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Week 4 of my 30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge included cleaning the windows.
Window tracks can be very hard to clean. The space in the tracks can be so small that I have had trouble cleaning them. I have tried to vacuum some of the dirt out, but it’s such a small space that it just didn’t work. The dirt is now caked on and they are filthy!
Because I have had so much luck with baking soda and vinegar in other areas of my house, I figured that I would give it a shot here! Here is what the window tracks look like. As you can see the top tracks are filthy. It took me about two minutes to clean the bottom track. No scrubbing involved.
Here is what you will need:
- vinegar
*
- baking soda
- q-tips
- paper towels or other absorbent cloth
*
Here is How to Clean Window Tracks Without Scrubbing in 4 steps:
ONE ~ Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda on window track. More is not better here…unless you want a fizzy mess to clean up. To give you an idea of how much I used: When cleaning a window approximately four feet across, I used just a few teaspoons of baking soda.
TWO ~ Pour a small amount of vinegar on the window track. Again you don’t want to add too much, as there may not be anywhere for the vinegar to go. You want to add just enough that the baking soda fizzes a bit and there is enough vinegar to clean and help wipe up the dirt. With a few windows I was able to lift up the screen and let any access run off outside.
THREE ~ There was no scrubbing involved. I simply used the q-tips to help loosen up the dirt. I only needed to use them on windows with small spaces between the tracks.
FOUR ~ I placed a few paper towels
I have windows with four small grooves in the tracks. You would think this would be a tedious chore, but my new way of cleaning the tracks is so quick and easy! I have not cleaned the tracks in 3.5 years…and there still was no scrubbing involved.
You can see below the difference in the two filthy tracks and the two clean tracks.
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Download the step-by-step printable PDF here.
Find the updated 2016 Spring Cleaning Challenge printable here!
More 30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge Posts:
30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge
Day 2: 5 Tips for Cleaning Your Pantry
Day 4: How to Clean Kitchen Appliances
30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge – Week 1: Kitchen
30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge – Week 2: Vacuum, Dust & New Cleaning Tip
30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge – Week 3: Bathrooms & Entryway
30 Day Spring Cleaning Challenge Recap
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Stella Lee@ Purfylle says
This is awesome, I’m going to try this in my sliding door tracks!
Gentle Joy says
What a good idea! I will have to try this on the sliding glass door track… that is the messy one. :)
admin says
I need to do my door track next!
Trena Quesenberry says
I needed this earlier this morning! I’ll need to remember this, because my scrubbing didn’t get much accomplished. Thanks for sharing!
admin says
It’s great when the vinegar/baking soda does the work so no scrubbing is involved.
Heaven says
Great idea! I used baking soda and vinegar to clean my cup holders in my car. It worked wonders where nothing else did. I’ve never heard of cleaning vinegar.
admin says
I am curious if the cleaning vinegar works any better.
Nanny says
The magic ” cleaning” vinegar that is the one to use for your cleaning is White Vinegar! It’s magic for all sorts of cleaning, mixed with baking soda, will remove almost anything.
Julie @ Logger's Wife says
This is how I clean the track on my sliding glass door. Works like a charm! :)
admin says
Thanks for mentioning. I should try the door next.
Crystal says
Ahh, Q-tips! That sounds perfect. i live on a dirt road, so you can just imagine what my window tracks look like!
admin says
Our backyard has a lot of dirt so they were the worst windows. I can imagine that a dirt road would make them even worse!
Jennifer S. says
I’m going to try this with my windows. They could use a good cleaning.
Jayleen @ How Do The Jones Do It says
Great idea! I use vinegar for all of my regular cleaning so why not on the window tracks too! I usually vacuum first and then use rags and water with a butter knife for the tough spots.
admin says
Ah. A butter knife would also work!
Lara says
This needs to be done at my house!
Debbie W. says
Trying this. Was dreading it.
admin says
I too was dreading figuring out a plan to clean them…which is why some of them haven’t been cleaned for 3.5 years. :) Now that I have a new way of doing it, I don’t think I’ll wait another 3.5 years!
Leslie says
I must try this! Our house is in a newer community, which means lots of construction and lots of dirt! I am constantly scrubbing our windows and window tracks. Thanks for sharing!
