Don't Skip One Step When Cleaning French Doors Or You'll End Up With A Mess

Nothing beats the beautiful light and enhanced architectural interest that French doors bring to a space. Dating back to the Renaissance era, they were conceived from the desire to allow a greater amount of sunlight into homes, and they've remained a popular home feature to this day. Generally, they come as a pair of doors and are constructed of small glass panes that extend down the length of the door frame. While they are wonderful for connecting the indoor and outdoor spaces of a home, this unique door type does require a slightly different cleaning approach than a regular glass door. Indeed, there's one key step that you should start with before attempting to clean the glass.

Similar to windows, French doors have many small panes that frame the glass. These panes tend to attract dust on the indoor-facing side of the door as well as dirt and debris on the outdoor-facing side. If you jump right into cleaning the glass first, you'll end up smearing all of the dust and debris onto the glass panes and creating a muddy mess. The trick to prevent this from happening is to start by cleaning the frames before you clean the glass. This will remove any of the loose dirt and grime and allow you to clean the glass without creating any wet muck.  Now, let's break down the proper way to get a streak-free finish on your French doors as well as the best cleaning supplies to use for the job.

To clean your French doors thoroughly, start by gathering your supplies. You'll need a sponge, an old toothbrush, a bowl of soapy water (made with dish soap), your preferred brand of glass cleaner or a mixture of water and vinegar, as well as clean dry rags or paper towels. Optional supplies include a squeegee and glass water repellent, but you can definitely get the job done without them.

First, wipe the frames around the glass panes with a dry rag or paper towel to remove the buildup of dirt or dust. Next, dip your sponge in the soapy water and lightly scrub the entire door frame. Use a toothbrush to get into the small corners between the panes. Rinse all of the soap off with water, and dry the door frame completely with a dry rag or newspaper.

Now that the frame is clean, you can clean the glass. Start at the top and work your way down. Use your favorite glass cleaner or vinegar, the ever-popular home-cleaning mainstay, to clean the glass (mixed with equal parts water). Spray it generously onto the glass panes and use a clean, dry rag or squeegee to wipe it clean. Finish by cleaning the door knob and hinges, and then repeat on the other side. To finish, you could coat the glass with a water repellent like Rain-X (about $4.99 on Amazon) to prevent future buildup, but as long as you follow these cleaning tips, your door will look as good as new.