NOW CLOSED: Let’s talk cleaning windows: Win one of two top of the range Karcher WV 70 Window Vacs (£99.99) for your thoughts...

[AnnMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Kärcher to find out your thoughts on cleaning windows - inside and out. They'd also love to get your feedback on the idea of their Window Vac.

Kärcher say "With Kärcher Window Vacuums you can save time when cleaning smooth surfaces such as windows, tiles and mirrors - without leaving streaks. The innovative water recovery system takes up dirty water before it drips - and it can be used anywhere because it is battery-operated!"

So please let us know on this thread......

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

Add your thoughts and you'll be entered into a prize draw where two MNers will each win a Kärcher Window Vac worth £99.99 (top of the range one )

Thanks, MNHQ

[Lifeisontheup]

I'm the only one who cleans windows ever.

They don't get cleaned very often as it's such a faff.

If I ended up with a good result I would be prepared to spend more time doing it but they always look smeared when I do them.

Have never heard of the window vac but would love to try it, I'm ashamed of how dirty my windows are. I would use it on mirrors and tiles too.

[HeadFairy]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? A window cleaner does the outside, I do the inside.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? Outside - quarterly, inside - as little as often :o I'm usually guilted in to doing them sometime around the spring time when suddenly the light is brighter and suddenly they become more noticeable.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered? I tend to do them a few at a time, ie just downstairs/upstairs or front of the house/back of the house. I would usually spend no more than half an hour at a time doing them. The problems I usually encounter mostly involve trying to stop the children "helping" and swishing their hands in the bucket of water, or spilling water everywhere.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it? I hadn't heard of the Window Vac before today, we dont' have one. I would try one out especially as they could also be used for other cleaning tasks (such as cleaning up spills) because having another large bulky appliance taking up storage space purely for cleaning windows would be less appealing. We would definitely use it for cleaning up spills as we have stone floors downstairs.

[Arianasmummy]

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

I do - if i ever get time.
We do get window cleaners coming round touting their services but we have felt cheated by them. They start off with their initial price and then a few weeks later decide to increase their price. I now lean out of the windows with my own squeegie

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Errrmmm.........about every 6 months

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

No more than 30 mins total

Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

Next door neighbours have one - they are retired and their house, garden and windows are spotless......they clean their car at least twice a week...we fell like hillbillies in comparison.

Would it get the streaks off my shower

I'd love one....

[Littlecherublegs]

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
We used to have a window cleaner doing the outside but realised he was doing a great job so cancelled him (shame really). My DH does the inside and the donwstairs outside ones when he gets chance.

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Probably about once every 6 months!!!!!

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
Not long to be honest!! Not an easy task and they often seem dirty / streaky again very quickly so you just think 'is it worth it??'

Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
Have heard of it, seen an advert I think. I guess it could also be used on car windows too?? The shower screen maybe????!

[weenwee]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

We clean inside (well, I do), but outside unless it's horrid, we let the rain sort it out!

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

Every few months, if that (I know, we're bad!)

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

Maybe 10 minutes - MAYBE. We're pretty lucky, our windows are normally (not leaded glass, etc), but OMG I HATE DOING WINDOWS.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

I have, I'm interested in it, but I'm wondering what else you could use it on - backsplashes, shower doors, anything like that? Because if you could clean those things, I would sing your praises from the rooftops!

[janekirk]

Having tried most methods for cleaning the windows, from newspaper to supermarket cleaners, I've reverted to paying a window cleaner.

[threepiecesuite]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
I clean the insides and downstairs outsides. Can't reach upstairs, and don't trust any local window cleaners, they all look a bit dodgy. we live outside a school and the buses pump out lots of fumes meaning our windows are permanently rotten!

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Erm, about once a month, is that bad?

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
I'd do it more regularly if I could. The upstairs windows have small openings and I can't get my hand round to do it, and I'm not getting up any ladder, no way!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
I haven't heard of it but we have a Karcher jet sprayer and I love using that, I generally think their products are very good quality. It sounds quick and easy to use.

