Hot (Warm) or Cold Water Window Cleaning?

Posted by Garrett McAlister on Sep 23, 2021

Hot (Warm) or Cold Water Window Cleaning?

If hot, what is the optimal water temperature for cleaning windows?

Let's start with temperatures, when we say hot we really mean warm. We don't want water to be too hot and then applied to a cold window...it can cause it to crack. It's difficult to put a finger on the actual temperature of the water and the glass in order to make it crack...it depends on the quality of the glass. But to be safe we heat the water to a "warm" temperature, enough to significantly improve the cleaning but not too much to risk cracking cold glass.

Factoid: The Ionic Systems Thermo-pure heater on the Zero System can heat the water up to 176 Degrees Fahrenheit, if desired.

Because it is easier, most window cleaners use cool water. Easy access and no heater cost. Of course, this will usually get the job done but hot water leads to better results and here is why:

Removes Dirt Easier

Hot water temperatures make the dirt particles move more and dissolves them faster. This is why people wash dishes in warm water and why using hot water will significantly reduce your time to remove dirt from windows.

Removes Grease

Hot water does a better job of removing grease and other similar contaminates. Although we mainly use purified water to clean windows there are also specialty situations where inserting a detergent or chemical into the water stream will be needed for a professional clean. This holds true for things like removing tiger stripes from the exterior of gutters and removing algae stains from metal cladding building exteriors.

Kills Bacteria

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that warm water is more effective for removing germs. For example when washing hands ideal temperature is between 100 and 108 degrees Fahrenheit. This has been debated. There are some newer studies that say cold water is just as effective in the hand-washing scenario so we have upped the ante with offering UV Disinfecting of water on the Ionic Zero System. Now that kills virus and bacteria. And we still like hot water, no matter what they say.

Leaves Less Streaks

Hot water reduces the drying period and leaves far less streaks on glass surfaces.

Winter or Predominately Cold Weather Areas

Hot water is perfect to use in freezing temperatures and also prevents the water pump from freezing.

Efficiency

At the end of the day it's all about cleaning faster and better. Time is money and hot water saves time.

Interesting fact: The "feed" water moving through a pure water window cleaning system can negatively affect the water production if it gets too cold. The ideal scenario is water at 77 degrees Fahrenheit. If it dropped to 39 degrees your water production would be cut in half.