Storm Window Cleaning — A Portland Specialty

This is one of our core residential window washing specialities, broken out here because it genuinely requires different skill and equipment than standard window cleaning. Storm window cleaning is a distinct service within our residential offering — Portland’s pre-war housing stock has an unusually high concentration of exterior aluminium storm window systems installed over original wood sash windows, primarily from the 1950s through 1970s.

Cleaning a storm-windowed home properly means removing the storm panel, cleaning both the storm glass and the primary sash glass behind it on every face, and reinstalling the panel correctly — same channel, same orientation, all hardware re-engaged. Done wrong, storm window removal bends aluminium track channels, breaks spring-loaded bottom expanders, or leaves moisture trapped between the panes when a panel goes back in reversed.

What Storm Window Cleaning Involves

• Careful panel removal — aluminium channel storm windows are often painted or sealed into their tracks after decades in place. We score and release rather than force, avoiding bent channels or cracked glass.
• Spring expander assessment — the spring-loaded bottom bar that holds tension in the channel is checked before removal to avoid snapping aged mechanisms.
• Dual-face cleaning — both the storm panel and the original wood sash glass behind it are cleaned with our deionized water system on every accessible face.
• Correct reinstallation — every panel goes back in the exact channel it came from, correct orientation, with all hardware and clips re-engaged. Reversing a storm panel traps moisture and causes condensation between the panes.
• Frame condition report — any paint degradation, hardware wear, or channel damage found during removal is reported honestly, without pressure to book additional work.

Where This Comes Up Most in Portland

Storm window cleaning is most common in Irvington, Alameda, Laurelhurst, Hawthorne, and Sellwood-Moreland — Portland’s highest-concentration pre-war neighbourhoods. See our full guide to window washing for historic Portland homes for more on wood sash and lead-paint considerations specific to these properties.

Frequently Asked Questions — Storm Window Cleaning Portland