How to Clean and Maintain Your French Doors: A Complete Guide
4 minute read
Cleaning the Glass
If you have your own preferred glass cleaner and window cleaning tool, use the resources you know and trust to clean your French Doors. If your approach has proven to do a good job cleaning without leaving streaks on windows and glass doors, there’s no need to change it. Or, if you’re looking for a better way, here are several effective options:
Use Commercial Spray Cleaner
WASH: Spray a liberal amount of your favorite commercial spray glass cleaner onto the glass panes of your French Doors. Be sure to spray in the corners.
DRY: Use a clean squeegee or lint-free cloth to dry the glass. This can be the simplest and quickest approach to cleaning the glass on your French Doors. But, if you haven’t found a window cleaning product you like, you may want to try one of the alternatives below.
Use Liquid Dish Soap
WASH: Mix a diluted solution of liquid dish soap and warm water, and apply it to windows using a window cleaning squeegee.
DRY: Rinse windows with clear water on a separate squeegee, and pull the remaining water with the squeegee to dry the glass. This method leaves the glass sparkling clean and free from streaks.
Use White Vinegar
WASH: Pour a liberal amount of white vinegar onto a wad of old newspaper, and use it to wipe the glass clean.
DRY: Use dry newspaper wads to dry the glass. The combination of vinegar and newsprint makes a highly effective cleaning combination for glass.
Cleaning the Wood, Vinyl, or Aluminum Doors
The right approach to cleaning the non-glass parts of your French Doors depends on the type of material from which the door is manufactured.
- WOOD: Cleaning wood on French Doors is a simple process. Use a gentle wood cleaner, or mix a mild liquid household cleaning soap and clean water. Use a household sponge to apply the soap solution to the wood areas of the doors. Use a scrub brush with soft bristles for tough grime and in hard-to-reach corners and glass edges, if needed. Rinse with cold water. DRY: Let the door air dry.
- VINYL: Use a commercial vinyl door and window frame cleaner. Or, mix a cleaning solution of 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water. Apply it to the door vinyl with a soft cloth, and use paper towels or a lint-free cloth to dry the door. If streaking occurs, rinse the door with clear water and dry it again.
- ALUMINUM: Prewash the door with plain water. Then, apply commercial aluminum cleaner or light liquid dish soap and water solution with a gentle scrub brush. Rinse the door with clean water, and dry it with a clean, lint-free cloth.
Cleaning the Door Hardware
Clean all the metal fixtures on your exterior French Doors regularly to help prevent rusting and preserve the proper functioning of the hardware. Use an appropriate commercial cleaner formulated for the type of metal on your door. For example, if your locks, handles, and hinges are steel, brass, or some other metal type, choose a good cleaner for that kind of metal.
After cleaning, apply a few drops of lubricating oil to the door lock and hinges to help prevent corrosion due to moisture and keep the lock and door handles working properly.
How Often Should I Clean My French Doors?
You should set a regular schedule for cleaning your home’s windows and exterior glass doors, including your French Doors. The appropriate door cleaning frequency can depend on:
- Whether your climate region is rainy or dry.
- Whether you live in an urban or rural location with dusty roads and land area.
- Levels of outdoor air pollution from industry and vehicle traffic in your area.
- Your home’s indoor air quality, based on the amount and kinds of cooking and other activities in your home.
Generally speaking, around once per month may be a sufficient schedule, seasonal temperatures permitting. When glass cleaning is done routinely, it typically takes only a few minutes to do a good job and make your French Doors look great.
Why Choose Advanced Window Products?
Advanced Window Products is Utah’s leading manufacturer of energy-efficient doors and windows. We make it easy to upgrade your home with new French Doors and other new doors and windows with zero-interest financing for two years (with qualifying credit). All our home improvement products have our satisfaction guarantee and a double lifetime warranty.
