Eko-Okna — Window Cleaning Guide

Quick Facts

Brand at a Glance

Product Range

Why This System

Step 1 of 2: Manufacturer Recommendations

Official Care Guidance

Glass

• ✓Lukewarm water with mild soap or a dedicated glass cleaner. Volume production means consistent specifications - but confirm coatings on any specification you have not cleaned before.
• ✓Microfibre T-bar on the wash, professional squeegee on the pull. Fresh rubber. At volume, rubber condition degrades faster - check and replace rubber more frequently on large-site cleans.
• ✓No razor blades without confirming the glass specification. Eko-Okna products in the new-build market frequently include easy-clean or low-E coatings.
• ✓After squeegeeing, wipe the frame perimeter - at volume, this step is the one most commonly skipped. Squeegee drips on white PVC frames dry as visible marks.

Frames

• ✓Wipe with damp cloth and pH-neutral cleaner. On large sites, use a bucket system that keeps the cleaning solution clean - dirty solution redeposits grime on frames.
• ✓No bleach, chlorine, or strong alkali. No solvent-based products. No abrasive pads.
• ✓Clear drainage slots at every window. On a development with 200 windows, this takes time - but blocked drainage on any window causes water damage that is expensive to remedy.
• ✓On colour laminate installations, handle the foil edges at corners carefully. Test any new cleaning product on one inconspicuous window before applying across the full development.

Hardware

• ✓Wipe hardware with a damp cloth and dry immediately. Steel hardware on volume-tier PVC is durable but not corrosion-proof when left persistently wet.
• ✓Check hardware function on every window - at volume, a stiff mechanism that needs lubrication is easy to miss. Operate each window through the full range.
• ✓Lubricate all moving points annually. On a large development, annual hardware lubrication should be a separate scheduled service item, not an afterthought on the glass clean visit.

Step 2 of 2: The Orloffs Protocol

The Orloffs Protocol

Pro Tools

My daily tool list. This is what I carry to every job.

Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last. This is the same sequence I use on every Eko-Okna installation.

1. 1

   Preparation -- before any water touches the glass

   Fill the bucket with at least 10 litres of water. Add soap for cleaning power -- enough to cut through environmental deposits, not so much you are fighting foam.

   Before touching the glass, brush down the surface to remove loose dust, spiderwebs, and debris. Any grit left on the glass during the wash phase risks scratching during agitation.

   Check the uPVC frame condition before you start. Confirm which cleaning product is safe for that surface before opening any bottle.

   Cover anything below the windows that cannot be moved.

2. 2

   Agitation -- apply and work the solution

   Dip the microfiber T-bar completely into the soap water, both sides. Remove excess water with your hand so it does not drip. Apply the solution across the entire glass surface with overlapping passes.

   The goal is to fully dissolve and release every deposit from the glass surface. Anything not released during agitation gets transported across the glass by the squeegee as a smear.

   For stubborn spots -- insect marks, salt residue, environmental deposits -- re-apply soap water and allow it to soak for a full minute before agitating again. Use more soap water, not more pressure.

   For panels above arm reach: attach the T-bar to an extension pole. Work in sections -- top first, then middle, then bottom -- keeping each section wet until you squeegee it.

   Rinse the T-bar cover regularly during the job. A dirty applicator causes microscopic scratches that accumulate over time.

3. 3

   Detail the frame edge before squeegeeing

   Use your 100% cotton towelling rag, finger pressed into the fabric, to work into every junction and remove pooled soap water before the squeegee pass.

   This prevents drips running down onto already-cleaned areas during squeegeeing and keeps soap water out of drainage channels.

   On Eko-Okna uPVC frames, pay particular attention to the bottom edge where glass meets the frame sill -- water pooled here runs into drainage openings and leaves residue over time.

4. 4

   The squeegee

   Tilt the squeegee at a slight angle so soap water spills from one side of the channel only -- not both. If the rubber is jumping or squeaking, either the rubber is not lubricated enough or the glass surface has warmed.

