Fall window cleaning checklist for Iowa homes

Fall is the most important window cleaning of the year in Iowa. Once temperatures drop below 40°F it's hard to clean exterior glass without water freezing on contact, and once snow starts, you're done until April.

Here's the checklist we walk through on every fall job.

Exterior glass

• Pollen, dust, and rain-streak removal on all panes
• Bug debris from screen contact (especially boxelder bugs)
• Tree sap on south- and east-facing windows
• Hard-water spots on basement and sprinkler-hit windows

Screens

• Remove every screen, scrub with soap, rinse, dry, re-hang
• Flag any screens with holes (mice and bats use these as entry points all winter)
• Straighten bent frames

Tracks and weep holes

• Vacuum every track, leaves and seed husks pack in fast
• Clear weep holes (the tiny slots at the bottom of vinyl frames) so water can drain instead of freezing inside the frame
• Wipe sills

Interior

• Glass, frame, sill
• Lock and latch wipe-down, they get touched daily but rarely cleaned

What to inspect (we'll flag during the job)

• Cracked or fogged double-pane seals (replace before winter)
• Caulk gaps around exterior frames
• Soft or rotted sills

Schedule fall service early

We book out 2–3 weeks in October. Spring tends to be more flexible than fall.