Care and Cleaning Questions

Q. How can I help maintain the quality and beauty of my new Simonton windows and doors?

A. With only simple care and cleaning, your windows and doors can keep their beautiful appearance for years to come. Vinyl won't pit, peel or flake over time, but like any surface exposed to outside elements, your windows and doors will get dirty from time to time. Often, heavy rains will wash the vinyl clean, but if the rain isn't enough, you can restore the splendor of the windows and doors by following these simple instructions..

• Wash using mild detergent (if necessary) and a soft cloth or ordinary long-handled soft bristle brush. Do not wash the windows or doors with a high-pressure spray. The extreme pressure could crack or destroy the caulking around the window or door.
  
  
• For difficult to remove dirt and stains use the readily available household cleansers listed on the chart. Follow the manufacturer's instructions on use of the cleansers.
  
  
• In some cases you may wish to use a mildly abrasive cleanser such as Soft Scrub^® but the use of any abrasive material could scratch the surface of the glass and window or door frame.
  
  
• Do not use liquid grease remover, strong soaps and detergents containing organic solvents, nail polish remover, furniture polish or cleansers containing chlorine bleach. These items could affect the surface appearance of the vinyl.

Cleansers to Remove Stains From
Vinyl Window and Door Frames

*Cleaning materials are listed in alphabetical order

Q. I selected brass hardware for my new Simonton windows. How do I maintain the brass hardware's beautiful appearance?

A. If properly maintained, the brass hardware on your windows should keep a brilliant luster for years to come. During routine housecleaning, use a dry, clean, soft, cotton cloth to remove dust and dirt from the protective lacquer coating on your brass hardware.

Over time, all brass hardware will eventually develop tarnish. This is when the finish of the protective lacquer coating on your brass hardware begins to breakdown, usually noticed as small dark spots appearing in high contact or wear areas. The rate tarnishing occurs depends on your surrounding environmental conditions. Areas with high levels of automotive and industrial pollutants, ultra-violet rays and salty sea air will produce accelerated levels of tarnishing.

When tarnishing of the hardware reaches an undesirable level, the brass hardware components should be refinished. The following procedures are recommended:

The hardware must be thoroughly cleaned, including removal of all remaining lacquer and other foreign materials. When cleaning the hardware, it should first be removed from the window to avoid any unnecessary damage to the window during the refinishing process. Simonton recommends using fine steel wool (No. 00000) soaked in a light oil or soapy water to keep metal abrasion to a minimum. For tough-to-clean hardware, try soaking the hardware in a lacquer thinner or paint reducer overnight.

Once the hardware is thoroughly cleaned, you can restore the hardware's brilliant luster with any commercially available polish.

The refurbished brass surfaces must now be protected. It is impractical to re-apply a lacquer coating unless the proper tools and experience are available. Therefore, Truth Hardware recommends several coatings of a quality automobile wax. The finish can then be prolonged with follow-up wax applications.