Terri Presser says
What a great idea, thanks for sharing it at Good Morning Mondays. I need to clean our tracks and I have been wondering what to do, now I don’t. I will definitely be trying this. Thanks and blessings
Cathy says
Great idea, never thought of using Q-tips! Thanks for keeping me on track each week and for sharing this on Making Memories Mondays! :-)
Cathy
Maria says
I tried this trick yesterday and it worked wonders! Never cleaning my windows the same way again! Thank you for such a simple but super effective tip!
admin says
I’m happy it worked for you! It sure is slick. :)
Jenny says
Thank you for this great tip. Q-tips. Who would have thought. It’s genius.
Sharon Rowe says
Great tip! I am off to clean these later with these ingredients! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness link party :)
Sarah@TheOrthodoxMama says
What a super practical post! I had not thought of this before. Thanks for the tip!
admin says
You are welcome!
Becky @ bybmg says
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing this with Tuesday Talk!
JES says
Isn’t it amazing what some baking soda and vinegar could do. And to think we used to buy all kinds of fancy chemical products! Thank you for sharing this series on the Art of Home-Making Mondays :)
Candace says
I desperately need this! Pinned :). I love the natural ingredients. I’ll definitely be trying this. Thanks!
Chelc | Inside the Fox Den says
Cleaning my windows was on my spring cleaning to do list. Thanks for the tips! And your printable is awesome. Will definitely be referencing!
admin says
I’m glad you like the printable. I hope it’s helpful!
Tiffany | A Touch of Grace says
Great tips! I never thought to try baking soda and vinegar in the window tracks. I’ll definitely try this next time!
Thanks for sharing on the Shine Blog Hop!
Ingrid @ Fabulous and Fun Life says
Clever idea! I’ll give it a go this weekend! Thank you!
Brenda says
Great idea! Thanks for the tip!
Julia @ Rock It Like A Mom says
This came at a perfect time! We are getting ready to move, and I’ve been DREADING tackling windows and doors!
Thanks so much:)
Monica says
Thank you! I’m pinning this to my personal boards, because I hate cleaning the tracks and I love all cleaning methods baking soda and vinegar. Windows are on my spring to do list, so the timing is perfect. Visiting from #smallvictoriessunday.
admin says
Thanks for pinning. I hope you find this helpful!
Zan says
I probably need to do my windows…I haven’t done them since moving a few months ago! Thanks for all the tips. Pinning! Thanks for linking up with us at Home Matters linky party. Hope you visit us again and feel free to invite a friend:)
admin says
Thanks for stopping by and pinning!
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says
You can use a spray bottle on stream to get the vinegar in there. Thanks for posting. Hello from Motivation Monday.
admin says
That would work well! Thanks for sharing.
Ai says
Not one of my favorite chores. Any help I can get with this one is most appreciated! Thanks for the suggestions! I like the qtip idea, especially.
admin says
It’s the perfect tool for such a small space. Thanks for stopping by!
Echo says
What an awesome trick! I am so going to try this! Thank you for sharing this at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Melinda says
Brilliant and oh-so timely as I was just looking at the window tracks with dread! I have always used Q-tips to clean the crevices but with a regular spray cleaner, a lot of Q-tips were used. With this grime lifting concoction, I am certain this dreaded job will take less time and less Q-tips! Old toothbrushes can be an effective tool to lift some of the grime in between the tracks as well.
Nick says
These are some great tips. I always found cleaning windows thoroughly to be hard and time consuming. My company’s office cleaning company Desert Oasis Cleaners, were kind enough to provide me with some great tips as well. Putting what I learned from your post with what they told me will definitely make cleaning my windows at home a lot easier. Thanks.
Janine says
Vinegar is vinegar, cleaning vinegar is the same as white vinegar the just add the word ‘cleaning’ and charge a bit extra.
If you add 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water and leave it sit a day or 2 it becomes full strength vinegar, saving you even more $$.
Emily says
Great tip. Thanks for sharing!
Carrie Ando says
Regular white vinegar is 5% acidity and cleaning vinegar is 6% acidity. The one percent actually makes it 20% stronger. Cleaning vinegar is not to be used for cooking. The fresh scent of cleaning vinegar smells exactly the same as white vinegar.
Emily says
Interesting! I didn’t know the difference. Thanks for sharing. :)