Broken windows can be messy, spreading broken glass on your floor and letting in bugs and drafts. Even worse, unsuspecting household members could get hurt if they walk on or touch the glass before it's cleaned up. If you want to deal with a broken window quickly and thoroughly, here are some tips while you wait for a glass repair company like United Glass Service Inc.
Protect Yourself From Unstable Glass
When a large window cracks into pieces, they may not all fall out of the frame right away. However, the weight of the pieces can pull them out a few minutes after the initial breakage. If you're cleaning or working near the window when this happens, you could get hurt by falling glass. A good way to prevent this is to loosely tape a piece of cardboard over your entire window frame. This way, glass shards will fall back onto the window ledge instead of falling on you. Tough scrap fabric, pieces of wood, or even thick poster paper can also be used.
Safely Dispose Of Broken Glass
While it may be tempting to try and vacuum up the tiny pieces of glass from a broken window, this can permanently damage your vacuum by cutting up the bag inside. You should also avoid sweeping glass, as fragments may get lodged in the broom and deposited elsewhere the next time you sweep.
What you can do instead is use thick gloves or several layers of paper towels to pick up big pieces of glass, then spray the smaller fragments with water. This should make them stick to a disposable cloth or wet paper towel so you can pick them up. If glass shards fall into a carpet, layer baking soda on the area and then spray on a mix of water and vinegar and let it sit for an hour or two. You should be able to safely scrape it all up with a carpet brush when it hardens.
Make A Temporary Window
Once everything is cleaned up, you'll need to seal the window back off to keep your home from getting drafty or being invaded by flies. Your local hardware store should stock some thick plastic sheeting that can serve as a makeshift window. Take off your temporary cardboard and staple on a specially cut piece of this plastic to serve as a makeshift window.. For best results, tape the edges shut so that even tiny insects like sugar ants can't find a way into your home.
Hopefully these tips can help you deal with any sudden broken windows in your home. With quick and careful cleanup, you can get back to normalcy very quickly while you wait for the window repairman. If you do a good enough job, you might even forget your window was broken at all.
Share1 July 2015
