Most people think about getting their windows cleaned when they notice they're dirty. The problem is, by the time you notice, the grime has usually been building for months - and some of the damage (hard water staining, mineral deposits) has already started. Here's how to think about cleaning frequency the right way.
Your quick-reference frequency guide
Every 6 months
Most Melbourne homes
Spring and autumn - the standard recommendation for Bayside, Glen Eira and Stonnington properties.
Every 3–4 months
Coastal Bayside properties
Brighton, Sandringham, Hampton, Black Rock, Beaumaris - salt air accelerates mineral build-up.
Every 2–3 months
Near a building site
Construction dust is abrasive and adheres to glass tenaciously. Return to standard schedule when site wraps up.
Every 3–4 months
Pool owners
Pool water containing chlorine and minerals splashes onto nearby glass, particularly over summer.
The standard recommendation: every six months
For the majority of Melbourne homes in Bayside, Glen Eira and Stonnington, a twice-yearly professional window clean is the sweet spot. Spring and autumn are the traditional windows for a reason:
🌸 Spring (Sep–Nov)
Removes the pollen, mould spores and winter condensation residue that builds up during cooler months. Your home feels brighter and airier as the season opens up.
🍂 Autumn (Mar–May)
Clears the salt, dust and insect residue from summer, and sets your windows up for the lower-light winter months when every bit of natural light matters.
Six-monthly cleaning also keeps grime from ever reaching the level where it becomes stubborn or damaging. It's preventative maintenance as much as aesthetic.
Coastal Bayside properties: every 3–4 months
Properties within a few kilometres of Port Phillip Bay - Brighton, Sandringham, Hampton, Black Rock, Beaumaris - experience something inland suburbs don't: salt air. Wind carries microscopic salt particles from the bay and deposits them on every exposed surface, including your glass. Salt doesn't just make windows look dirty; it accelerates the kind of mineral etching that makes stains permanent over time.
If you can taste the sea air from your back garden, your windows are accumulating salt. We generally recommend every 3–4 months for beachside and bay-facing properties, particularly those on elevated blocks exposed to prevailing southerly winds.
Near a building site: more frequent cleans
Construction dust is particularly damaging to glass. The fine particulate from concrete grinding, brickwork and earthworks is slightly abrasive and adheres to glass tenaciously. If there's active construction within a few hundred metres of your home - and in inner-Melbourne suburbs like Armadale, Malvern and Carnegie, there usually is - your windows will accumulate this dust much faster than normal.
During active construction phases, a clean every 2–3 months may be warranted. Once the site wraps up, you can return to the standard schedule.
Homes with pools
Pool water contains chlorine, algae and mineral content that splashes onto nearby windows and glass balustrades with every swim. Over time this creates a distinctive cloudy haze on pool-adjacent glass that's more difficult to treat than standard atmospheric grime. Pool owners typically benefit from a clean every 3–4 months, particularly over summer.
What happens if you don't clean regularly?
⚠ The cost of neglect
Mineral deposits - silica, calcium, magnesium - bond chemically to glass over time. In the first 6–12 months this is easily addressed by a standard professional clean. Beyond that, it starts to etch into the glass surface itself, requiring a premium Full Detail Clean at +50% of the base cost.
How to tell when your windows need cleaning
The easiest test: stand at a window and look across the glass surface at a sharp angle rather than straight through it. A dirty window that looks acceptable head-on will reveal a distinct haze, smear pattern or spotting in raking light. Another good indicator is how much natural light your rooms receive - rooms that feel dimmer than they should often just have dirty windows.
Setting up a maintenance schedule
The easiest approach is to book your next clean when you pay for the current one. Many of our customers in Brighton, Caulfield and Bentleigh do exactly this - they book April and October at the start of the year, set a calendar reminder, and forget about it. Their windows are always clean, and they never have to deal with a build-up situation.