I just had my Florida room enclosed and all the windows have silicone right in the middle of them. The window company told me it is in their contract that they don't clean them once installed. I have no idea how to get it off. The silicone has been on approximately 25 days. Thank you for any assistance you can give me. I just couldn't believe it when I got down there how bad they looked. I spent $5,000 putting them in and they couldn't even take a half hour to clean them. I find that unbelievable.

 

While it may be in their contract that they do not clean them, they could at least tell you the best solution for cleaning them. Are you sure its silicone? It sounds like it may be an adhesive from the stickers that most window companies place on their products. Good luck.

 

Yes, that is unbelievable. Then again, there are not many contractors out there who will clean the windows and vacuum up when they are done. That's one of the things my small company is known for. If the last thing the customer thinks of you is "what a mess they left", that's not very good advertising in my opinion.

But back to the question, we usually just use a razor blade and glass cleaner to take off silicone on glass. Spray it with glass cleaner and then use the razor... keeping it wet seems to help. You could also scrape off most of it with a razor blade, then try a solvent like goof-off or denatured alcohol. It just takes a little more elbow grease to do it that way, IMO.

Just a disclaimer... every once in a while you run into glass that will scratch when a razor blade is used on it. Sometimes tempered glass will scratch, sometimes low-e coatings will scratch. Usually the windows will have a sticker on them that says what NOT to use on the glass. Be sure to check that out before trying the razor method. I've cleaned 10's of thousands this way and have never scratched one that I know of.

 

Just a thought, if you use the razor blade to clean the gunk, then scrape in one direction only.

Clean the blade and then scrape again in only one direction. Back and forth scraping increases your chances of scratching the glass. Also make sure the blade is sharp! A dull blade will also scratch glass easier than a sharp blade.

 

Just pick up some MEK liquid at HD or Lowes and it will take it off using a rag.

 

By the way I am thinking of having new windows installed also.I live in Fl. I wouldn't mind knowing the name of the company.May be one to avoid.You may private mail if you don't wish to post here.Thanks

 

I bought a house in Vero Beach and used Central Windows. Although the windows were put in properly, there are large "grease" marks everywhere in the middle and all over the windows from their fingerprints in the silicone. Tried the windex/razor blade but did not work.

 

I used to work in a shop that we had to remove all types of grease and material from products and the only thing that worked without any labor was the MEK which I said can be found at any H.D. or Lowes.That is short for Methel Ethel Ketone comes in gallon cans.Let us know how it works if you try it.Good luck.