Properly maintaining your doors will extend their lifespan whilst keeping them looking great all year round. Every single home improvement product we install comes with a 10-year guarantee as standard and you can be sure a member of our team will be there to support you, should you need it.
When should you clean your door?
Waiting until the perfect temperature to clean your door will leave you with the best finish possible. The perfect weather to clean your doors is a warm day with minimal wind, too much sun and strong winds can cause the doors to dry too quickly causing watermarks.
We recommend performing small but regular cleans as this will eliminate hard dirt building up and becoming difficult to remove. Our top tip is to perform a small clean once every season, this will keep your door looking fresh and remove weathered dirt that will have appeared.
Cleaning the glazing
If you have glass panels in your front door or you have a glazed back door, it’s important that you keep them clean too. Fingerprints and smears will easily appear on the glass, and this can ruin the appearance of your door and affect the amount of light entering your home. You may think you need fancy equipment and glass cleaners for getting the perfect streak-free appearance, but you don’t. Some glass cleaners contain strong chemicals that can cause damage to the rest of your door.
The best glass cleaner can easily be made using things from around your home. Here’s our recipe for the best streak-free glass cleaner:
- One squirt of washing up liquid
- Six tablespoons of white vinegar
- Four cups of warm water
Start by dusting off any loose dirt by gently wiping over the glass with a dry cloth. Cover the glass in the homemade solution and use a non-abrasive brush to remove any remaining dirt. Remove any remaining solution by rinsing the glass using clean water. Use a squeegee to remove the additional water, leaving you with a dry, streak-free door.
Maintaining a timber exterior door
Timber home improvement products definitely don’t need as much maintenance as people often say. Our Accoya windows require very minimal maintenance, you’ll need to perform regular cleans to prevent dirt building up and you’ll need to re-treat the wood after a certain number of years.
Equipment needed:
- A soft cloth
- A non-abrasive brush
- A non-abrasive sponge
- A bucket
- Warm, soapy water
Method:
Take your non-abrasive brush and remove any dust from the door and the threshold, it will make cleaning so much easier if you do this first.
Soak the non-abrasive sponge in the warm soapy water and gently scrub at the door, small circular motions should be enough to remove any built-up dirt and grime.
Rinse off the solution with clean water and wipe the door dry with a lint-free cloth, this will remove any watermarks caused by the door air drying.
If you need to treat your timber door you should always ensure it’s completely clean and dry before beginning. This will make the application easier and leave you with the perfect finish. Your installer will be able to advise you on the best treatment to use on your timber door.
Maintaining a uPVC exterior door
Most British homeowners have a uPVC front door installed, it became a popular choice thanks to its incredible durability combined with the minimal maintenance needed.
Equipment needed:
- A non-abrasive sponge
- 2x soft cloths
- A bucket
- Warm, soapy water
Method:
Start by dusting off any loose dust or dirt with a soft, dry cloth, if you don’t do this before you start cleaning, you’ll end up smearing dirt all over the door which will be more difficult to remove.
Using your non-abrasive sponge, soak the door in warm, soapy water avoiding the glass where possible. Gently work off the dirt using a circular motion, this should be enough to remove any remaining dirt.
With freshwater rinse off any remaining solution and dry the door with a soft, dry cloth to remove streaks and marks.
For tough or built-up stains try mixing equal parts vinegar and hot water into a spray bottle, cover the door in the solution (avoiding glass panes) and leave for 10 minutes. Then wipe off the solution using a soft cloth and the grime should come off, you may need to give it some elbow grease.
Maintaining an aluminium exterior door
Aluminium is an incredibly strong building material, which is why it’s so commonly used for bi-folding and sliding patio doors. The frames are able to support much larger panes of glass, allowing your home to be flooded with natural light.
Equipment needed:
- A non-abrasive brush
- 2x soft, cloths
- A bucket
- Warm, soapy water
Method:
Many aluminium doors heavily feature glass, when you’re cleaning the frames, you want to avoid the glass and clean this separately to avoid smears. Start by using a non-abrasive brush and gently brushing off any loose dirt or dust, you can easily hoover or sweep this off.
Soak your soft cloth in the warm soapy water and gently scrub the frame in a circular motion to remove any additional grime. Make sure you remove dirt from the hardware as well as the tracks of the door.
Using clean water rinse the frames and then take your dry cloth to remove any residual water, this will eliminate watermarks leaving you with the perfect finish.