Maintain Your Home Windows

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Maintain Your Home Windows | Tips On How To Do It

Knowing how to maintain your home windows is important, especially after spending so much money on this investment. Learning how to maintain your home windows is not hard, but it does take quite a bit of effort. We will give you all the tips you need to learn how to clean, maintain, and even make small repairs.

Repair Advice To Maintain Your Home Windows

You can extend the lifetime of your windows if you regularly work to maintain them. In fact, cleaning and maintaining should become a part of your regular home maintenance checklist. Windows that are not cleaned regularly or that are poorly maintained will not only look bad, but they may not last as long either. Failing to fix small problems or keep them cleaned can mean having to replace them years sooner. Longer lasting windows are a good reason for proper maintenance, but it should not be the only reason.

Windows that are well maintained can be much more efficient those that have cracks or poor seals around the framing. If you want to keep your energy bill as low as possible, make sure you maintain your windows and repair any seals in the framing.

Maintenance does not always have to involve a lot of work. Sure, it takes a long time to clean your windows. However, maintenance is usually as simple as taking a quick look to discover any problems. Most the time, your windows won?t have any problems that need to be repaired, but if they do, you can save time and money by fixing the problem before it has the chance to get worse.

Regular Cleaning

Cleanings are good for a few reasons. They make your home look much nicer both inside and out, and they make the windows work more effectively. The most basic step is to clean them with a window cleaning solution. You can make your own by diluting ammonia if you have lots to clean. Then, using a squeegee and a sponge or a microfiber cloth, wipe down your windows. Use the squeegee to remove excess cleaning solution so you do not wind up with streaks.

Do not forget to wipe down your window frames as well as the rest of your windows. If you have something stuck on the frame, be careful with what you use to get it off. You don?t want to use any sort of material that can scratch your glass surface, or the paint on your frames. Double check that the tracks do not have a build-up of dirt, and if they do, use a brush to clean them out. This will make it easier to move the windows. Finally, check the weepholes to make sure that they are not clogged. If you don?t know what the weepholes are, they are tiny holes in the frame, covered by a baffle, that prevent water from sitting in the track of the window.

Repair Tips

Good weatherstripping is key to keeping your hot air in during the winter and your cool air in during the summer. If your weatherstripping isn?t doing as good a job as it should, more air will be escaping outside. You can maintain your home windows by keeping the weatherstripping clean, but eventually it will wear out and need to be replaced. Once the weatherstripping starts to break down, your window won?t be able to seal tightly. All of the air that escapes is money going out the window, literally. Replacing the weatherstripping is something that is easy enough to do yourself, but if you prefer, you can always bring in a professional.

You cannot to forget to repair holes in the window screen when you work to maintain your home windows. It is very easy to patch up small holes yourself. If the hole or tear is large, you can even install a new screen.

There are many other miscellaneous repairs that you may have to do. You might have to fix handles and locks, or even the glides that guide your window up and down. If the fix is as easy as adding a new handle, you can probably go ahead and do it yourself. But if the work you need to do to maintain your home windows is more complicated, you can always call in an expert.

Large Repairs

If you have a more serious problem with your windows, it may be time for a replacement. You can?t always maintain your home windows; in some cases, you may have to get a replacement window. If the glass of the window is cracked, you would be better off to get a replacement window. If you have strong construction skills, you might be able to install the window yourself. If not, bring in a replacement window contractor to replacing the glass.

Energy efficient windows with multiple panes have another problem. These have air or gasses inserted between the panes. Over time, the gasses can escape. The gasses are what helps to make the windows more efficient, so if the gasses are gone, you are not getting all the energy savings. You might even notice that the window fogs up in between the panes. If so, you may want to consider replacement windows as opposed to simply maintaining your current ones.