How to Clean Window Sills and Window Tracks

Window sills and tracks are often neglected when it comes to our regular cleaning routines. You might clean your glass window panes regularly and take great pride in keeping them sparkling clean, but you could be overlooking the dirt that has accumulated in the window tracks, or the layer of dust residing on your window sill. Without regular cleaning and maintenance, these areas can quickly become prime spots for bacteria, mold, and mildew to grow within your home.

In this article, we are going to walk you through some of the easiest methods for how to clean window sills and tracks effectively and efficiently. These methods require the use of no harmful, chemical cleaning ingredients, meaning they are completely safe to use within your home and will pose no harm to you, members of your household, or the environment.

Related: How to Clean Wood Doors

How to Clean Window Sills and Tracks: Equipment Needed

First and foremost, make sure you have all of the necessary tools and equipment you will need to thoroughly clean your window tracks and sills.

Most of these tools or products can be found within your home or online or at local stores at affordable prices.

Microfiber Cloth

The first thing you will need when cleaning your window sills and tracks is a good-quality microfiber cloth.

Microfiber cloths are great for picking up dirt and dust particles and are much more eco-friendly than disposable wipes. We recommend these microfiber cloths from E-Cloth:

E-Cloth General Purpose Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

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E-Cloth’s General Purpose Microfiber Cleaning Cloths come in a pack of four and are machine washable and reusable for up to three hundred washes, making them a great, cost-effective option. As well as removing grease, grime, and dirt, these cloths also trap 99% of bacteria.

Microfiber cloths are a great staple item to keep in your home; they’re excellent for cleaning almost any surface or soft furnishing and will prove extremely useful when it comes to cleaning your window sills and tracks.

DIY Cleaning Solution

This DIY cleaning solution is another great all-rounder to have within your home. Simply take a clean spray bottle and fill it with equal parts distilled water and white vinegar. You can also add in a few drops of your chosen essential oils if you would like to add fragrance to your cleaning solution.

Uineko Plastic Spray Bottle

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White Vinegar is a natural deodorizer and is also anti-bacterial, making it an excellent cleaning agent. Once you have mixed up your solution it can be stored and used indefinitely.

Baking Soda

Baking Soda is another excellent all-natural cleaning agent. Like White Vinegar, it is a natural deodorizer and has anti-bacterial properties. You should be able to find baking soda in most grocery stores and it’s generally very affordable.

Vacuum

You might also need a vacuum to assist in deep-cleaning your window sills and tracks. If your vacuum has no handheld attachments, don’t worry; it is absolutely possible to do so without the use of a vacuum.

Image	Product	Our Rating	Price
Top Choice	Shark NV356E S2 Navigator Lift-Away Professional Upright Vacuum Large dust cup capacity with lift away functionality to easily clean hard to reach areas Anti-allergen complete seal technology plus a HEPA filter that traps 99.9 percent of dust and allergens Powerful and lightweight, brush roll shutoff, deep carpet, and gentle bare floor cleaning	9.8	Check Price on Amazon
	BISSELL 2252 CleanView Swivel Upright Bagless Vacuum Powerful pet hair pick up with triple action brush roll with scatter free technology Swivel steering to easily maneuver around furniture and other obstacles Clean edges and corners with edge-to-edge cleaning	9.7	Check Price on Amazon
Best Value	eureka NEU182A PowerSpeed Bagless Upright Vacuum Powerful vacuum cleaner with 5 height adjustments and XL dust cup Smooth wheels ensure hardwood floors won’t sustain scratches or gouges Multiple accessories are included to extract dirt, pet hair, freshen up your car, curtains, ceilings, or door frames	9.6	Check Price on Amazon

Butter Knife or Metal Skewer

Finally, you will need a butter knife, metal skewer, or similar narrow tool for digging into hard-to-reach places on your window tracks and sills. Avoid anything too sharp to prevent scratching of the surfaces.

Toothbrush

It might seem a little obscure, but toothbrushes are incredibly useful when it comes to cleaning hard-to-reach spots within the home!

Now you are ready to get on to the step-by-step guide on How to Clean Window Sills and Tracks.

