Guide
How often should windows be cleaned? A schedule by home
Every four to six weeks for most houses, which is the cycle most window rounds run on. Homes by the sea, on a busy road or under trees need it closer to monthly, while inside glass needs cleaning two to four times a year.
The short answer
Most homes stay looking clean with a visit every four to six weeks, and that is why most window cleaners run their rounds on that cycle. Leave it much longer and the glass starts to look dull whenever the sun is low, and the frames and sills begin to collect the green film that takes longer to shift.
Rain is not a substitute. Upright glass tucked under the eaves gets surprisingly little of it, and whatever does land dries with the dust and pollen it picked up on the way down, which is why windows often look worse after a shower than before.
A schedule by home
| Home | How often |
|---|---|
| Typical suburban house | Every 4 to 6 weeks |
| Within a few miles of the sea | Every 4 weeks, because salt film builds quickly |
| On a main road or bus route | Every 4 weeks, for traffic film |
| Under trees or next to fields | Every 4 weeks from spring to autumn, for pollen, sap and droppings |
| Sheltered and rural, little traffic | Every 6 to 8 weeks |
| New build or after building work | One restoration clean first, then a normal round |
| Inside glass | Two to four times a year, more with children or pets |
| Conservatory roof | Once or twice a year |
Shops, cafes and offices with a glass frontage are a different case. A shop window is part of the display, and weekly or fortnightly is normal.
Why leaving it longer costs more
A window cleaned every month takes a few minutes. The same window left for six months has dirt baked onto the glass, green growth on the frame and a sill full of debris, and the visit takes longer and costs more. Some deposits, particularly hard water marks from a sprinkler or a leaking gutter, become very hard to remove once they have been left for a season or two.
Rounds work on the same logic. A cleaner can price a house cheaply because they are already in the street every few weeks. Cancel half the visits and the price per visit usually goes up, or the house drops off the round.
Through the seasons
Spring is when windows most need a clean: winter grime and the first pollen together, with the sun low enough to show every mark. If you only book a one-off clean once a year, this is the time.
Summer brings pollen, insects and, near the coast or in towns, gulls. Autumn brings leaf debris on sills and the wet that turns it into a green film. In winter rounds carry on but skip frosty mornings, because water freezes on cold glass and on the paths underneath it.
Flats and taller buildings
Leaseholders in a block usually have no say over the outside of their windows, which are cleaned by the managing agent on the building's own schedule as part of the service charge. If you would like more frequent cleaning, raise it with the agent or the residents' association rather than hiring somebody to work on the outside of the building.
Many windows in flats tilt or turn inwards so that both faces can be cleaned from inside, and the Health and Safety Executive's guidance treats cleaning from the inside as one of the ways of avoiding work at height. Above the reach of a pole, outside glass is a job for rope access or a cradle and belongs to the building's managers.
For a ground floor flat with its own garden, or a maisonette with its own front door, the windows are often the occupier's to arrange. The lease says which, and it is worth checking, before booking a round, whether the building already pays for one.
Signs your windows are due
- a haze across the glass when the sun shines through it
- spots that appear after rain
- cobwebs or dead insects in the corners of the frames
- green film on the sills or along the bottom of the frames
- dark streaks running down from the corners of the glass
What a year of window cleaning costs
On a six-weekly round a house gets eight or nine visits a year. At the usual rates of £10 to £18 a visit for a terraced house, £14 to £25 for a semi-detached and £20 to £45 for a detached house, that is roughly £90 to £160, £125 to £225 and £180 to £400 a year respectively. Adding inside glass two or three times a year, and a conservatory roof once, is the usual way to keep everything on one arrangement.
Common questions
Is monthly window cleaning too often?
Not for a house on a main road or near the sea. For a sheltered house, six or eight weeks is usually enough and keeps the yearly cost down.
Should frames and sills be cleaned every time?
With a water fed pole they are, because the brush covers them anyway. On a ladder round, ask, as some cleaners do the glass only and the frames on request.
How often should a shop window be cleaned?
Weekly or fortnightly for most high street shops, and more often for food businesses where the glass is touched or splashed. It is part of how the shop looks to anyone walking past.
Does it matter which way the windows face?
South and west facing glass shows dirt far more, because it catches low sun. North facing windows stay damp for longer and are more likely to grow green on the frames.