[SciFiFan]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

My husband cleans the windows as he refuses to pay someone else to do it. He does the outside by leaning out of the window to reach . Not good as we live in a town house!

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? Not enough, probably every 4 -6 weeks.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

I'd prefer to sepnd as little time as possible on this task. My main problem is my DH risking his life to do it!!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

I had never heard of it but would be tempted to try it if it extends my husband's reach therefore meaning he doesn't have to lean so much. I could see it being used to clean the shower cubicle and on the car windows. DH is botha n obsessive cleaner and a Karcher fan so I'm sure he'd love it and find many more uses for it .

[toffeefee]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

A window cleaning company do the outsides and we do the insides.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

We have someone to come and clean the outsides every 4-5 weeks and then the insides get done as and when they need it. Small had prints etc drive me mad!

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

I HATE cleaning the windows! We do it as a chore and as we have young children we need to do this quite often. We also have glass doors, so they also need doing. I find that I spend ages trying to get rid of all the smears when doing them and I quite often end up giving up and leaving them as I can never get all the smears off!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

A family member has one and swears by it! I would love to have one as it would cut the cleaning time right down and would give a much better end result than I currently get! :D I would also use it on the mirrors, internal glass partitions, tiles (?), glass cupboard doors... so many uses for it!

[Blatherskite]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

We have a window cleaner but shhh, don't tell Dh as he would not appreciate paying £12 to get the windows done. He'd say "I'll get up on a ladder and do them" but he never would which is why I have a secret window cleaner in the first place! The window cleaner does the outside (not easily as you can only get into our back garden through the garage so I have to be in to let him through which is a pain) and I do the inside.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

The window cleaner comes about every 3 months. I think they need more regular cleaning though so I've been on the look out for someone new. The inside get done usually when the finger pints get so bad I can't stand it anymore which on my patio doors is about once a week! Upstairs and the windows hidden behind blinds is usually every 3 months or so when the window cleaner reminds me.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

I'd rather it was a quick job. Maybe an hour at absolute most. We spent extra when we had the windows done having special hinges to allow us to rotate and clean them from the inside but I've never used them. It always seems to be a very messy job to carry buckets of water around the house. The window vac sounds like it could solve that problem though.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

I hadn't heard of it before. I'd love to try one out. If it were easy and mess free enough, it would mean I wouldn't have to wait for the window cleaner to come round which would be really good as we live on a park and it's amazing how yukky the windows get when they're forever covered in pollen and leaves/flowers from all the trees. At the end of the 3 months, they are desperate for a good wash. It would mean I could get the children's fingerprints off both sides of the patio doors more easily too.

I'd probably also use it on the wall of tiles we have in the bathroom. They go from the top of the bath to the ceiling on 3 sides and are a nightmare to keep clean. I've tried spraying them with cleaner and then using the shower to rinse but the water cuts out before I can rinse the top as it's only mains fed and doing the foot end is next to impossible. The window vac would make it a really easy job. I'd also like to try it on our mirrored oven and microwave doors too. They seemed like such a good idea when we bought them but in reality, they show up every last mark and are practically impossible to get streak free. Maybe the inside of the car windows too. And the glass in the door on the garage that the window cleaner misses. And the mirrored bathroom cabinets while I'm doing the tiles. And the 2 huge walls of tiles in the kitchen too! There are loads of places it could help!.

[over40andmumtoone]

~ We have a window cleaner who does the outside every 4 weeks (it's guarateed to rain half hour after he's finished! I do the inside every few months, but weekly with our patio doors as they get really mucky with my son and the cat!

I don't think about the time it takes really, but I do make sure my son is at pre-school so I can concentrate on it. Smearing is always an issue with me - not sure what I do wrong.

I know the brand but not this product. Would love to try it, as I know Karcher are a quality product company, and if they sell something that will make my life easier, windows smear free then I'm interested. I'm sure I have friends who'd love to try it too.

