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

I do inside, when they get really bad - once a year

Outside once every few months (window cleaner)

Not long. I hate smears on windows more than dirty ones

Nevery heard of it. Would love to try one out. I would use it on windows, tiles and mirrors

The window cleaner does the outside. Other half does the inside once we realise it's not actually foggy outside!

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
We had new windows put in about 18 years ago - think I have cleaned them three or four times. window cleaner wouldn't clean our windows due to logistics. Windows are tilt and turn - but windows are probably old and arthritic and forgotten how to do it. Oh dear - I am such a slut.

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
You are supposed to clean windows?

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
Partner might do it once in a lifetime. I am a biennial window cleaner - no, possibly a quatrennial window cleaner - and the four years are up this year.

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?
Had heard of it but couldn't remember who made it -was just about to research on Amazon (new years resolution to be cleaner and tidier - ha)

~ 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 usually but from time to time I get a cleaner in. They do look lovely after he has come. He s better at it than me

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Mmmmm every couple of months for ALL the windows but I do the most important / visible ones more regularly

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
I spend very little time but as we live in a clean'isn area and a lot of my windows have some sort of anti dirt coating the windows are not that bad. I have a lot of bi fold doors so it takes a long time to clean them. Streaks are the main problem.

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today?.....
Yes, I saw them on Amazon. I am tempted but really want to try one out before spending any money. They look good...but almost too good, if you know what I mean

I clean the insides every now and again (quarterly or so) and it takes a couple of hours ar least as we have lots of windows. Same for the outsides we can reach.

Crazily we can't seem to find a window cleaner!

I hadn't heard of the vac, it sounds great if it really is drip free. I'd definitely do the windows more. And probably the shower glass too.

~ 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 for outside and I clean the inside.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Outside the window cleaner comes ever 4 weeks.
Inside is whenever I remember (or get driven mad by sticky fingerprints on the windows.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
Not sure, probably no more than an hour, nether of us feel equipped to tackle to outside Main problem encountered is trying to do things with young children around!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today?
Yes but not really sure of how it works
Do you have one in your household?
No
Would you contemplate trying one out?
Would love to
Why?
I hope it would do a better job (and being a gadget, DH may use it!)
What do you think of it?
Looks very interesting
Where else do you think you'd use it?
probably other places prone to sticky finger prints eg kitchen cupboard doors/ shower screen

~ 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 for outside and I clean the inside.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Outside the window cleaner comes ever 4 weeks.
Inside is whenever I remember (or get driven mad by sticky fingerprints on the windows.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
Not sure, probably no more than an hour, nether of us feel equipped to tackle to outside Main problem encountered is trying to do things with young children around!

~ Had you heard of the Kärcher Window Vac before today?
Yes but not really sure of how it works
Do you have one in your household?
No
Would you contemplate trying one out?
Would love to
Why?
I hope it would do a better job (and being a gadget, DH may use it!)
What do you think of it?
Looks very interesting
Where else do you think you'd use it?
probably other places prone to sticky finger prints eg kitchen cupboard doors/ shower screen

I hardly ever clean the windows though I would if I has the Karcher as it's the enormity/time of the task that prevents me even embarking on this job.

What's more, our window cleaner stopped coming as dh gave him the hump one day so we have dirty windows inside and out.

I used to have a window cleaner but he died .

Think I have cleaned them once since and DH does them occasionally.

I'd love a steamy Karcher. Seen the ads and I'm a sucker for a gadget ad.

i only do it now & then, tbh i could do it a lot more often! this vac sounds interesting never heard of one of these before

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
My mum - she loves a sparkly window - but she's not so good at the outside of the upstairs windows - we just can't persuade her to get up the ladder!

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Pretty much whenever Mum visits - I am currently 40+5 weeks pregnant and she has been here for a week, our conservatory windows have never been so clean.

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
No time at all, never had any problems we just make sure the necessary products are available for Mum when she arrives.

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 Kärcher but would contemplate getting one to makes Mums life a bit easier ... then she would have more time to clean the oven.

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? Inside me or our cleaner give them a wipe down now and again. Ditto outside downstairs. Outside upstairs are very overdue a clean

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? Not very often! Now and again when they look really mucky

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered? We had big sliding glass doors put in at the back recently and they definitely need more work to keep them clean, especially with mucky finger marks at 15-month-old level. So need to put in more work regularly there.

