Cleaning Solutions
As with squeegees and chamois and most everything else in the trade, opinions differ as to the “best” cleaning solution. There are many “home-made” solutions, most utilizing some brand of dishwashing soap and perhaps a touch of ammonia. Some prefer vinegar to ammonia as an additive–both have strong odor potential and should probably be avoided for indoor work. Ammonia can be very hard on the hands and can be destructive to some types of window tinting and bare wood frames or sills. And many cleaners will tell you that vinegar doesn’t really clean but is just a rinsing agent.
Joy, Palmolive or Dawn are all popular dish soap detergents which work well as a cleaner. You want a mild cleaner that can be used on any surface, metal, painted or not, without harm. Many stronger cleaners will etch or discolor metal over time. A small amount is recommended–one lid or capful into a gallon of water–so as not to create too many suds. Suds can be helpful to show you where you’ve been, but too many can create bleed-back from the frames after squeegeeing.
Another cleaner commonly used by professionals is called The Pill. It’s pre-measured for use with 2 ½ gallons of water and it’s small, which makes it easy to carry and store. It has a wetting agent which makes the squeegee
Glass Gleam 3 (known as GG3) from Titan Laboratories, seems to be a favored professional window cleaning solution, available in liquid form. It is a super concentrate, so it is important you mix it only according to manufacturers instructions. GG3 is reputed to be low sudsing and have a pleasant smell. Some cleaners, however, say that it is not completely effective on oils, such as fingerprints, and can benefit from a touch of ammonia. Crystal Clear 550, by Winsol Laboratories, and Glisten, by ABC, are two other professional window cleaning solutions. Bucket in a Bottle, by Ettore, is an interesting innovation in cleansers. It is a concentrated liquid that comes with a squeeze bottle you can carry on your belt.
The solution is applied directly to the washer wand, not the glass, and this eliminates the use of a bucket as well as excess drips and spills. Some cleaners have created their own variation on this theme, using a favored solution in a sports bottle or shower gel bottle (which comes with a built in hook for your belt).
OilFlo, by Titan Laboratories, is a popular and often recommended specialty cleaner for certain problems. It is a water- soluble solvent, reportedly effective on a wide range of soils/stains such as: adhesives, asphalt, caulk, crayon, glazing putty, graffiti, magic marker, nail polish, paints (both latex and enamel), roofing tar, silicone caulking, waterproof sealers, and so on. Sorb Glide, by Sorb, makes the cleaning solution more “slippery” so that the squeegee glides more easily. M.D., Mineral Deposit Remover, by Titan laboratories, is for use in removing hard water film, water spots, lime deposits, acid rain run-off, etc.
Sometimes window cleaners find themselves working in cold weather, and the water will start to freeze. Some cleaners add various types of alcohol or other additives to prevent this. You can try automobile antifreeze, but too much can cause smearing. Another possibility is windshield washing solutions, which are made so that they will not freeze in the winter. Polypropylene glycol is sold undiluted in gallon jugs as an antifreeze for mobile home water systems.
