How to Clean Interior Windows Before Winter in Regina

October is the last comfortable window for windows. The weather still lets you open one without regret, and the summer's dust, pollen and fingerprints are all still sitting on the glass. Get it done now and you'll spend the darkest months looking through clean glass instead of a film you stopped noticing in August.

Why Bother Before Winter

• Light. By December, Regina gets a little over eight hours of daylight, and it comes in at a low angle that shows every streak. Clean glass genuinely brightens a room.
• Condensation. Moisture collects on cold glass all winter and runs down into the track. Dirt and grit already sitting there turn into a grimy sludge, and over time that can encourage mould and shorten the life of the seals.
• Comfort. Cleaning the tracks is a natural moment to check the weatherstripping, which is worth doing before the first real cold snap.

Pick the Right Day

Don't wash windows in direct sunlight. The cleaner dries before you can wipe it and leaves streaks behind. An overcast day, or the shaded side of the house, gives you time to work.

What You Need

• Two microfibre cloths — one damp, one dry
• A squeegee, if you have one
• A spray bottle with warm water and a drop of dish soap, or equal parts white vinegar and water
• A vacuum with a crevice tool
• An old toothbrush or a stiff paintbrush
• A few paper towels for the track

Do the Track First, Not Last

Everyone cleans the glass first and then makes a mess of it doing the track. Reverse the order.

1. Vacuum the track with the crevice tool to lift out loose grit, dead flies and leaf bits. Prairie dust packs into the corners.
2. Loosen what's stuck with a dry toothbrush or stiff brush, then vacuum again.
3. Spray the track with your cleaner and let it sit a minute.
4. Wipe it out, using the toothbrush wrapped in a cloth or a paper towel pushed into the corners with a butter knife.
5. Dry it completely. A damp track collects dirt again immediately.

While you're in there, look at the weep holes at the bottom of the frame — the small drainage openings. If they're blocked, water has nowhere to go. Clear them gently.

Now the Glass

1. Dust the frame and the sill first with a dry cloth so you're not turning dust to mud.
2. Spray the glass lightly. More cleaner is not better; excess product is the main cause of streaks.
3. Wipe with a damp microfibre cloth, starting at the top.
4. Buff dry with a second, clean, dry cloth — or squeegee from the top down, wiping the blade after each pass.
5. Check the glass from an angle, not straight on. Streaks only show up in raking light.

A trick for finding which side a streak is on: wipe the inside horizontally and the outside vertically. Then the direction of the streak tells you which pane to go back to.

Screens, Sills and Frames

If you can pop the screens out easily, rinse them with the hose while it's still above freezing, let them dry fully, and store them or put them back. Storing screens for winter lets more light in and gives you one less thing collecting dust.

Wipe the frames and sills with a damp cloth. Window sills catch an impressive amount of prairie dust, and they're one of those surfaces that's invisible until someone sets a coffee cup on it.

Dealing With Winter Condensation

Some condensation on cold glass is normal in a prairie winter, especially in bathrooms and bedrooms. To keep it from becoming a problem:

• Run the bathroom fan during and after showers
• Use the range hood when cooking
• Keep humidifier settings moderate — more moisture means more condensation on cold surfaces
• Wipe the sill and track when you see water pooling
• Leave blinds and curtains open during the day so air can move against the glass

If you're getting heavy moisture or frost between the panes rather than on the inside surface, that's a seal issue rather than a cleaning one, and it's worth a call to a window company.

What About the Outside?

Exterior windows are best done before it gets cold — washing them below freezing is a bad idea for you and for the glass. If you've missed the weather, focus on the interior now and put the exterior on the spring list.

Adding It to a Clean

Interior windows are an easy thing to keep pushing to next weekend. They're available as an add-on for $30 with any clean, which is a reasonable way to get them done once in the fall and once in the spring. Wet-wipe blinds are $40 and pair naturally with it, since the blinds are usually dustier than the glass.

If your home hasn't had a thorough clean in the last 30 days, a deep clean is the right place to start, then standard cleans after that. Every 2 weeks saves 10%, every 4 weeks saves 5%.

Pricing is flat-rate, not hourly — from $120 + GST for a 1 bed / 1 bath, with additional bathrooms at $30. Get your price online in about 30 seconds.

Book with YQR Cleaning

YQR Cleaning is locally owned and has been cleaning homes in Regina since 2022, from Hillsdale to Arcola East. Our cleaners bring all their own supplies and are insured, bonded and background-checked. You don't need to be home, you pay after the clean, and if we miss something we'll fix it free.

See your price or call or text (639) 739-7669.