How to Clean Window Tracks

Now that you have all of your tools in order, it’s time to get on with deep cleaning your window tracks before focusing on how to clean window sills. Before doing so, though, we recommend that you start by cleaning your glass window panes. We suggest using the microfiber window cleaning cloths from e-cloth for an easy, streak-free clean window. Cleaning the glass after cleaning the tracks and sills is likely to result in dirt from the window panes falling or running down into the tracks, undoing any hard work you may have put into cleaning the tracks.

E-Cloth Window Cleaning Set, Reusable Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

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To clean your window tracks, start by taking your vacuum’s handheld attachment and sucking up any large pieces of dirt or dust from the tracks. This is the quickest way of removing surface-level dirt from this area. If your vacuum doesn’t have a handheld attachment, go in with a dry brush, natural cleaning wipes, or microfiber cloth, both will work well at picking up and removing dirt from the crevices of the window track.

Follow this by taking your butter knife or similar tool, covering it with your microfiber cloth or an old rag, and digging into any especially hard-to-reach spots where dirt has built up over time. Use the cloth and knife to pull the dirt out of these areas.

Next, sprinkle a light dusting of baking soda over the entire window track. Don’t be too liberal here, you want just enough baking soda to coat the surface, but you don’t want any large clumps of baking soda.

Then, spray your cleaning solution over the top of the baking soda and allow this to sit for several minutes. The baking soda and white vinegar should react with one another and fizz slightly. After this has been left to sit for a little while, take the toothbrush and scrub the window tracks from top to bottom.

Finally, go in with your microfiber cloth and remove as much of the cleaning solution and any residual dirt as possible. You might then need to rinse the cloth out and go back in to remove any dirt or cleaning solution that remains on the window track. You can also go back in with your knife and cloth combo to remove any baking soda or dirt that has been pushed into the corners of the window tracks.

Now, you should be left with sparkling clean window tracks to match your gleaming glass window panes!

Related: How to Clean Baseboards

How to Clean Window Sills

Time to move on to the window sills…

To do this, you should follow a similar method to the one listed previously. Start by removing any surface-level dust or dirt using a clean, dry microfiber cloth. If the window sill isn’t too dirty, you can bypass the baking soda and simply go in with your DIY cleaning solution and a damp microfiber cloth to clean the surface, however, if you have any stubborn stains or sticky residue on the window sill, the baking soda should do a good job of getting rid of these.

Image	Product	Our Rating	Price
Best Overall	E-Cloth General Purpose Cleaning Cloth 4 pack, high-quality general use microfiber Designed to remove over 99% of bacteria from hard surfaces with only using water Scrubs off dirt, grime, and grease easily and effectively	9.8	Check Price on Amazon
Best for Electronics	MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloths, 6 PACK 6 pack, each individually packaged, very soft microfiber cloths for electronic surfaces, such as TV, computer and phone screens and camera filters and lenses Scratch and streak-free to remove fingerprints, dust, smudges, and dirt	9.6	Check Price on Amazon
Best for Cars	Chemical Guys MIC_506_03 Professional Grade Premium Microfiber Towels 3 pack of 16 x 16-inch premium, soft microfiber cloths - won't scratch Use wet or dry to clean, machine washable	9.6	Check Price on Amazon

Again, finish off by polishing with a microfiber cloth, and you should have a wonderful, clean window sill!

Treating Mold or Mildew on Window Sills and Tracks

Mold and mildew are commonly found on window sills and tracks. These tend to be areas where excess moisture or dampness can accumulate as a result of condensation or leaks.

If you find you have mildew or mold growing around your window, simply use the baking soda and white vinegar combination we have listed earlier in this article.

Prior to carrying out your deep clean, cover the mold with baking soda and then apply your DIY cleaning solution, allow this to soak in for up to 10 minutes before wiping away with a clean cloth. If the stain remains, you could consider using some hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the discoloration, but be sure that the hydrogen peroxide is suitable for use on your window sill or track first, as it can be damaging to painted surfaces.

Final Thoughts on How to Clean Window Sills and Tracks

The key to keeping your window sills and tracks looking as clean as possible without the need for hours of excessive scrubbing is simply ongoing maintenance with these easy steps of how to clean window sills and window tracks.

By regularly cleaning these areas within your home, you can keep your window sills and window tracks looking sparkling clean to match your shining window panes, all without the need for any harmful chemical cleaning agents.