In case if you became a happy owner of the house with original wooden windows or if you have just got your window replaced and installed new wooden frames, sooner or later you will have a question of how to take good care of such wooden windows.
Looking after your wooden frames properly you can make them stay good looking and well insulated for a very long time and therefore you’ll be able also to save your budget because of your energy efficient windows. We created these easy tips of wooden windows maintenance for you to become a confident user of all the functional advantages of your windows.
Cleaning of the wooden windows has some peculiarities that you need to know for not to damage wood while trying to take care of it. As nobody wants that, right?
Over time layer of dust and other contaminants appears on any window and unless you periodically wash it off, it can become very harmful for your wooden frames.
To look good and to stay in normal condition, wooden windows need to be cleaned thoroughly twice a year. Firstly you should remember that it’s better to start from washing the glass and then go to cleaning of your wooden frames. Dirt will drip onto your wooden frames, and you will need to clean them again, if you decide to take care of the frame first.
Wipe down your window surface with the wet sponge or cloth. If the dirt is washing off badly, you can use soapy water, but then rinse it well with plain water and let your window to dry out.
While cleaning, examine your window frames for any possible problems, such as:
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Rotting timber. This is the worst problem that can occur while maintaining the wooden window, usually when the moisture penetrates into the wooden part of frame and damages it from inside. This is mostly caused by not proper maintenance of the window, or if it is too old and badly finished. In this case you need to remove the rot thoroughly and fill the empty space with special wood filler. If there is too much rot, you may need to replace window with a new one.
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Problems with window hardware. Make sure that all the moving parts of the window frame are fastened well and work in the proper way, not causing any sound. If you noticed some problems with it, you shouldn’t wait until it’s getting worse, as possibly you need to get your wood window repaired.
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Cracking in the finish. This is the most widespread problem of the timber windows and it should be inspected carefully. If you found some cracking, it needs to be covered with a new layer of finish as fast as possible. Unless you take care about cracks in the finish of your wooden windows in time, soon they will let moisture to get into the frames, which can cause rotting.
If you do everything right and take care of your wooden windows, using all the tips, your wooden windows will stay durable, well-insulated and good looking for a long time.