Cleaning a conservatory: The best tips

A conservatory is a dream for many – a space to relax, enjoy natural light, and protect plants during the winter. Most conservatories are made largely of glass, including the roof, which creates a bright and airy feel but also means they need regular care and maintenance to keep looking their best.

What should you bear in mind when cleaning and maintaining the conservatory?

A conservatory, or more precisely its windows and roof, becomes dirty over time due to the various weather conditions. Atmospheric pollution caused by soot or fine dust, pollen, leaves and needles, as well as excrement from birds and insects all contribute towards the conservatory looking worse for wear. To keep it looking in tip-top shape and ensure the cosiness isn’t ruined due to dirty windows, it makes sense to clean the conservatory twice a year. A good time for this is in the spring when the garden starts coming back to life after the cold winter months.

Cleaning the conservatory is not only about aesthetics, but also about caring and maintaining every part of it such as the supporting structure and integrated rubber seals. Bear in mind that the longer you wait to clean the conservatory, the more time and effort you’ll need to clean it later. Ensure you clean the conservatory on a gloomy day because on very sunny or even hot days, the windows will dry too quickly, which then results in unsightly streaks.

Various devices, tools and care products can be used for conservatory cleaning:

a ladder
a hose with spray attachment
a window squeegee
a wash brush and a microfibre cloth as well as lukewarm water
washing-up liquid or glass cleaner concentrate
a window vac
a pressure washer with a telescopic pipe and corresponding glass cleaning attachment, for example

How to properly clean the conservatory glass roof

Cleaning the side windows of the conservatory isn’t such a tricky task, but if your conservatory is quite high or you want to clean the roof, then it becomes a bit more difficult. This isn’t because of the cleaning itself, but because the areas are difficult to reach when they’re several metres high.

In principle, you have two options - either you climb a ladder and clean the surfaces by hand or you use a pressure washer in combination with a telescopic jet pipe, which is a significantly less dangerous and time-consuming solution.

Before you start wet cleaning, you should first remove any loose dirt that has accumulated on the conservatory roof and in the gutters. Conventional cleaning tools such as brushes, buckets and spray guns, which are connected to the garden hose, and a cloth for the edges of the glass are suitable for this. You should not use a pressure washer just yet, otherwise you’ll just spread the dirt all over the conservatory facade and glass windows. Most conservatory roofs are sloped, which makes cleaning surfaces with the garden hose much easier. It is best to carefully flush the dirt into the gutter from the highest point. Another tip that saves extra work is to place a bowl or strainer at the bottom end of the gutter to catch all the dirt that’s washed off so that it doesn’t seep into the ground or make your patio dirty. It is also advisable to remove debris from the conservatory gutter so that it doesn’t get clogged and overflow when you use water to clean later on.

Now is time to start cleaning the conservatory glass roof. For this purpose, it is best to use an extendable telescopic jet pipe with a brush attached and then connect it to the garden hose. It is imperative to make sure that the ladder is standing on solid, level ground. Ask someone to hold it for extra safety. Clean the top of the roof first and then slowly work your way along the sloping edges. If the dirt is particularly stubborn, turn up the pressure and brush the dirty areas several times. Window cleaning detergents are a good choice for the job since they not only ensure that the glass is sparklingly clean, but also keep moss at bay. The last step is to spray the entire surface again thoroughly with water.

Tip

This works even more easily and effectively with a swiveling telescopic jet pipe and the matching facade and glass cleaning attachment, which are both connected to the pressure washer. This allows you to reach higher windows and glass roofs more easily without having to climb any ladders.

How to clean conservatory windows?

If the conservatory is mainly made of glass, the procedure is basically the same as regular window cleaning. To prevent the windows from getting dirty again right away, it helps to wipe away dirt and dust from the window and door frames beforehand with a brush or rag. You have to use the right technique to ensure the windows don’t get covered in streaks after you’ve cleaned them. To do this, first spray cleaning solution onto the glass surface and then dry it with a microfibre cloth or a squeegee. If you decide to use a window squeegee, it is best to wipe off the residual liquid in figure-of-eight movements from top to bottom. Finish off by polishing with a cotton tea towel or a microfibre cloth.

Tip

To clean carpets and floors, you know you need a vacuum cleaner and a mop. The good news is that there’s also an equivalent for glass surfaces! With a cordless window vac, windows and glass surfaces can be cleaned easily and effectively, and are left streak-free.

A man cleans a conservatory with a pressure washer and telescopic jet pipe

Cleaning the conservatory with or without a pressure washer?

The short answer is that both ways are possible! What you should ask yourself is how much time and money do you want to spend on cleaning and maintaining your conservatory? If you want to clean windows and other parts as inexpensively as possible, then cleaning cloths, buckets and household remedies are the solution. However, if you want to save time when cleaning the conservatory or glass roof, a pressure washer is the best idea. In addition, the cleaning is even more effective compared to a standard spray attachment, which makes it water-saving and environmentally friendly.

What many people don’t know is that just because a device might be labelled as “high pressure”, it doesn’t mean it can’t clean surfaces and materials with low pressure. For example, a cleaning set for facades and glass surfaces can be used to gently clean window and glass roofs. It just requires you to work a bit more slowly and to subject the glass surfaces to less pressure. This is how it works step by step:

First adjust the angle of the telescopic jet pipe so that it corresponds to the glass roof. To do this, pull the blocking lever and release it again when you have the correct angle.
Use the two telescopic steps to reach the glass roof at the desired height. When elongating the pipe, make sure that the hose inside can move freely.
Now clean the glass roof going back and forth and side to side.
For optimal cleaning and a streak-free result, the Glass Finisher can also be used. However, the cleaning agent should not be used in direct sunlight or allowed to dry on the windows.
Before the cleaning agent can be used, first remove the facade and glass cleaning attachment.
Insert the pressure washer’s suction hose into the cleaning agent bottle or insert the bottle into the device’s receptacle.
Now wet the entire roof’s surface with the cleaning agent.
Connect the tube to the telescopic jet tube. Make sure that the brown or grey nozzle is attached to the jet tube.
Briefly rinse off the cleaning agent again.

A man cleans a conservatory with the help of a Kärcher telescopic jet pipe

On the one hand, this approach is very suitable for cleaning the conservatory’s exterior without having to worry that the parts you’ve just cleaned will immediately get dirty again. On the other hand, materials such as wood, corrugated plastic, as well as double-decked panels require other cleaning steps.

A final tip: It’s not recommended to use pressure washers on sensitive areas such as rubber seals. If this can’t be avoided, then make sure it’s kept short. The high pressure could cause water and dirt to get underneath the rubber, which would compromise the seal.