Remember that time when your spouse asked you to clean the windows (and you didn’t call the professional and best Scottsdale window cleaners?) So you grabbed the garden hose and gave them a good spray down? Maybe you even removed the screens before doing so. Done and done, right? Well, um, I hate to break it to you (or your spouse) but you just made things worse. Sure you probably knocked off the loose dirt but if you take a close look after the windows are dry and you may notice little spots now that just won’t come out. You have the spots! You are also now a hoser…that’s right, a hoser. PUT THE HOSE DOWN AND SLOWLY BACK AWAY!
Using a hose to remove the dirt will actually damage the glass. This is because the calcium and other minerals in our ground water love to stick to glass, we call these hard water spots. Sometimes our sprinklers are the cause, sometimes a hoser, sometimes a pool. If the water came from the ground, you will get the hard water spots. So how do you fix it?
Well, you can of course call the experts. At Cloud 9 Window Washing we pride ourselves in being the most detailed, highest quality, Scottsdale window cleaners. Yeah, we do charge money for window cleaning and even more for removing hard water but it is a skilled job and hard work and the results are awesome. Also, have you ever priced out new windows? Most homes are well over 2oK to get new windows so you might as well protect the investment and keep your home beautiful.
If you are like me though, and you are reading this blog, you are a DIY’er. So I will share two tricks to removing hard water when vinegar doesn’t do it (because it usually doesn’t).
- For light hard water stains, smudges, bogies, and others, simply use #000 steel wool. Rubbing steel on the glass should surely scratch it right? Nope! #000 steel wool will never scratch the glass (it will scratch your window tint film though!)
- Run down to the store and pick up #000 steel wool.
- Simply use a light to medium force and scrub the stains right out. It takes a bit of elbow grease but it works!
- Have severe hard water deposits? Grab some oxalic acid. Um, what? Acid? It’s not that scary really, the oxalic acid chemically reacts with the minerals that cause the hard water stains then you can rinse them out!
- Run down to your nearest hardware store and pick up a cleaner like “Bar Keepers Friend.” It’s active ingredient is oxalic acid.
- Be sure to wear proper personal protective equipment like safety glasses or a face shield and rubber gloves.
- Apply the acid directly to the window with a moist rag of your choice. Smear it all around the window and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Rinse the window and squeegee it off to ensure you don’t create more hard water.
- You may need to repeat this a few times until the desired result is achieved (kinda like shampooing/conditioning your hair).
Best of luck!
-The best Scottsdale Window Cleaners