-fed outside work | Nothing |
What does not belong in the bucket
The mistakes here are nearly all additions. Each of these makes the result worse or the job less safe.
- More soap. It does not clean better, and it leaves a film.
- Powder or cream cleaners. They are abrasive and scratch glass and coatings.
- Bleach. It does nothing useful on glass and it harms seals, frames and nearby fabrics.
- A mixture of products. Never mix bleach with ammonia, or with acids such as vinegar or a descaler. The fumes are dangerous.
- Furniture polish, or cloths that have had polish or fabric softener on them. Wax and silicone smear, and they are slow to remove.
Pure-water systems
The other 'window cleaning system' you may come across is the water-fed pole. Tap water is passed through filters that strip out its dissolved minerals, pumped up a long pole and out through a soft brush. The operator scrubs and rinses the glass from the ground and leaves it wet. Because nothing is dissolved in the water, it dries without spots.
It is a method for outside glass, it needs the filtration equipment behind it, and it is not used indoors, where the run-off has nowhere to go. At home the principle is worth borrowing in one small way. If your tap water spots badly, use distilled water for the final wipe of a mirror or a glass table.
The tools professionals carry
None of these is expensive, and no label is worth chasing. Condition matters more than make.
| Tool | What it does | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Squeegee | Removes the water, and the dirt in it, in one pass | A straight channel and a soft rubber with a sharp, undamaged edge |
| Applicator: a sleeve on a T-bar | Wets the glass and scrubs it gently | A washable microfibre sleeve |
| Bucket | Holds the solution | Wide enough for the applicator to go in flat |
| Microfibre cloths | Dry the edges and wipe the frames | Low pile, lint-free, and plenty of them |
| Vacuum with a brush head | Lifts sand from tracks and sills | A narrow nozzle for the track |
| Soft brush | Loosens dust in corners, hinges and screens | Bristles that will not scratch a frame |
| Plastic scraper | Lifts stickers and softened specks | Used wet, on plain glass only |
| Extension pole | Takes the tools to high panes from the floor | A joint that locks and does not twist |
| Step ladder | Reaches the top of a tall pane | Firm, level footing |
Why the rubber matters most
The working part of a squeegee is the last fraction of a millimetre of the rubber's edge. A nick the size of a grain of sand leaves a line of water on every stroke. Professionals check the edge by eye before they start, turn the rubber round when one edge is worn, and replace it without hesitation. They do not stand a squeegee on its blade, and they keep it out of the sun between jobs, because heat hardens rubber.
Tools for outside glass
Outside window cleaning tools are the same ones with reach added. An extension pole takes the applicator and the squeegee to the top of a tall ground-floor pane, although controlling a squeegee on a pole takes practice. A hose is useful for wetting and rinsing very dusty glass, provided the water is squeegeed off afterwards and not left to dry. A pressure washer is not a window tool, because the jet can force water past the seals.
What no tool does is make height safe. What can be reached from the ground, a balcony or a step ladder, and what needs a specialist, is covered in what a cleaning team can safely reach.
The method, step by step
This is the order for one window, from inside. It follows the way our own visits are organised: dry dust first, frames and tracks next, glass last, and a check against the light at the end.
- Clear the way. Move furniture and plants back, take ornaments off the sill, and lay an old towel along the bottom of the frame to catch drips.
- Deal with blinds and curtains. Draw them clear or raise them, and dust slatted blinds before the glass, because dust knocked off afterwards lands on a wet pane.
- Vacuum the track and the sill while everything is dry. Sand plus water is paste.
- Wipe the frame, the handles and the seals with a damp cloth. If the edges are dirty, the squeegee drags that dirt onto the glass.
- Wet the glass with the applicator, working right into the corners, and scrub lightly. The glass should be evenly wet, not running.
- Dry a narrow strip along the top edge with a cloth. This gives the squeegee a dry place to start, so water does not run down from above it.
- Pull the squeegee down in straight, overlapping strokes, or across the pane in one continuous snaking motion if you have the knack. Keep the blade at a shallow angle and the pressure light and even.
- Wipe the rubber with a damp cloth after every stroke. A wet blade starts the next stroke with a line.
- Run a dry cloth round the edges and along the bottom, where the squeegee leaves a bead of water.
- Step back and look at the glass from an angle, against the light, and from the other side. Touch up a mark with a dry corner of the cloth, not with more spray.
- Wipe the sill and take up the towel.
Small panes, mirrors and glass tables
A squeegee needs room. For small panes, mirrors, glass shelves and table tops, two cloths work better. Mist a little cleaner onto a folded microfibre cloth, not onto the glass. Wipe in overlapping passes and follow at once with a second, dry cloth.
Spraying the cloth keeps liquid off the frame. On a mirror it also keeps liquid away from the edges, where moisture creeping behind the glass causes the black spotting you see on old mirrors.