~ 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? Had never heard of it. Would contemplate trying. Might use for bathroom mirrors. Would be concerned that it would be a faff to fill/empty etc and that I'd never get around to getting it out.

Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
I generally do the inside of our windows, and the outside I really need to find a window cleaner as I can't remember when they were last done

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Inside I suppose every couple of months - the problem is we have an older house with what to look at are cute multi-panneled windows, those that are made up of lots of squares. To clean they are a nightmare as you can't take one large sweep at them but have to clean each individually and so there are anywhere between 20 and 50 panes of glass per window.

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
We don't limit the amount of time, just do what needs to be done to get them 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?
I hadn't heard of this before. I'd love to try one as it would make cleaning our windows so much more enjoyable. I would also use it for the shower screen (a curved affair that requires yoga positions to clean it!) and to keep the car cleaner. Can it be used on wooden floors? If so I have a house that would benefit all round.

My one pet hate is cleaning windows, I have a conservatory with umteen windows and french doors. I clean them every 2 months inside but they get cleaned every fortnight by my useless window cleaner.
My son has a Karcher Window Vac and he shown me how to use it on his bi fold doors and glass dining table it was amazing and i want one NOW.

Inside the house I clean the windows. The downstairs ones once every few weeks. Upstairs less often. I cleaned them lat week and it will have been months before that when I celaned them.

Outside - rarerly cleaned. I kept waiting for a window cleaner to turn up when I moved in and one never came. I clean them, but it is once every six months if that.

How much time would I spend. not much more. What problems do I encounter? I am short- climbing onto the side next to the sink to lean over the sink and clean the windows in the kitchen is a faff.

I hadn't heard of the Karcher Window Vac before, but I would love one. Would also use it on mirrors and would try it out on the shower tiles.

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

I have a window cleaner do the outside and I do the inside with my window vac!

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

Once a month by the window cleaner and then I try to do the insides on the same day , I do glass doors more often because of mucky little hand prints.

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

I have a ridiculous number of windows in my house so it's a big job. I have the window vac for this reason as I used to get worn out doing it by hand.I would never have attempted to clean every window in my house in one go before as it would have taken all morning. Now I think I do the whole house in about 45 mins.

~ 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?

Yes as I own one already after seeing one in action at my friends house.I think it's brilliant and makes cleaning the windows so much easier and I don't get the smears. I also use it for the shower screen and mirrors and for cleaning the inside and outside of the summer house widows.

My husband cleans the windows outside and I do the insides.

They get done about twice a year. We just never seem to find the time

I suppose an hour would mean they would all get a clean. I find it hard work to not get any streaks so it takes me ages as I keep going over the windows to try and get rid of them. we have a huge window and you can't reach the top of it without ladders so it rarely gets cleaned because of this.

I've never heard of the Karcher window vac but it sounds good. My son loves gadgets so if I had one I could get him to use it and it would save me loads of time

we rent our property, and were supposed to get the windows cleaned every few weeks, but this hasnt happened for about a year now, so we do it ourselves inside and out, about once a month. i tend to do the inside and my partner does the outside. for the inside i just use sainsburys own window cleaner spray which has vinegar in it. it does a good job, and i just use regular kitchen towel with the spray, as this leaves no streaks. my partner bought a small window cleaning set which he uses to do the outside, with the proper brushes, but we dont have anything to reach the upper window with as its only a small brush.
it takes me about 10mins to do the inside windows, and my partner about 15 to do the outside.
i have heard about the karcher window before, would love to own one as it seems such a good product and would love to try it out and see its as good as ive read. we have tiled surfaces in the house, so could use it for that too

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows?
I am - no-one else in house really cares! I just got window cleaner to do the outside last week but that is the first time in 5yrs in this house.

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
outside probably every couple of months. Try to do inside about once a month.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
I takes about 30mins to do all the inside windows plus mirrors. biggest problem is putting it off but I know it doesn't take long when I get started - takes longer moving DD2 around so she can still see me in each room. All the upstairs windows open in so I can clean the outside while still insider which is fine. Do find it a bit of a faff doing outside of downstairs windows as they are high so need a step ladder.

