How I Clean Our Windows With Dawn and a Squeegee

My basic setup is simple:

• Bucket
• Hot water
• About 1 tablespoon Dawn dish soap
• Window scrubber
• Squeegee
• Microfiber towel

I do not measure the Dawn precisely every time. About a tablespoon is a good estimate. I mainly want enough soap to make the water good and soapy without going overboard.

I usually start with the windows that are obviously showing dust, fingerprints, water spots, or outdoor grime.

If there is loose dirt around the frame or sill, I wipe that away first so I am not dragging it back across the wet glass.

I dip the window scrubber into the hot soapy water and work it across the entire pane.

I make sure the glass is fully wet and give any especially dirty areas a little extra scrubbing. The goal is simply to loosen everything before I bring out the squeegee.

Once the glass is scrubbed, I use a clean microfiber towel to wipe the very top edge of the glass and both side edges dry before I start with the squeegee. That gives the squeegee a dry edge to work from and keeps water from running back into the areas I have already finished.

Once the top and side edges are dry, I use the squeegee to remove the water from the main part of the glass.

I start near the top and work across the pane in controlled, slightly overlapping passes. I wipe the squeegee blade as needed so I am not dragging dirty water back across the window.

This is the step that makes the biggest difference for me. Most of the water comes straight off with the squeegee instead of being wiped around with towels.

After I finish with the squeegee, most of the glass is already dry. At that point I use the microfiber towel along the bottom edge and sill to catch the small amount of water left behind.

Because I already dried the top and side edges before squeegeeing, there usually is not much left to wipe. I try not to go back over the middle of the clean glass unless I need to.

A handful of small habits keep the glass from drying streaky:

• Do not use too much dish soap.
• Keep the squeegee blade clean while you work.
• Overlap each squeegee pass slightly.
• Wipe leftover water from the edges with a clean microfiber towel.
• If possible, avoid cleaning windows when direct sun is heating the glass and drying the solution too quickly.

I keep using this method because it is simple, inexpensive, and works well for the way I clean our house. Hot water, a little Dawn, a scrubber, a squeegee, and one microfiber towel are really all I need.

My window-cleaning setup stays pretty simple:

• Ettore window-cleaning bucket
• Window scrubber
• Window squeegee
• Microfiber cleaning towels
• Dawn dish soap