Outside faces and balcony glass
The outside carries far more dust, so it gets an extra step. Wet it, let the water sit for a minute, and wash it twice if the first pass comes off grey. Change the water before it looks dirty. Never drag a dry cloth across dusty outside glass, because the grit scratches.
On the coast there is salt as well. It behaves differently from dust and returns within weeks, and the reasons and the rhythm are in why sea-facing glass gets dirty so fast. The balcony floor, the door track and the drain are a separate job, described in how to clean an apartment balcony.
Tinted film, coated glass and low-emissivity glass: what to avoid
Much of the glass in Abu Dhabi homes is treated in some way to keep heat out. Some treatments are sealed inside the glazed unit, where nothing can touch them. Others sit on a face you clean. The second kind can be damaged in one careless pass, and the damage is permanent.
One rule covers every case where you do not know what the glass is: treat it as coated.
| Surface | Safe | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Plain clear glass | Soapy water, squeegee, microfibre | Abrasive powders and pads |
| Tinted or solar film | Mild soapy water, soft cloth, soft-rubber squeegee | Blades, abrasive pads, ammonia, picking at the edges |
| Exposed coated face | Mild soapy water and a soft cloth | Blades, abrasives, metal rubbing the glass |
| Frosted or etched glass | Very little soap, plenty of rinsing | Oily or waxy products |
| Mirrors | Cleaner on the cloth, not on the glass | Flooding the edges; ammonia |
| Acrylic or polycarbonate panels | Soapy water and a soft cloth | Blades, solvents, dry wiping |
Tinted and solar film
Film is a thin plastic layer stuck to the glass, almost always on the room side. It has a scratch-resistant top coat, but it is still far softer than glass. A blade or a scraper cuts it. An abrasive pad or a gritty cloth dulls it. Film makers widely warn against ammonia-based cleaners, because over time they can attack the film and its adhesive.
Clean film with mild soapy water and a soft cloth or a soft-rubber squeegee. Wipe towards the edges, not against them, and do not pick at a corner that has started to lift. Newly fitted film needs time to cure, so follow the installer's advice on when it can first be cleaned. You can usually tell that a pane is filmed by looking at its very edge: the film stops a hair short of the frame or the seal.
Low-emissivity glass
Low-emissivity glass, often written low-e, has a microscopically thin coating that reflects heat. In most double glazing the coating is on one of the faces inside the sealed gap. Neither face you can touch is coated, and the window is cleaned like ordinary glass.
Some units also have a hard coating on the room-side face. That face is harder to keep clean. It can feel very slightly rough, and it shows grey lines where metal has rubbed it: a blade, a ring, or the metal channel of a squeegee. Makers of this glass tell owners not to use blades or abrasive cleaners on it. If you do not know which kind you have, ask the building's management or the installer, and until you know, treat the inside face as coated.
Reflective and solar-control glass
The mirror-like glass on many towers and some villas gets its look from a coating too, and depending on the product it may be on the outer face. On a tower that face is cleaned by the building's facade contractor, not from the flat. On a villa where a reflective face is within reach, use only soft tools and mild soapy water, and never a scraper.
Toughened glass and blades
Toughened glass, which is what most glass doors and large panes are made of, can have tiny particles fused to its surface from manufacture. A metal blade can catch one and drag it across the pane, leaving a scratch. It is one more reason professionals are slow to reach for a scraper, and a good reason not to use one at home.
Hard-water spots, paint and other things that will not wipe off
Soap and a squeegee remove dirt that sits on the glass. They do not remove deposits that have bonded to it. These need softening first, and patience more than force.
Hard-water spots
White spots with a ring at the edge are minerals left by water that dried on the glass: sprinkler spray, hose water, or rain on a dusty pane. Soap does not dissolve them. On plain glass, fresh spots usually soften with a mild acidic glass cleaner or diluted white vinegar, left on for a few minutes and rinsed off. Older ones may need a purpose-made, non-abrasive mineral remover, used as its label directs and tried on a corner first.
Keep any acid off marble and other natural stone, and rinse aluminium frames afterwards. If the mark remains on clean, dry glass, the surface is etched. Most hard-water spots lift with the right product. Heavy etching does not.
Paint, cement, silicone and stickers
After building or decorating work, glass carries paint specks, plaster, cement splashes, silicone smears and the glue from protective film. Soak before anything else. Wet the pane, keep it wet for several minutes and let the residue soften. Sticker glue usually yields to soapy water and a plastic scraper. Cement and plaster are abrasive, so they are soaked and lifted, never rubbed dry.
Fresh residue after a renovation can usually be removed. A whole home in that state is a job for post-construction cleaning, where the glass is done as part of the after-works clean.
Bird droppings and insects
Both can mark glass if they are left, and both contain grit. Lay a wet cloth over the spot for a few minutes and lift it away. Do not scrape it off dry.
Frames, tracks, screens and blinds
A window is not clean if the glass is and the rest is not, and the frame is usually the reason clean glass gets dirty again.
