Cleaning your External Bifold Doors

Your new bifolding doors are guaranteed to look great, you’ve spent ages deciding on which material to have to make your home look the best it can so it’s only to be expected that you want to keep your doors in tip-top shape. Glass bifolds let a lot of light in, which is probably why you picked them to begin with, but the light can show up marks or smudges on glass and that won’t look great.

Naturally, you want your doors to be clean and sparkling ready to show off when you have guests over, or when the summer arrives and you want to have people enjoying the garden. Treated with a bit of love and TLC, caring for bifold doors is an easy task, and giving them a good spring clean is even easier.

Grabbing a few cleaning products which you probably already have laying around the house and spending ten or so minutes polishing and washing the glass can really make the difference to perfect windows.

Supermarket products are a cheap and simple solution, but make sure that you get proper glass spray for the glass in your doors - other solutions will contain soap that will leave smears.

The following guide features some incredibly cheap, simple, tried-and-tested methods and tips that can be used throughout the house on all your glass surfaces, not just your doors. 

Cleaning Glass

Time of Day

The time of day you chose to clean and polish your window is surprisingly important. Cleaning them when they’re in direct sunlight causes them to dry too quickly which leads to streaks and smears. Clean them when it’s a little cloudier to give you to time to polish them properly. 

Inside First

Obviously, with their constant exposure to the elements, the exterior of the doors will be the dirtiest. Clean the interior first so you don’t get your cloths and sponges dirty and have to spend time cleaning them before cleaning the interior. It will save time and make the job a little easier. 

Use a Brush

Use a brush to brush the worst of the dirt off. A soft bristled brush, like a clean wide paint brush, is perfect for getting the worst off so when the dirt makes contact with water it doesn’t turn muddy. 

Soft Water

Consider using filtered or softened water to clean your bifolds with, the deposits and limescale in the water are more prone to leaving streaks and marks on your glass. 

Vinegar

Try cleaning your glass with an ordinary vinegar solution - mix one part white vinegar with one part water and put in a clean spray bottle. Spray the solution onto the glass and rub the glass with a clean dry sponge. 

Cornstarch

If you don’t have vinegar around the house or don’t like the smell, try dissolving cornstarch into water. One teaspoon dissolved in a mug of soft water). If your windows are particularly dirty, try a borax solution (approx. 2 tablespoons dissolved in 3 cups of water).

Overlap

When cleaning whatever solution you chose to use off the windows, use either a consistent horizontal or vertical motion. You want to overlap the strokes by around 2 inches and make sure you use a good quality squeegee blade.  Make sure the blade is clean and is in good condition.

Buff Glass Dry

Once you have finished using the squeegee to remove the cleaning solution, buff the glass dry with a clean microfiber cloth. Some people use black and white crumpled newspaper to buff glass - try it! 

Toothpaste

The glass we provide in our doors is incredibly tough and resilient to even the harshest of weather conditions but accidents happen and small scratches might sometimes be unavoidable. Should you notice any small scratches in the surface of your glass, get a clean cloth and rub some toothpaste over the scratch; it acts a filler and can make them less obvious.

Cleaning the Frame

Usually, cleaning the frames of your bifold doors won’t need more than a quick wipe down with a non-abrasive cloth or sponge that has some warm water and mild soap.

Paraffin-based products and non-abrasive cream cleaners are best as they won’t cause any small scratches on the frames, you don’t want to cause damage or marks to the powder coat finish.

As mentioned previously, try using toothpaste to fill in small scratches, and if that doesn’t work, try using an ink rubber to buff the mark. Don’t put too much pressure on it, and if it doesn’t work fairly instantly then stop. 

Cleaning the Tracks

The most important thing to do when cleaning the tracks of your bifolds is to make sure that the bottom tracks are free from stones, leaves or any large clumps of mud. The best way to ensure that all the dust and collected dirt is picked up is to use the nozzle of a hoover.

With some door systems, it is advised you lubricate the tracks with a silicone spray. You should get in touch to make sure that this is suitable for your chosen system, and we will be happy to advise. If you do use a silicon spray, focus on the area where the tracks connect to the wheels and guide disks.