Almost every house wash we quote comes with the same conversation. The owner asks about the walls and the roof, we ask whether they want the windows done at the same time, and there is a pause. It is worth explaining why we ask.
The order of work makes windows unavoidable
When we wash a house exterior, water and cleaning solution run down the walls. That water carries whatever was on the wall with it, and some of it lands on the glass. Even with careful masking, the frames and sills catch runoff.
This means a house wash always leaves the windows in one of two states: cleaner than they were, or streakier than they were. There is no version where the glass is untouched. So the practical question is not whether to clean the windows, it is whether to finish them properly while the equipment and access are already there.
The access is the expensive part
On a single-storey home this matters less. On a double-storey it matters a great deal. Most of what you pay for on upper-level window cleaning is the safe access, not the wiping. When we are already set up to reach the upper walls, adding the windows costs a fraction of what it costs as a standalone booking.
Booking them separately means paying twice for the same ladders, the same poles and the same setup.
What proper window cleaning involves
Purified water and a water-fed pole for the upper levels, which leaves no mineral residue as it dries, so there is nothing to squeegee and nothing to streak. Traditional squeegee work at ground level where reach is not an issue.
Frames, sills and tracks matter as much as the glass. Clean glass in a dirty frame reads as dirty from the street. Tracks in particular collect a paste of dust and cobweb that holds moisture against the frame.
Flyscreens
Screens should come out and be washed separately. Cleaning glass behind a screen that is still full of dust means the first decent breeze puts the dust straight back on the wet glass. Most people do not realise their screens are the reason the windows never look properly clean.
When to do it
Windows last go last, after the roof, the gutters and the walls. Any other order and you clean the glass twice. If you are booking an exterior house clean, ask for windows to be quoted as part of the same visit rather than as a follow-up.
We do windows alongside house washing across Brisbane. If you already have a house wash booked with us and want to add the glass, just let us know before the day so we allow the time.