- Tracks. Vacuum first, loosen what is packed into the corners with a soft brush, vacuum again and finish with a damp cloth. Sliding doors and windows have small drainage slots in the bottom track. Make sure they are clear, or wash water and rain sit in the track.
- Frames and seals. Wipe with a damp cloth and a little soapy water. Keep solvents and abrasive pads off powder-coated aluminium, which they dull.
- Handles and hinges. Wipe and dry them. On the coast, salt left on metal corrodes it.
- Insect screens. Vacuum gently with a brush head, or lift the screen out if it is made to come out, and rinse it. Do not press on the mesh.
- Sills. Do them last, after the glass, because that is where the drips land.
Blinds and shutters
Blinds collect the same dust as the sill and shed it onto the glass every time they move. Dust them before the glass is washed, working from the top slat down. Each type, from aluminium slats to fabric rollers and wooden shutters, has its own limits on water and pressure, and they are set out in how to clean blinds and shutters.
Doing it yourself, or booking it
The inside glass of a flat is a reasonable job for an afternoon once you have a decent squeegee and the method. It becomes worth handing over when there is a lot of floor-to-ceiling glass, when the tracks are packed with sand, when the outside faces carry months of dust, or before a handover or guests.
Our window cleaning is priced by the length of the visit: AED 55 for 1 hour, AED 65 for 2 hours, AED 30 an hour for 3–4 hours and AED 25 for each hour after that, per cleaner, with VAT included. Most apartments take two to three hours, which is AED 65 to AED 90 with your own products and AED 75 to AED 105 with our materials. A villa with many windows takes three to five hours with one or two cleaners. The figure for every visit length is on the price list.
The visit covers the inside of every window, the glass doors and the mirrors, the frames, sills and tracks, and balcony glass and the outside of windows wherever they can be reached safely from inside, from a balcony or from a step ladder. High exterior glass on towers and tall villa facades is outside it.
With or without materials
Without materials, the cleaner arrives with nothing and uses what you have, so the squeegee, applicator, bucket, cloths and vacuum described above need to be in the home and in good condition. With materials, the team brings cleaning liquids and sprays, vacuum cleaner, mop and bucket, broom, microfibre cloths and rags, step ladder. Glass after renovation needs the with-materials option, because specialist products are involved. The two options are compared in cleaning with or without materials.
What to tell us, and what to check at the end
Before the cleaner leaves, look at the glass together in daylight, from inside and from outside. Streaks show most with the sun on them. If a pane was missed, say so then, or tell us within 24 hours. When you book, these are the details that size the visit correctly.
- The number of windows, glass doors and balcony panels.
- Any tinted film, coated or frosted glass, and anything the installer told you about cleaning it.
- Any glass above step-ladder height.
- Paint, cement or sticker residue.
- Blinds or curtains that need moving.
Common questions
Is vinegar better than washing-up liquid?
They do different jobs. Washing-up liquid lifts grease and lets the squeegee glide, so it is the everyday choice. Vinegar is a mild acid that softens light mineral film, and it gives no glide. Use soap for cleaning, and keep vinegar for spots on plain glass, away from stone.
Does newspaper work?
It can polish dry glass. It does not absorb much, the ink marks hands and pale frames, and it sheds grey fibres when it is wet. A clean microfibre cloth does the same job without those drawbacks.
Why do the streaks only show when the sun comes round?
Low-angle light catches residue that is invisible in flat light. The streaks were there all along. Check the glass from an angle and against a bright background before you put the tools away. It is the reason a clean is checked in daylight.
Do I need purified water at home?
Not for squeegee work, because the squeegee takes the water off before its minerals can dry on the glass. Purified water matters only where water is left to dry by itself, as it is with a water-fed pole.
Is a razor blade safe on glass?
On plain glass that is neither toughened nor treated, used wet and flat by someone who knows how, it can be. On film, coated faces, toughened glass, plastic panels and anything you are unsure about, no. Most large panes and doors in modern homes are toughened, and many are filmed or coated, so the safe rule at home is not to use one.
Can I just use a microfibre cloth and water?
On lightly soiled inside glass, yes: one damp cloth and one dry. On dusty outside glass a cloth alone pushes mud around, and you will go through a pile of cloths doing what a squeegee does in a minute.
How often should windows be cleaned?
Every one to three months is common in Abu Dhabi, and homes by the sea or near building sites are at the short end. Between cleans, vacuum the sliding tracks every week or two in dusty months and wipe the inside of the glass with a dry microfibre cloth.
Booking a window clean
If the method above is more than you want to take on, window cleaning can be added to a regular or a deep clean, where it uses part of the booked hours, or booked as its own visit from 1 hour. We work every day from 8 AM – 8 PM. Choose the hours, tell us about the glass and book online. The price is shown before you confirm, and payment is by card once we confirm your booking.