   Cutting in: start with the rubber blade making first contact on a dry edge of the glass.

   Side to side: horizontal passes across the panel. Works well on wide sections. Top to bottom: vertical passes down the panel. Works well on tall narrow sections.

   The J tune: one smooth unbroken motion top to bottom, wrist rotating at each end to reverse without lifting the rubber. The most efficient method on larger panels -- but it requires training before applying it to premium glass.

   Wipe the rubber dry after every pass. Overlap each stroke by 2-3 cm.

5. 5

   Final edge detailing

   After squeegeeing, there is always a residual line of water along the bottom edge and at the panel sides. Take a dry cotton rag, fold to a clean corner, and detail these edges in one smooth pass.

   On Eko-Okna frames, the bottom edge where glass meets the sill requires the most careful attention. Water left here runs into drainage and leaves residue that affects the next clean.

   Rotate the rag to a clean section after every pass. If the rag picks up grit at any point, replace it immediately.

6. 6

   Frame wipe and hardware check

   On Eko-Okna uPVC frames: solvent-free pH-neutral cleaner only -- solvents cause permanent surface damage. Avoid abrasive pads on the profile.

   Check that all drainage openings are clear and unobstructed. Water must be able to flow freely -- a blocked channel leads to accumulation that affects seal performance over time.

   Operate every opening window through its full range. Stiff handles or resistance at locking points indicate hardware that needs lubrication. Flag it to the owner rather than forcing it.

Pro Tips

• ★ On new-build Eko-Okna developments, construction dust in the drainage slots sets as hard as plaster - clean these with a wooden pick on the first visit, then they are manageable with a brush on subsequent visits.
• ★ Colour laminate Eko-Okna windows in woodgrain finishes are common in the German and Austrian market. The foil edges at the corners are the vulnerability - check corners on every window of a colour install, not just the ones that look problematic.
• ★ Volume PVC cleaning is a quality discipline as much as a technique - the challenge is maintaining standard on the 80th window as well as the first. Develop a sequence and stick to it.
• ★ Eko-Okna hardware in UK-market products is sometimes from a UK fabricator specification rather than Polish standard - if the hardware operates differently from what you expect, identify it before lubricating with the wrong product.
• ★ At volume, squeegee rubber condition is a bigger variable than on single-property cleans. Replace rubber at fixed intervals rather than waiting for visible performance degradation.
• ★ If the development has both white PVC and colour laminate windows, clean the colour laminate windows first with a fresh solution - the foil surface shows solution contamination more clearly than white PVC.
• ★ On large Eko-Okna new-build sites, the first professional clean after construction is significantly more intensive than subsequent cleans - price it accordingly and bring more T-bar covers and cloths than you think you need.

What NOT To Do

Bundle Kits and Tool Recommendations

Cleaning Frequency

Glass: 2x per year minimum (Spring and autumn. Urban and roadside locations: quarterly. New-build first clean: as soon as construction dust allows.). Frames: 2x per year (Same visit as glass. New-build first clean requires more frame cleaning time than subsequent visits.). Drainage slots: Every clean (At volume, this is the step most at risk of being skipped. Build it into the sequence.). Hardware lubrication: Once per year (Separate scheduled visit on large developments - do not attempt hardware lubrication as part of a volume glass clean.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Field Notes

“Eko-Okna new-build developments in Poland and Germany are often the first professional glass clean these windows have received since installation - construction dust in the drainage slots and on the frame surfaces is more severe than on a maintained property. The profile variation across Eko-Okna product lines means the first visit to any new Eko-Okna site should include a 10-minute walk to identify the specific profiles present - this saves time and prevents mistakes during the clean. UK-market Eko-Okna products are sometimes sold under a different brand name by the importing distributor - the profile and quality are Eko-Okna's, but the brand label may differ. The cleaning approach is identical.”

Justin Orloff