Hard Water Stains
Hard water stain removal
If your windows still look cloudy right after they are cleaned, the problem is not dirt. It is mineral bonded to the glass, and it needs a different job entirely.
Hard water staining is the single most common thing people mistake for bad window cleaning. Water sits on glass, evaporates, and leaves its dissolved calcium and magnesium behind. Do that a few hundred times — an irrigation head that clips the same window every morning, runoff off a roof with no gutter, well water that is heavy to begin with — and the deposit builds into a hard, chalky layer that is chemically bonded to the surface.
This is always a separate line on the estimate, never rolled into a standard clean. It is slower work, it uses different materials, and on badly weathered glass it may not be worth doing at all — so it gets priced on its own after we have looked at it.
Ordinary cleaning slides right over it. Removing it means dissolving and abrading the mineral off without hazing the glass underneath, then sealing it so it does not immediately start over. On the Seacoast we also see salt etching, which behaves similarly and comes free with any home near open water.
BeforeAfter
Drag to compare. Hard water restoration on a Seacoast home.
What we do
- On-site testing to confirm mineral staining vs. surface soil
- Staged removal, mildest effective method first
- Sprinkler and irrigation spotting
- Well water and hard water mineral haze
- Salt spray film and coastal etching
- Soap scum on glass shower doors
- Optional protective sealant to slow re-deposit
- Honest assessment when glass is permanently etched
Where we do this work
We are based in Portsmouth and cover the New Hampshire Seacoast and the nearest Maine towns. Pick your town for local detail:
Straight answers
Common questions
Can hard water stains always be removed?
Not always, and anyone who promises otherwise is guessing. Fresh deposits come off cleanly. Deposits left for years can etch into the glass surface itself, and at that point what is left is a pit in the glass, not a film on it. We test first and tell you which one you have before you spend money on it.
Why do my windows look cloudy right after they are washed?
Because you are looking at mineral, not dirt. Standard cleaning removes what sits on the surface; hard water deposits are bonded to it and need a restoration process.
How do I stop it from coming back?
Aim the irrigation heads away from the house — that one change solves most of it. Fix gutter overflow that sheets down the glass. And a protective sealant on the worst-hit windows buys you a lot of time.
Also available
Other things we clean
Residential window cleaning
Inside and out, sills and tracks wiped, screens washed. The whole house, not just the glass you can reach.
Learn more →Commercial & storefront
Scheduled storefront routes and office glass on the Seacoast, done before you open or after you close.
Learn more →Post-construction cleaning
Stickers, mortar splash, paint overspray, and construction dust off new glass — without scratching it.
Learn more →Screens, tracks & gates
The parts that make a clean window look dirty again three days later.
Learn more →Ready when you are
Free estimates, straight pricing, and a real person on the phone. Tell us what you have and we will tell you what it costs.