Some glass gets touched far more than it gets cleaned. The storm door everyone shoves with a flat hand. The glass railing on the balcony that holds every rain spot. The front door of your shop, smeared again by noon.
That’s the glass this page covers: doors, sunroom panels, railings, storefront and lobby glass, and large mirrors when you ask. House windows are on our window cleaning page.
Glass we clean
- Storm doors and glass entry doors. Both sides, plus the frame and the push area.
- Sunroom and porch enclosure panels. Inside and out, as high as we can reach from the ground or a ladder.
- Glass railings. On balconies, porches and stairs.
- Storefront and lobby glass. Entry doors, display windows and sidelights for small businesses and apartment buildings.
- Large mirrors. Gym and studio walls, lobbies, and big bathroom or entry mirrors, on request.
If your sunroom has a glass roof, that’s closer to rooftop work. See skylight cleaning for how we handle glass you can only reach from above.
Door and railing glass takes more care
The National Glass Association publishes a cleaning paper for architectural glass, written with the window cleaners' trade group (2020 edition). It says heat-treated glass, which includes tempered glass, “is used in most architectural glass products today.” It also says heat-treated surfaces “require greater care when cleaning,” and that razor blades “should be the last possible option, especially on heat treated glass.”
So we don’t scrape door or railing glass. We soak it with water and a mild cleaner, loosen the dirt, and pull it off with a squeegee. That’s the routine method the paper lays out.
Laminated glass and its edges
Some railings and doors use laminated glass: two sheets bonded with a plastic layer between them. The paper says that layer is usually exposed around the edge, and that cleaning fluids “must be kept away from this area.” Its list of things to avoid includes bleach, ammonia and strong acids. We keep cleaner off the edges and dry them by hand.
Storefront and lobby glass
Entry doors take the most hands and the most weather. The same paper says glass should be cleaned “as dirt and residue appear,” and that how often depends on the site and local conditions. In general, it says twice a year is enough, though some places need it more often. A busy front door usually needs it far more often than the side panels do.
Manage more than one building? Our commercial and multifamily page covers how we look after the rest of the exterior for HOAs and property managers.
Mirrors: dry edges, no sprayed glass
The edge is a mirror’s weak spot. AGC, a glass and mirror maker, says in its mirror cleaning guide to put the cleaner on the sponge, not on the mirror. It says the edges “must always be dried quickly and thoroughly,” because many detergents can cause a defect called “black edge” if they sit there too long. It also rules out razor blades, steel wool and abrasives.
That’s how we clean mirrors. Cleaner on the cloth, nothing sprayed at the glass, and every edge wiped dry before we move on.
What cleaning can’t fix
- Scratches. The paper notes that a scratch you can’t see under a gray sky may be “very noticeable when the sun is at a certain angle.” Cleaning won’t remove it.
- Etched or pitted glass. If the surface itself is damaged, it stays that way.
- Black mirror edges. That’s damage to the back of the mirror, not dirt.
- Fog inside double-pane glass. On a door or sunroom panel, that moisture is sealed between the panes, where we can’t reach it.
We don’t replace glass, resilver mirrors or repair doors. If we see one of these, we’ll show you and tell you who to call.
You probably don’t need this if…
- It’s one storm door with fingerprints. A soft cloth and a mild cleaner will handle that.
- The glass is cracked or broken. Call a glass shop.
- The mirror is already black around the edges or the backing is flaking. A new mirror is the fix.
- Your sunroom panels are plastic, and you can’t find out who made them. We’d want the maker’s cleaning advice before we touch them.
What happens next
At home, book a free exterior evaluation. Show us the doors, railings and sunroom you want done, and mention any large mirrors when you book. We’ll tell you what will come clean and what won’t.
For a storefront or lobby, call or text Terrance at (812) 664-6222 and tell him what glass you have. We’re open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
Common questions
Do you use a razor blade on glass?
Not for routine cleaning. The glass association’s paper says razor blades and metal scrapers should not be part of routine cleaning, and should never be used on coated glass. Most of what’s stuck on a door softens with water and a mild cleaner. If something still won’t let go, we stop and show you instead of scraping.
Can you clean plastic sunroom panels?
Tell us when you book if the panels are plastic rather than glass. Plastic can call for different tools and cleaners than glass, so we look up what the panel maker allows before we start. If we can’t find that, we’ll say so and leave them alone.
Do you clean mirrors inside the house?
Yes, large mirrors on request, like a wall of gym mirrors or a big entry or bathroom mirror. Mention them when you book. We put the cleaner on the cloth, never on the glass, and dry every edge, the way mirror maker AGC recommends. Mirrors that are already black at the edges won’t look new, and we’ll tell you that up front.