[JulesJules]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

Window cleaner comes every so often to do all the outside windows. TBH they don't do a very good job, but it's only £5. I do the inside (not very often)

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

Window cleaners come about once a month. I don't do the insides very often, really it's when I notice they really need doing. And DH never does them.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

I'd rather not spend any time on it at all to be honest. I HATE doing it. We have two children and cats and full length glass windows/doors on to the garden which always have handprints and paw prints on.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

I hadn't heard of it, haven't got one, but God I'd bloody love one. I think it would cut down the time immensely and give a really good finish. Possibly DH would use it because it's a machine. I would imagine you could use it in the bathroom - tiles/showers and on mirrors etc as well. Fab.

[Babycarmen]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
We used to have a window cleaner who came once a month, but we were trying to cut our spending so we got rid. Now my partner does the windows, it is a job we both hate though!


~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Both once a month, unless they need done sooner (thanks to dirty hand prints etc)


~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
1 hour maybe. Luckily our windows turn right over so you can clean the outside easily.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
No! We would LOVE one, as I said, we HATE cleaning the windows, it takes so long doing it by hand. If possible I would give it a go on my bathroom tiles too, they are another dreaded chore!

[adagio]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

Man does the outside (front and side) every month, and the back too if I remember to leave the gate open.

We have an old '30's bay fronted house so five windows in each bay (upstairs and down) plus the nursery, hall, landing, downstairs loo, kitchen x3, backdoor, patio doors, bathroom x2, back bedroom and front door with glass surround. Thats a lot of windows!

I clean the inside rarely, probably works out roughly every 12 weeks but on rotation - so upstairs/front of house one week, downstairs front door another week, downstairs lounge another week etc. They could do with more often!

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
If its a nice day, I am more than happy cleaning windows and would cheerfully spend a few hours working my way round. Finding time is challenging (small baby!).

We have leaded windows at the top of the bays and in a few other places, so the squeegee doesn't glide and they have to be polished off by hand, same with frosted. Inside if you use the soap/squeegee combo you get drips everywhere and have to mop the windowsills or have grey water running down the walls (not good). Smears are also an issue, either streaky ones front he squeegee or circular rugby ones for the bits done by hand.

Getting the ladders out to reach is a pain (inside or out) - I need a stepladder for all windows, and long ladders for upstairs outside.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
I had not heard of it and we don't have one. I would definitely try one it sounds like it would save time which means I could do the windows more easily hence more often. I would be concerned that battery life might not be great.

I would also use it on the tiles in the bathroom (wall to wall tiles). I wonder if it would work on cupboard doors in the kitchen and the fridge?

[NorbertDentressangle]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
We have a window that cleans the outside and I clean the inside

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Window cleaner does the outsides once a month, I do the insides when they need it. Some, like the kitchen window as its near the sink, need cleaning more than others.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
As little time as possible really.
Access for upstairs windows is a nightmare as we are on the side of a hill ( back of the house is therefore 2.5 floors high, sloping paths at the sides so difficult for ladders etc) -part of the reason we have a window cleaner as he's got a ladderless system.
Another problem I seem to have is a south facing window with sealed double glazed units that, for some reason, is a PITA to clean. It seems to take loads more effort to get it smear free than any of the others. At first I thought it was because the sun was on it whilst I was trying to clean the insides but now I'm not so sure.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
I would love to try one out! We have a smaller Karcher one at work that the cleaners use and like. As well as windows I'd like to use it on my shower screen and on the car windows which I can never get clean!

[babster]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
Someone comes every month or so to clean the front windows. Inside and back - by me.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Outside front - once a month. The back ones rarely get washed - we have a lot of Velux windows so it's a faff to reach. Inside gets done when they bother me. My son makes handprints on the living room window and his bedroom window, so they get cleaned most often.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
I'd never tackle the whole house at one time. It's all very piecemeal. I wouldn't want to be washing wondows for more than a couple of hours at a time. DH would want to spend no time doing it.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
I hadn't, although I had heard of their pressure washers. I'd like to try one as it would be useful for hard to reach areas. DH might be more inclined to help if a cool gadget was involved. Also, I find my window cleaner a bit creepy!
I'd also use it in the bathrooms - we have hard water so the shower screen in particular looks very cloudy without a regular scrub.

