Once the last of the cold days are behind us, I always look forward to opening the windows wide and letting the fresh breeze invigorate me as it blows through my home. However, while the windows were closed all winter long, those window tracks were exposed to all sorts of elements from outside (I live in New England, so my window tracks take a beating every winter, for sure). And while I never want to spend hours cleaning out the window tracks before I open the windows for good, I also am not a fan of having all of that dust, dirt and grime blow into my nice, clean home. Lo and behold, we discovered a solution to the problem that only takes a few natural ingredients and just about 10 minutes to accomplish.

Window tracks dirtyTipHero

What You’ll Need:

  • Baking soda
  • White Vinegar
  • Dish soap
  • Water
  • Old Toothbrush
  • Paper towels
  • Wet rag
  • Spoon
  • Butter knife
  • Spray bottle (optional)

  1. Sprinkle Baking Soda Over the Mess:
    Window tracks baking soda2TipHero

    Make sure to cover the worst parts (usually the corners, nooks and crannies) liberally with baking soda.

  2. Prepare Your Vinegar Solution, Then Spray:
    Window tracks spray bottleTipHero

    Mix together equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of dish soap into the mix, then shake to combine. Spray the vinegar solution over the baking soda. Make sure to hit all of the baking soda-covered areas with the vinegar solution. Wait 5 minutes or so for the mixture to bubble and break up all that grime.

  3. Attack the Area With Your Toothbrush:
    Window tracks toothbrushTipHero
    Window tracks toothbrush2TipHero

    Brush, brush, brush! Make sure to get into all of the nooks and crannies. And try to brush all of the gunk into the center area (out of the corners).

  4. Soak It All Up With a Paper Towel:
    Window tracks paper towelTipHero

    Grab a couple of paper towels and try to soak up and rub away the mess. I also opened up my screen so that I could push all of the gunk out of the window and out of sight.

  5. Use Your Butter Knife to Get to Those Tight Spots:
    Window tracks butter knifeTipHero

    If your paper towels won’t reach into the little corners, use a butter knife to work the mess out of the crevices.

  6. Wipe It All Down With a Wet Rag:
    Window tracks ragTipHero

    Give the area one last wipe down with a wet rag to finish the job. And in just about 10 minutes, you’ve brought your window track back to its former glory!

Window tracks cleanTipHero

Check out the final results! (Note: The dirty-looking part on the bottom of my screen is actually rust. So I’ll be in search of another way to get that cleaned up.)

Do you have any great tips or tricks for cleaning dirty window tracks? If so, leave them in the comments below!