Window cleaners use water to clean windows. No problem – a bucket of water, some soap, a sponge and a squeegee is all they need, right? But what about winter?

In the winter, when temperatures drop, water tends to freeze outside. Window cleaners either have to stop cleaning windows or they need to make some kind of adjustment.

At Northern Illinois Windows, they mix windshield washer solvent with the water. The colder the weather, the more solvent they use. If it’s not so cold, they just use a solution with a little less solvent.

Other window washing companies may use ethanol or even alcohol racing fuel in the winter to avoid the bucket-of-frozen-water syndrome. Whatever they use, they all have one thing in common; when the temperature drops below zero degree Fahrenheit, there’s not much they can do. Even these mixtures and elements begin to thicken when the air is that cold.

Of course, another aspect of washing windows in the winter is the effects of the elements on the window cleaners themselves. The colder it is, the more they need to bundle up. As a result, their physical movement is hampered somewhat. It can slow the process.

For a professional window cleaner, they’re generally good enough at what they do tha they can clean your windows without getting the water (or whatever is in the bucket) all over themselves. That’s a bit tricky but it’s something they learn after doing the job for a while.

When the temperature gets cold, it’s a really good idea not to get wet out there. A wet window cleaner is liable to be a sick window cleaner the next day.

Many people don’t even think about the idea of someone washing their windows in the winter; they assume the cold brings the process to a halt. That’s not the case. It merely requires appropriate accommodations.

Regardless of the temperature, as long as it’s above zero, Bill Thomas, the owner of Northern Illinois Windows, said his window cleaning technicians are able to do the same quality work. They still get those windows clean.