apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am in a similar quandary. I thought of getting out on the fire escape to clean the outside properly with a squeegee but, sadly, I don't trust the fire escape to actually hold up to any real use.

A few years back I lived in a high-rise on the top floor. The windows were those crank kind that open on the vertical but then the middle sections were fixed. To clean the whole window I stood on the ledge inside my window and flung water and soap across and then worked a sponge as best I could. Insane, and there was nothing to prevent that window casing from falling out, but I had clean windows.

I found a window screen cleaner sponge type thing at my local hardware store. I haven't tried it yet but it seems like cleaning my window screens will improve the dirt situation too. You might want to look into it.

i too have been wondering how to clean the outside of my windows. i get alright afternoon sunlight. but it throws me off when the sun is shining in and has to filter through dirty glass. it makes the windows seem even dirtier. i know my screen is dirty as well. i have the old windows that don't pop out for cleaning. and unfortunately the top window part is painted shut so i can't even do one at a time. . .curse those landlords that just paint over everything as a solution to actually cleaning or FIXING something. . .this is also why all the TILES in my shower tub are painted over a nasty yellow. I have yet had the patience to go in there and scrub it all off. . but that is another rant. ..

I've been guilty of throwing buckets of soapy water on opposite windows while trying to scrub them with a sponge attached to a broomstick.

Having windows over the entrance to my building is hard to clean since I don't want to surprise anyone coming out of the building (lowers head).

I also live on the 4th floor of my apt building and my windows were disgusting when I first moved in. I used a sponge/squeege from a car parts place to clean those that were close to each other - leaning out one window and reaching over to clean the other. For the bathroom window (which is quite far from the others), I ended up leaning out the closest window with a wet sponge mop. I actually worked okay. I would recommend cleaning at a very early or late hour to avoid splashing passersby on the sidewalk, though.

(on the painted windows and tile . . . )
I was able to buy some sray-on paint remover at the hardware store that stripped the paint RIGHT OFF the tile in a friend's bathroom. The whole project took a single afternoon and now they have nice white subway tile.

as for the windows being painted shut, I have on several occasions contemplated using a paint scraper and hammer to break the paint seal - or just stripping the whole thing and starting over with a new coat. I am sure that you could apply th same sort of paint remover and be done pretty quickly.

About painted tile--I actually WANT to paint mine, which is a vile blue. Does anyone know what kind of paint is proper for this use? The tiles extend into the tub/shower area, BTW.

thanks for the comments on the painted tiles. ..i almost would rather move out all together. anyways. don't know what kind of paint you can use on tile, but the kind on mine is definately coming off very easy from the humidity. maybe something like an enamel similiar for what you paint metal with. . just a guess.

Funny story - A while after I moved in with my husband, I comment on how filthy the windows were. We live on the 14th floor and he said he had heard there was talk of having a service come and clean them but that some people in the coop thought it was too expensive. A year later I attended my first shareholders' meeting, stood up in front of 50 people and demanded to know when they were going to do something about the windows. About half the room shouted at once. "They tilt IN!"
Duh.

Whoops. I drop** an 'ed.'

On the subject of windows and paint, can you paint the interior portion of window frames? Not the outside frame, but the inner part? My windows are an ugly black metal and I'd like to paint them. Anyone else do this without sticking their windows closed permanently?

I'm live in a tenament on the UES. My BR windows were painted shut from the outside and I'm on the top floor. Its not near any fire escape, so its not like I can go out on the fire escape to scrape my window frames.

I have a new LL now(he's not the one who did this to me) but I'd rather not have him in my place as I hear when you need repairs in a rent stabilized building, they will do whatever they can to make the situation worse in some ways to prompt you to move out. So I would like to take care of this myself if at all possible.

These windows are 100 years old. They wobble in their frames, but still they are painted stuck from the outside.

I recently got some plant/citrus based, supposedly environmentally safe paint stripper, but I have yet to use it /try it on the lower sash. I'm hoping that when i spray it out that I can get it to go into the space/crack on the lower window sash and maybe ever try to blow it in there with a compressed air gun after i spray it out of its container. I also got a mini-type crowbar, but I have to be really careful and not break the window pane.

Usually, when anyone paints, I know about it and
do what I can to make sure my windows don't get stuck. But these LLs didn't let us know they were painting and they did it when it was colder and I had plastic sheets taped over my windows and could not see out. Come springtime, I could not open my windows.

Has anyone been in the same situation and how did you remedy it?

Have tired tiles on kitchen floor/standard old fashioned 12x12 butted together so no fancy bits between. Can I paint them and with what? Grate ful for advice. Thanks
Richard.