You’re already painting, decluttering, fixing the things you’ve been meaning to fix. Windows are cheap next to all of that and they change more than people expect.
Why it matters more than it sounds
Photos. A listing photographer shoots toward the light. Film, water spotting, and grimy screens show up in every frame, and they make a room read dim and tired even when nothing else is wrong with it. Photos are what decides whether people book a showing at all.
Showings. Someone walks into a room with clean glass and clean screens and it just feels brighter. They don’t think “clean windows.” They think the house is well kept.
What buyers read into it. Dirty windows are a small thing that suggests bigger things. People walking a house are hunting for reasons to worry. There’s no reason to hand them one.
Book before the photographer
This is the part people get wrong. Windows get cleaned after the photos are already taken, and the photos are the thing doing the work.
Order of operations that makes sense: finish your paint and repairs, get the windows done, then shoot photos, then list.
Call us as early as you can once you know your listing date. We’ll fit you in ahead of it.
What we’d do for a listing
Both sides of the glass. Interior and exterior. In photos you’re seeing through the glass, so one clean side isn’t enough.
Screens. Dirty screens grey out every window in every photo. This is the one people forget and it’s the one that shows most.
Tracks and sills. Buyers open windows. They look at sills. It’s a detail that gets noticed at a showing even though nobody mentions it.
Hard water, if you have it. If your glass has mineral buildup from sprinklers, a standard cleaning won’t touch it and it will show in photos as haze. That’s separate work and worth doing before a sale. And if the glass turns out to be etched past cleaning, better to find that out now than during a buyer’s inspection conversation. More on hard water
The high glass. Entry windows and stairwell glass are usually the first thing anyone sees walking in and the last thing anyone’s cleaned. High and vaulted →
We work with homeowners
Most of our pre-listing work comes from people selling their own house rather than through an agent. Call us directly, tell us your listing date, and we’ll work backward from it.
Questions we get
How far before listing should I have the windows cleaned?
Before the photographer comes. Photos are doing most of the work, so that’s the deadline that matters.
Is it worth it if the house is empty?
More so. An empty house has nothing else to look at, so the light and the glass carry the room.
Do you do the screens too?
Yes, and for a listing they matter as much as the glass.
What if my windows have hard water stains?
Tell us when you book so we can quote it. It’s separate work and it does show in photos.
Can you do the driveway too?
Yes, in the same visit. Washing first, windows after.
How quickly can you come?
Call and we’ll tell you what we’ve got. Give us as much notice as you can before your listing date.