Some time ago (like maybe a couple of years) I read an article in the Chicago Tribune that mentioned a product that was basically two sponges with magnets in them. The idea was that you could put cleaning liquid on the sponges, put one the outside of your window and the other on the inside, and clean both sides of the glass at once.
Well, I have old windows and deep shrubs outside them, so this sounds like something to try. But I haven't been able to find it online or at stores.
Has anyone ever seen this product? If so, have you tried it?
I'm in Australia so the brand would be different and I don't know if they are made nowadays, but yes, I bought exactly what you are referring to, but probably more than 20 years ago. They did have a magnet inside each sponge and each sponge also had window wiper so as to wipe the window clean as they washed. I bought it when I lived in a fifteen storey flat and there was no balcony outside my bedroom window. They includ a string that you kept inside the window so that you could always pull the outside sponge back inside, and not let it fall. I didn't use them more than once or twice but I rememebered that they worked very well, which surprised me.
If I were you, I'd look up in your local business telephone directory under industrial cleaners or industrial cleaning products.
... Took a break from writing this to enter the words "window sponge magnet" into Google search and it brought up some links including this one which the exact same one that I bought. In this ad, it reminds me that mine, too, were called "Window Mate". I'll paste the link here:
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The next link seems to be the page about this product from the company that manufactures it:
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(Both those sites are in South Africa website) But mine went by the same name so perhaps it does in other countries as well.
Another link that Google brought up was for a different brand of the same type of thing:
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As I said, I'd check with cleaning companies or manufacturers in your state or country or else email these sites to find out if they ship to retail outlets near you.
Or, of coure, check whatever search engine will help you find the same there.
I did find the Verimark one (after posting) but was unable to find a USA distributor through Google. The other one is Korean, and the company is apparently looking for distributors. Which maybe means that their product will become available here someday.
Sounds like a nifty product, and with all us Baby Boomers aging and not wanting to do ladders anymore, you'd think there would be a real market.
Anyone here try that Windex product you attach to your hose for cleaning the outside of windows? I tried it when it came out and thought it didn't work very well, but maybe they've changed the formula.
I had one of these cleaning systems many years ago when I lived in a penthouse apartment. I found that they worked poorly. The magnets weren't strong enough to put much pressure on the sponge on the outside of the glass, so all but the mildest dirt and grime stayed on. And the outside one kept falling off, so you had to drag it back in with the safety string and start again. They were also way too small to cover much area, so it was a great deal of effort to clean a large window. You had to keep hauling in the sponge to load it up with whatever you were using as glass cleaner.
I admit, however, that these were large picture windows, nearly floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall, and made of very thick glass to withstand the gales that sometimes came blowing up and down the Hudson River. The magnest might hold better on regular home window glass, and they would be smaller, of course. Also, the urban grime of a city environment was much more than you might get in the suburbs.
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