Windows

[pixi]

Hope someone can help me on this. I cannot get my windows clean. I wash them 5 or 6 times, using different combinations of cleaners,one time right after the other and they still look cloudy.

Yesterday I went after them yet again. One window in particular had cloudy smudges. So I got a razor blade and scraped the smudges. Sure enough, there was a fine film on it that scraped off. Unfortunately this window is on the second floor and is a slider (never again will I have a slider) so I cannot get to part of the window from the inside.

I don't know what this film can be. We have a paper mill about 20 miles west of us, the fumes from which sometimes reach us. And there is a powerplant perhaps 10 miles to the west. Other than that there is no industry. We are in the mountains where the air is supposed to be fresh and clean.

I could scrape all of the ground floor windows but the second floor is beyond me. I am too old to be climbing ladders.

Does anyone have any recommendation for some kind of cleaner that will cut this film?

Pixi

[Phisherman]

I would not scrape windows as this could easily scratch them. First, I'd try vinegar spray and paper towels, followed up by household ammonia and paper towels. If that doesn't remove the film, try CLR. Paper plants use a variety of chemicals, including sulfur compounds and strong alkalines (A long time ago Phish used to work for an engineering firm that designed and engineered paper refineries, hydrocyclones and digesters.)

[pixi]

Thank you. I've tried alcohol (those windows almost lead me to drink it) and vinegar and just about everything I can think of.

What is CLR?

So you think it's the paper mill? I have lived in a lot of places including industrial areas and have never before had such dirty windows!

Thanks again.

[Phisherman]

The alcohol was a good try. CLR is a liquid product (stands for Calcium Lime Rust) dispensed in a gray plastic bottle. It is not something you want to get on your skin or in your eyes.

Try kerosene. If the window film is paint, this may work. Although flammable, it is not highly poisonous and kind to the skin. If this works, you'll need to wash off the kerosene (alcohol followed up with Windex should work).

You could try acetone. This is a powerful solvent sold in metal cans. It is flammable, poisonous and dries very quickly. Some nail polish removers contain acetone, so you could try that in a small amount just to see if acetone works.

Talk to your neighbors and ask them if they have a window film.

[The Data Rat]

How about a steamer? They are really cheap now and could probably blast that stuff right off!