Louvre cleaning, Panes or Pain?
Louvre’s are a great economic choice for homes, but many people ask ‘which is the best way to keep louvres looking shiny clean’
Louvres pain or pane??
Here’s a few tips
Firstly, decide if they’re in need of washing, or will dusting and polishing be enough to make them sparkle
Also, if you are going to tackle this, work safe and watch out for the sharp plastic edges as they can cut your hands very easily
Washing, Dusting or Polishing??
Keep in mind if you decide to wash them, you would need to allow plenty of time to complete the task, as water gets trapped in the plastic slots, meaning they can’t be polished properly, until completely dry
Dusting and Polishing
You will need ‘two clothes’, one to remove the dirt, ‘the dusting cloth’ an old towel cut to tee towel size rags is usually rugged enough to remove heavy dust
The second is a polishing cloth, this cloth ideally would be ‘lint free’ previously soaked in vinegar water to remove any grease or soap residue from it being washed, and hung out till completely dry This is called the ‘Holy rag’ and should never get wet, other than the slightest amount of polish, if required
Cleaning this way, enables you to dust and polish approximately 40 to 50 louvres per hour
Method
Using the dusting cloth, work your way through each individual louvre, removing dirt from the surfaces, if you need to dab a bit of clean water on there to help, do it very minimally. The idea is not to get them wet unless necessary. It makes polishing a harder task if they are all smudged
By removing all of the dust first, you can then gauge if there are any sticky finger marks or other heavy dirt, possibly animals wet noses marks etc
Once all dust is removed, it’s time to polish
Take the polishing rag and lightly spray only the most minimal amount of polish onto it
Do this by holding the rag a couple of feet away from the spray bottle, waving the rag in to the mist to get a fairly even amount of polish on it
Work your way through each louvre, top and bottom, when you have done 10 or so, tilt the louvre’s to check if you have polished them out completely. This is important, if you don’t check this, the sun can make them look terrible in a different light or angle, wasting your effort
Louvre-Window-Cleaning
Washing Louvres
Using a squeegee, a washer and some soapy water, work your way through from the top louvre to start, cleaning the top and bottom of each individual louvre
Wash the top, squeegee the top, flip the louvre to access the bottom, wash and squeegee the bottom of the pane. Carry on from top to bottom of the set of louvres
Leave the set of louvres open so that the wind blows through, allowing them to dry quicker
Once the set of louvres is completely dry, you will notice the remaining plastic edges have soapy dry water marks either side, top and bottom. I recommend using a cloth similar to the ‘dusting cloth’ to go through and polish out this soap residue, preparing them to be polished
Once you are sure they are completely dry, continue on to polishing, with the ‘polishing cloth’ as mentioned previously
Ensure you work safe, don’t take risks, call a professional if required
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7 Ways to keep your windows cleaner on Sydneys Northern beaches
Here’s 7 tips for keeping your windows cleaner for longer from Spencer at Shiny clean
‘your local northern beaches window cleaner’
Start with some easily accessible windows on the outside of your house whilst getting used to the equipment, when you go inside, cover the floor area and remember…………………Work Safe!!
professional window cleaning with a smile
The spiders think its Christmas already, here’s some tips on window cleaning and links to some suppliers of equipment
Next month, i’ll be giving tips on fly screen re-meshing, and how to best clean your fly screens
Limited spaces available on my booking calender below
7 Tips
1. Get yourself armed up with a decent bucket, washer and squeegee, see links below
2. Use plenty of concentrated dish-washing detergent, approx 1 cup for every 3 litres of cold water, (NB. add soap into the water bucket to reduce bubbles!)
3. Ensure you have a good rubber on your squeegee, if its worn out on the sides it’ll streak, a good rubber, gets a good finish!
4. Remove any cobwebs from around the frame before you get anything wet, preferably using a separate web brush. (avoid webs on the washer)
5. Soak the washer, then ring dry to approximately 50%, you will soon learn how much water is required. With the washer vertical, apply to wash window from top left to right or vice versa, start at the top and wash downwards, rubbing along the way any heavy dirt
6. Take a dry hand towel size rag (salvos), whilst window is still wet, wipe a line along the top edge of the glass you will be squeegee-ing (this reduces any drips from top edge)
7. Squeegee, by either fanning or the Polish method- Vertical squeegee moving from left to right or either way. Continue working that way, removing the water gradually downwards till the glass pane is free of soapy water
Bonus tips:
The Salvos is great for cheap towels for this kind of work. Remember to stick em in the washing machine first, and use a little white vinegar when on the rinse cycle (cheaper than softner, does the same thing)
To remove things such as hand prints, an easy way to do this is using a polishing cloth. With a polish glass tea towel that has been soaked in vinegar water, and hung till completely dry, these are the best polishing cloths. Vinegar removes grease and soap residue in the cloth, making it great for polishing
Note, Glass is best cleaned either wet with a squeegee, or polished using polish and a glass polish cloth (don’t rush it, and mix the 2 things together, it may work.. but will take forever)
Coming up.. i’ll be giving tips to keep glass balustrades clean, and techniques for cleaning louvres
Booking details below:
Free quotes Call Spencer +61-420-753-733
Email- spencer@shinyclean.com.au or use the booking slip below
With a wealth of experience with glass, and some great eco- friendly products, we can help you find the right product and staff for the job
Other window cleaning equipment suppliers we recommend
All rights reserved Copyright 2014
shinyclean.com.au
Spring cleaning Northern beaches
Spring cleaning Northern beaches
Window cleaning, High pressure hosing, Soft brush house wash
Fly Screens re-meshed and custom built
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Spencer Gill
shinyclean.com.au
Spring Cleaning
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Avalon, Bayview, Bilgola Plateau, Church Point, Clareville, Elanora, Ingleside, Newport, North Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Palm Beach, Warriewood, Whale Beach