~ 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 heard of it and have seen in on TV. I'm not sure I see that it would be any better/quicker than washing with a spray and a cloth. It seems you have to wash windows then use the vac just to dry. I use a cleaner that just sprays on, you clean and polish in one go and it is virtually always streak free. I would of course still be interested in trying one out to see if I'm wrong but wouldn't pay £99 to try it!
I think it may be useful in bathroom for doing the tiles after a shower. DH never squeegees after a shower but if there was something with a power button to do it, it might encourage him! LOL

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 who turns up when he can be bothered. He does all 7 windows for £7. That's just the outside though. As for the inside we do them ourselves with good ole glass cleaner and kitchen roll as and when we can be bothered. Which isn't often cos our windows are HUGE!

How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Outside is supposed to be once a month inside i can't even remember last time i did them!

How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
If i was left to it and not interrupted with anything else i'd get them done in half a day. The main problem would be reaching (our ceiling height is9.5ft) so ladders would be needed and also i'm proper anal about streakds on the glass etc

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 hadn't, i'd heard of karcher pressure washers n hoovers but not the window vac. We don't have one i'd deffo try it if it makes window cleaning easier. I'd possibly use it on the inside of the car on the glass where the dog has rubbed his nose on it etc.

~Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? Insides easy to reach I get my girls to do it with CIF wipes, I do the hard to reach windows with a steam cleaner a few times a year (I occasionally get inexplicable mad cleaning bouts).

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)? About four times a year, or when they're looking like they need it, windows in the kitchen, bathroom and toilets get cleaned weekly but only the inside, the outside only if it needs doing.

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered? I clean because I have to, I would not be prepared to clean the windows if they didn't need it (are you mad?), I spend a good couple of hours deep cleaning them (I have bay windows tho takes a lot of time), I have windows that open midway then sort of pivot specifically for cleaning on the outside as well.
What problems do I encounter cleaning my windows....seriously? Well, the upper story there's a chance I might fall and die, and there's also the fact I don't really want to be spending my time cleaning windows after spending the entire week at work.

~ 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 never heard of the Karcher window Vac, I have a Karcher Patio cleaner tho (it's really nice in it's box, do you want it?). I would contemplate using a Karcher window cleaner, however, there is food to be bought, bills to be paid and stuff, so it's not really top of my list of priorities.

I'd rather someone else cleaned my windows, inside and out (and my patio if they really really want)! Can Karcher come round and clean our windows for free forever as a prize?

~ Who in your house cleans the windows or do you get someone to come in? What about inside and outside windows? My DH would normally, we have never got someone to clean them. We have cleaned the inside more frequently than the outside, been in our house 12 years and probably cleaned the outside 3 times in all

~ How often your windows get a clean? (inside and out)?
Inside - once a year
Outside - see above (not very often!)

~ How much time would you/ your partner be prepared to spend cleaning the windows in your house? What problems, if any, are encountered?
Probably a couple of hours inside, longer outside and the problems are the height of the windows and difficulty in getting to them.

~ 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 not heard of it before but would love to try one out because I am sat looking at my windows right now and they really need a good clean. It sounds a great product and I'd like to see if it really makes a difference and is easier than cleaning them by hand. I would also use one on bathroom tiles and mirrors throughout the house.

I am responsible for cleaning everything. The windows get done when I can't see out. Builders dust (not ours) on the outside and greasy mitts on the inside...plus the seemingly obligatory window licking on a daily basis mean they need cleaning weekly. They don't. I would LOVE a gadget....mirrors in our house suffer the same treatment....

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

How often? Errrr, well, we've been in the house three years now and they've only been done three times inside and probably twice outside

~ 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! The main problems are getting a streak free finish, reaching the high bits (we've got really tall windows) and trying to avoid it looking like my two year old has done them.

~ 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 heard of the product before and have actually stood in the shop and worked out if I could afford it, sadly I couldn't. I've seen the displays in the shops and the advertising on tv. I would definitely try one out if I had the opportunity as it looks so easy and I'm a gadget whore. I'd use it anywhere I could...bathroom, mirrors, car?...I'd find a use :)