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Cleaning uPVC window Frames after install

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  • 21-12-2005 12:55am
    #1
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,120 ✭✭✭✭


    Hey,
    as some of you know I just got some white uPVC windows installed.
    The installers gave them a wipe but there is still some greasy film/residue in places.
    It doesnt seem to want to come off with a soapy cloth but we dont want to scratch it.
    Any suggestions?

    Thanks!


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    #2
    Kernel
    Registered Users Posts: 4,388 ✭✭✭Kernel


    If it's only in small places you can try lighter fluid, just don't smoke while you are doing it! :)


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    #3
    later
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭later


    the guy who did some for us a while back said a small bit of jif/cif will clean them


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    #4
    danxtremeclean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 25 ✭danxtremeclean


    Hi all

    As a professional cleaner this is a big issue we come up against - we find a solvent based cleaner (similar to white spirits) works well and then a good clean with glass polish. A kitchen scrubbing sponge (the green ones) are good as well with plenty of water or solvent cleaner to prevent scratching. Ever Build do a UPVC solvent cleaner in liquid or cream that should be available form your local builders merchants or hardware store.

    Dan


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    #5
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,120 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    danxtremeclean wrote:
    A kitchen scrubbing sponge (the green ones) are good as well with plenty of water or solvent cleaner to prevent scratching.
    Hey, I had been using one of those sponges, yellow on one side and the a rougher green side, but I noticed that I could see fine scratches under a certain light/angle so we stopped.
    Mr Muscle seems to take it off also.
    contemplating Cilit Bang but am afraid window will dissolve!


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    #6
    kadman
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators Posts: 5,069 Mod ✭✭✭✭kadman


    AAAAArrrggghhhh.....

    Scocthbrite pads, green kitchen scrubbing sponges, these are all going to cause scratches on your new pvc.

    Scratching white pvc is going to allow, dirt and foregn muck enter the scatches and leave you with long black scuff marks, that uyou will find impossible to clean. If you dont believe me, get a scrap piece of white pvc, scrub it with your green kitchen pads, dry it, and wipe your fingers across the scratches at 90 degress. You will see the grease from your fingers filling the scratches, hey presto black marks.

    Worse still, if you do this on wood grain pvc, you will damage the wood grain surface, which is only microns thick. Polish, window cleaner , glass cleaner, are all abrasives, and should not be used. Contact the pvc supplier, and use the reccomended cleaner.

    Be care ful with upvc solvents, as some are also good at dissolving the mastic seal around your window, allowing moisture to enter.

    Well done to you Greebo, you spotted the potential harm. Impressed.
    kadman


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    #7
    yop
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators, Regional West Moderators Posts: 16,722 Mod ✭✭✭✭yop


    Lads,

    We cannot get some of the plastic covering off the black UPVC we installed, it seems to have melted into the grains!! any pointers


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    #8
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,120 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    yop wrote:
    Lads,

    We cannot get some of the plastic covering off the black UPVC we installed, it seems to have melted into the grains!! any pointers
    yikes
    how long has it been on for?


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    #9
    CJhaughey
    Registered Users Posts: 14,906 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    use a solvent like white spirits or maybe meths and a soft cloth and plenty of elbow grease, can you use a little heat? from a hair dryer? it sometimes moves easier when warm rather than on a freezing cold day.


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    #10
    danxtremeclean
    Closed Accounts Posts: 25 ✭danxtremeclean


    to be honest - there is nothing you can use that will clean the window thouroughly without damaging it in some way, every supplier has different ideas and there is no simple solution. As to wood grain the manufactures i have spoken to say you can use a nail brush (bathroom type) and lots of warm soapy water. For cement and the like you can by safety scrapers in hardware stores which can be used with care but once again as you scrape it off you run the risk of it pulling off the protective layers on the windows. The tape should be removed within three months of the windows being fitted, again a scraper can be used with care to remove it. The ideal option to prevent all of this is using a product called Glassguard 0719630930, an additional expense but does a fantastic job of protecting your windows which we all know aren't a cheap investment. The solvent cleaner I suggested previously is specifically for cleaning UPVC windows and recommended by manufacturers.

    Dan


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