[TheProvincialLady]

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? I clean the insides and a window cleaner cleans the outside.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? Inside - completely random depending on the room and how much sunshine we are having! Outside - every month.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered? Probably half an hour every couple of weeks or so. We have a problem with the outside of our bathroom window, which is completely inaccessible.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it? I hadn't heard of it but it sounds GREAT. I am rubbish at cleaning windows, mirrors and picture glass and would love to try it.

[JakeBullet]

Here it's ME who does the windows inside but I Ay a window cleaner £6 to do the outside once a month.

I clean my windows inside as soon as they reach the point of driving me nuts. It takes me 30 mins or so to do them all.

I have not only heard of the window vac but have used it. A friend of mine has one and I borrow it from him occasionally. It is a brilliant bit of kit and I'd love one.

[Bert2e]

~Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? I do them normally although dh will do them if prodded, we had a window cleaner but he was terrible so we stopped using him.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? Not as often as I should - about twice a year

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered? Time isn't an issue - I have problems reaching most windows, especially outside upstairs as my arms aren't long enough to reach round even with the special window cleany hinge things!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it? I've seen it on TV, I'd love to try it as I tend to leave too many streaks with a squeegie, looks like it might be good on shower screens too.

[Belo]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

I clean the ones that don't involve a ladder. My husband does the ones which need a ladder.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

I'm not sure I want to confess that in a public forum ... Once a year downstairs and inside. Once every 5 years outside upstairs

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?

1 hour a session. It's hard to clean the outside of my daughters window as it is above the conservatory. I'm actually not sure that has ever been cleaned...

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

No. I haven't heard of it. I like the idea of any time saving gadget. And, we're about to invest in glass sliding doors for the back of our house so I'm going to read up on it.

[bluebump]

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
I clean the windows here, but i'm the only adult here - i'm sure my DS would love to help but I think he'd be more of a hindrance! I had one of those extending poles with a brush on the end to do the top floors but it's gone rusty having been left in the garden all winter.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Inside my windows get a clean, ahem, once a month or so. I think the majority of the dirt is outside so even if I clean the inside they look dirty still. The one window I do the most is the patio doors on the lounge as I can do the inside and outside of those.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
I would spend as long as it took to do a decent clean if I could.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?
I haven't heard of the Vac before but it sounds BRILLIANT. I think i'd use it on my shower tiles and the mirrors I have in the house as well as the windows.

[helcrai]

I clean all the windows myself in the house- inside and out. Didn't bother with a window cleaner after the slapdash job watched them doing on neighbour's house!

I clean the inside about once a month- usually when I notice lots of fingermarks from kids! Outside downstairs gets done about every six weeks downstairs and about every three months upstairs ( I have to hang outside to do them so dangerous!)

I don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning windows- half an hour tops. They always look streaky when I use a cloth and I'm terrified I'll fall out doing the upstairs its so difficult to stretch round.

Have heard of the Karcher Window Vac and thought hmmm that could solve my problem, but tbh thought it a bit too expensive to buy. Would love to try one out- think it would be useful in my bathroom- cleaning it is a nightmare as tiled floor to ceiling. Anything that would save me effort and scary aerobatic hanging-out of windows must be good.

[goldenretriever]

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?

Have just moved, so need to get someone to clean them. Only do insides when they look really mucky

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?

Rarely.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
One hour. small children get in the way.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today? Do you have one in your household? Would you contemplate trying one out? Why? What do you think of it? Where else do you think you'd use it?

No, but would contemplate using one if I heard that it was good and easy.

[ohmeohmyforgotlogin]

1. Clean windows embarrassingly infrequently, every few months. Outside ones I can reach and inside.
   
2. Probably quarterly outside, inside every few months when get too mucky.
   
3. Don't like doing it, very annoying to get streaks, awkward as I am short and needs lots of effort.
   
4. My brother has one of your machines that I covet. Yes I would love one, because looks easy, avoids lots of effort for better results, could use in shower I guess, maybe on tiling in bathroom.