24 Nov Annual Guide to Maintaining Your Windows

This is our quick annual guide to maintaining your windows. We understand that looking after a home can seem like an endless list of chores following you around. The list grows longer and more expensive each year.

Keep on top of your window maintenance over the whole year to help stop any big and unexpected problems popping up.

Spring Window Maintenance

Let’s start when spring is in full swing. In February it is still cold, but you should see snowdrops and other flora starting to emerge. This is the perfect time to get your first window clean of the year in. Whether you do a classic spring clean in your whole house or not, put aside some time to give the inside and outside of your windows some TLC.

On the outside of your windows, before cleaning, inspect the handles, locks and seals for damage.

• Is any part of the window damaged or missing?
• Do the locks feel secure?
• Do the windows open and close with ease and not much effort?

If any answers to these questions are ‘no’, you will want to take a closer look as they can be signs the windows are reaching the end of their life.

Before washing, used a soft brush (like from a dustpan and brush) to get rid of any big cobwebs or leaves.

Give the whole windows, including the frames a good, hot, soapy wash with a sponge. Give the frames a quick wipe with a dry cloth and then use a window squeegee on the glass.

Inside, give your windows and frames a dust. Now is a great time to clean your curtains too if you can. Clean the windows with some spray glass cleaner and inspect the trickle vents for damage or blockages. You can usually remove these with a simple screwdriver and give them a clean separately.

Repeat in late April/early May if the rest of spring is very rainy or snowy and the windows need cleaning again.

Spring Window Maintenance Tip: If you really want your frames to pop, use a uPVC cleaner/restorer!

Summer Window Maintenance

Spring has blossomed into summer and that summer breeze will now contain pollen which can cause a build up on your windows.

Apart from the pollen, your windows shouldn’t get too soiled over the summer months. If you clean your windows though, choose an overcast morning or evening when the sun isn’t high in the sky. This is because you want to avoid the sun drying soapy water on your windows before you remove it.

Whether you wash your windows or not, it is important to keep on top of checking the security of your locks. At the end of July, before the summer holidays start, check all your windows close properly and have no damage.

If you tend to leave your windows unlocked so they are easier to open, now is a good time to check you have all the keys. We’re all prone to leave our windows open more often in the summer, which is understandable, however that makes them very attractive to burglaries.

Your main window maintenance task for the summer is to check for weak spots, count your keys and make sure all your windows can be locked before you go away on holiday.

Summer Window Maintenance Tip: Open your trickle vents instead of leaving your windows open if you’d like to just keep some fresh air circulating a room.

Autumn Window Maintenance

Towards the end of September start planning in your next window washing session. This time, accompany it with trimming any plants around the windows, or trees that will block sunlight. The sun stays lower in the sky the next few months. Giving bushes and trees a trim as they start to lose their leaves will help keep that sunlight filtering through for as long as possible.

As with each season, check your locks and handles for damage. You’ll be opening your windows less now so lock them and keep the keys close by. Make sure they are not obvious to someone looking in.

Check seals on the outside and check for draughts on the inside of the windows. If you notice cold air coming through, you may want to talk to professionals (like the team at Park Lane) so it can be fixed before winter.

Autumn Window Maintenance Tip: Some people say conkers in a window can repel spiders from entering. That might work but we’d also recommend checking your trickle vents for spider nests and moving them outside.

Winter Window Maintenance

The winter weather can wreck all sorts of dirt and grime on your windows. You may need to clean your windows much more often during the winter to maximise the amount of sunshine coming through.

Giving your windows a regular clean throughout the winter months may help deter burglars who look for windows that appear neglected.

At this time of year, you may notice condensation building up inside the windows. Any water or mould that starts appearing now, ought to be dealt with as soon as you notice it. Mould should be cleaned as best as possible and avoid leaving water dripping onto the seals by drying the windows. Talk to a professional about what can be done to prevent this happening again. Now you’ve noticed it though, it gives you a whole year to fix it. Next winter, it may be worse.

Winter Window Maintenance Tip: when you take your decorative lights down from the outside of your house, make sure you seal the holes you made to prevent water getting into the gaps.

Regular maintenance of your windows can help maximise sunshine, deter burglars, prevent unwanted spider houseguests and identify problems before they get too big. By spreading out the tasks over the whole year, you’ll feel in control of this big household chore.