You've just closed on a new build in Teravista, Star Ranch, Emory Farms, or one of the dozens of fast-growing subdivisions across Williamson and Travis County. The windows look fine from a distance. Then you get up close.
What you find — and what many new homeowners are surprised by — is a combination of construction contaminants that standard residential window cleaning isn't designed to handle.
What's Actually on New Construction Windows
Walk through any newly completed home and you'll find some or all of the following on the glass:
- Protective film adhesive residue — Builders apply plastic protective film to windows during construction. When it's removed, it leaves a sticky adhesive haze that attracts dust and fingerprints aggressively.
- Paint overspray — Interior and exterior painting inevitably leaves fine paint mist on nearby glass. This is especially common on windows adjacent to painted trim, stucco, or brick.
- Mortar and grout splash — Brick or stone work near windows means mortar can splash onto glass. Once it cures, it becomes nearly cement-hard.
- Caulk smears — Windows are caulked during installation. Excess caulk left on glass cures into a silicone or latex film that won't wash off.
- Silica construction dust — Active construction sites generate fine silica dust from cutting concrete, drywall, and tile. This dust becomes a paste when wet, then bakes hard on glass in Texas heat.
- Label sticker adhesive — Every window pane carries manufacturer stickers. The adhesive residue left behind after sticker removal shows up as a greasy, lint-attracting patch.
Why Your Builder's Final Walk Doesn't Fix This
Most production builders include a "final clean" before closing — but this is typically a general contractor clean, not a specialized window service. The crew cleaning the entire house in a day doesn't have the tools, products, or time to do post-construction window restoration properly.
The result: your windows look passably clean on closing day, then you start noticing haze, streaks, and stuck-on spots as Texas sunlight hits the glass from different angles throughout the day.
The Post-Construction Window Cleaning Process
Post-construction window cleaning is a different service from standard residential cleaning and takes significantly longer per window. At Heritage, our process includes:
- Adhesive film removal — Specialized citrus-based solvents that dissolve sticker and film adhesive without damaging the glass seal or Low-E coating
- Paint overspray removal — Single-edge razor scrapers (used only on appropriate glass types) combined with solvent to lift paint without scratching
- Mortar/caulk removal — Targeted chemical softening followed by careful mechanical removal
- Silica dust wash — Full solution wash and squeegee of all glass surfaces
- Detail pass — All edges, corners, and frames wiped clean
- Final inspection — Each pane checked in multiple light angles before sign-off
How Soon Should You Book After Closing?
The sooner the better. Every week that adhesive residue, construction dust, and paint overspray sits on glass in direct Texas sunlight is another week those contaminants are bonding more deeply to the surface. Mortar that's been on glass for six months is genuinely harder to remove than mortar from two weeks ago.
We recommend booking post-construction cleaning within the first 4–6 weeks of move-in. For homes with south or west-facing windows that get maximum sun exposure, earlier is better.
New Build Neighborhoods We Serve Regularly
We do regular post-construction work across Round Rock (Teravista, Forest Creek, Paloma Lake), Pflugerville (Blackhawk, Sorento, Verona), Hutto (Star Ranch, Riverwalk, Emory Farms), Georgetown (Wolf Ranch, Morningstar, Oaks at San Gabriel), and Cedar Park (Buttercup Creek, Twin Creeks). If your subdivision isn't listed, we almost certainly serve it — just give us a call.
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