How to Clean Window Tracks Without Scrubbing

$1
10 Minutes
Easy
Window tracks can be very hard to clean. You would think this would be a tedious chore, but my new way of cleaning the tracks is so quick and easy!
Window tracks can be very hard to clean. The space in the tracks can be so small that I have had trouble cleaning them. I have tried to vacuum some of the dirt out, but it’s such a small space that it just didn’t work. The dirt is now caked on and they are filthy!


Because I have had so much luck with baking soda and vinegar in other areas of my house, I figured that I would give it a shot here! Here is what the window tracks look like. As you can see the top tracks are filthy. It took me about two minutes to clean the bottom track. No scrubbing involved.


Here is what you will need:


-vinegar


-baking soda


-q-tips


-paper towel or other absorbent cloth
Here is How to Clean Window Tracks Without Scrubbing in 4 steps:


ONE ~ Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda on window track. More is not better here…unless you want a fizzy mess to clean up. To give you an idea of how much I used: When cleaning a window approximately four feet across, I used just a few teaspoons of baking soda.


TWO ~ Pour a small amount of vinegar on the window track. Again you don’t want to add too much, as there may not be anywhere for the vinegar to go. You want to add just enough that the baking soda fizzes a bit and there is enough vinegar to clean and help wipe up the dirt. With a few windows I was able to lift up the screen and let any access run off outside.


THREE ~ There was no scrubbing involved. I simply used the q-tips to help loosen up the dirt. I only needed to use them on windows with small spaces between the tracks.


FOUR ~ I placed a few paper towels* over the tracks to help soak up the vinegar. I swiped them down the tracks to wipe up the dirt. I had to use a few more paper towels to get all the dirt up and soak up any sitting vinegar. You can use an absorbent cloth* instead of paper towels.


I have windows with four small grooves in the tracks. You would think this would be a tedious chore, but my new way of cleaning the tracks is so quick and easy! I have not cleaned the tracks in 3.5 years…and there still was no scrubbing involved.
MorningMotivatedMom
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Kathy Kathy on Apr 12, 2016
    Will this work on shower door tracks? I must try.
  • Don't want to Don't want to on Jan 05, 2017
    Will this work on shower door tracks?
  • Joan Neill Joan Neill on Dec 21, 2017

    I need to clean a sliding door track. Think it will work. Its a very built up mess?

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2 of 11 comments
  • Betsy Hughes Betsy Hughes on Oct 14, 2016
    Ty. Can't wait to try
  • Holly Donahue-Bannon Holly Donahue-Bannon on Apr 04, 2021

    Thus is a great, old school cleaning process that my grandmother used to pay me 50 cents per window to do when I was a kid. Lol Today, I have made it slightly less messy by using my mini shop vac to suck up the dirty sludge prior to going in with the butter knife, and again after. Makes the remaining wipe down of the baking soda much quicker.

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