Is your slider getting a bit hard to open? It could be gunk in your sliding glass door tracks. Get the deets on how to clean and maintain your sliding glass door tracks. Find out how to clean your sliding glass door easily, too.
How to Clean Sliding Glass Door Tracks
Sliding door tracks can get nasty. From dead bugs to dirt and grime, they have it all. You might be wondering how in the world you are going to get this nastiness cleaned. Well, pretty easily, actually. To get started, you need a few supplies.
- Baking soda
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Scrub brush or old toothbrush
- Cloth
- Butter knife
- Vacuum with a brush attachment
- WD-40
Step 1: Vacuum Tracks
Dirt builds up fast in sliding doors. It doesn't matter if it's winter or summer; you can always find all kinds of crud. The first step to getting rid of it is vacuuming.
- Put the brush attachment on your vacuum.
- Run it along the tracks with the door closed.
- Open the slider and run it along those tracks.
- Remove as much dirt and debris as possible.
Step 2: Clean Sliding Glass Door Tracks With Baking Soda
One of the simplest sliding door cleaners is a bit of baking soda and peroxide. These two ingredients work fabulously to get out even the grossest of grime. You want to work on one part of the door at a time. Start with the door closed and work on those tracks, then open the door to clean those tracks, repeating the process.
- Sprinkle baking soda down the tracks.
- Apply hydrogen peroxide on top of the baking soda.
- Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes. This is what is really going to break up the grime.
Step 3: Scrub the Tracks With a Brush
After letting your cleaner do its job, it's time to get down to business. You are going to need to put in a little bit of elbow grease.
- Take a scrub brush or an old toothbrush and scrub.
- Use good pressure to swipe up and down the tracks.
- Put a cloth on the track.
- Use a butter knife inside the cloth to get into those small crevices.
- Scrub up and down.
- After scrubbing, pull out as much of the baking soda and peroxide mixture as you can.
Step 4: Rinse Tracks
Rinsing the tracks is kind of a two-part process. But, it's an important step. You don't want your kids or pets licking up your cleaner.
- After you pulled out as much gunk with the cloth, use the vacuum to pull out any remaining chunks.
- Take a microfiber cloth with just water and run it down the tracks.
- Do this several times to remove everything.
Step 5: Lubricate Tracks
This step is optional, but it works to keep your slider in better working order. To lubricate your track, you need to grab some WD-40. However, you don't want to complete this step until you've cleaned all sides of the track. You also don't want to lubricate aluminum tracks, since this can cause issues.
- Add WD-40 along the entire length of your clean track.
- Open and close the door several times.
Best Way to Clean Sliding Glass Doors
Your tracks are looking on point, but now you're noticing all those fingerprints and smudges all over your sliding glass doors. Learn how to clean your slider in a snap. You'll need:
- Cotton towel
- Swiffer floor duster
- White vinegar
- Spray bottle
- Magic eraser
Before you begin, lock your cotton towel onto your Swiffer.
- Add 1 cup of white vinegar and distilled water to a spray bottle.
- Lightly spritz the window from top to bottom.
- Starting at the top, wipe across the window using your Swiffer, working your way down.
- Use a magic eraser to clean off any scuff marks along the frame.
- Buff the frame with a cloth.
How to Remove Sliding Glass Door for Cleaning
If you want to give your door a good deep clean, you might consider completely removing the door to clean the tracks and the rollers on the door itself. This is an involved process that requires the removal of trim and stoppers to get the door out of the frame. You will need a screwdriver.
- Open the sliding door.
- Remove the threshold trim.
- Remove drainage covers.
- Remove the decelerator arm.
- Remove the center seal from the top and bottom of the frame.
- Lift the door out of the frame.
- Clean the track and door rollers well.
- Check your weather seal.
- Put it back in the frame and reapply all parts.
How to Maintain Sliding Glass Door and Tracks
Cleaning your sliding glass doors is important, but so is regular maintenance to ensure you don't have dirt binding up your rollers, making your door not want to move.
- Clean out tracks and rollers monthly.
- Dust the frame regularly.
- Keep the glass clean by cleaning it every few weeks or as it gets dirty.
- Lubricate tracks to keep everything rolling. (Do not lubricate aluminum tracks.)
- Clean rollers if the door is sticking.
- Replace weather-stripping and rollers as necessary.
- Ensure your doors are aligned and properly on the tracks.
How to Clean Sliding Glass Door and Tracks
Cleaning and maintaining your sliding glass door is essential to keeping it running smoothly. Sliding doors aren't cheap, so you don't want to chance wrecking it. And, cleaning it is pretty easy with the right materials. You can also find out how to clean other doors in your house too.
