Cleaning window frames and joinery
The pane is what you look through; the frame is what you notice. Perfect glass in a stained mullion above a track full of sand looks exactly like a job abandoned halfway.
In short
At EPUREVA, cleaning frames, mullions, transoms, tracks, runners and glazing beads is included in the price of the glass, at no extra cost: 75 MAD incl. VAT per window up to 2 m², 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door up to 4 m², reachable roller shutters included and nothing taken apart. Three materials call for three different treatments: anodised or powder-coated aluminium, uPVC, and painted or stained timber. A dirty frame will make clean glass hazy again in under a week, because the dust stored in the seal channel drops out every time the window is opened.
Aluminium, uPVC, timber — three materials, three techniques
Powder-coated or anodised aluminium. The most common material on recent Marrakech construction. It tolerates water, but not abrasive creams or scouring pads: a single aggressive pass dulls the coating along the whole length of the mullion, and that cannot be undone. Microfibre and water, with local degreasing at the contact points.
uPVC. It gets dirty slowly but it holds on to what it collects: the welded corner joints form a groove where dust builds up and stains. uPVC that has gone grey is almost never uPVC yellowed by UV — it is surface soiling, and it comes off.
Painted or stained timber. Common in the medina and in restored riads. It tolerates neither prolonged run-off nor a wash that leaves water standing at the foot of the mullion. We work with a wrung-out cloth, dry immediately, and flag the areas where the finish has already opened up rather than driving water into them.
What sand does to a window runner
A window runner in Marrakech receives two things continuously: sand, and water. Sand on its own sweeps out. Mixed with water and then dried, it forms a grey crust that welds the dust to the bottom of the profile.
Three consequences that owners wrongly blame on worn joinery:
- the drainage holes at the bottom of the profile block, rainwater stands in the frame and wicks back up into the seal
- the brush seal channel fills, the seal no longer sits flush, and dust comes straight into the room
- the stored dust is lifted every time the window is operated and falls back onto glass that has just been cleaned
Clearing those three points is part of the routine visit. It is also why window cleaning without frame cleaning does not last.
Aluminium going white is not dirty aluminium
On joinery facing south for several years, the powder coating can break down at the surface and form a whitish powder that comes off on the cloth. The phenomenon is called chalking: it is the finish itself turning to dust under ultraviolet light, not soiling.
The distinction matters, because it changes what can be promised. Soiling comes off. Chalking can at best be stabilised: rubbing harder accelerates the loss of coating and exposes bare aluminium, duller still. We identify the case from photos or at the visit, we say so, and we do not apply a gloss restorer that would look new for a fortnight before powdering away again.
Seals, glazing beads and contact points
These are the three places where a frame really gets dirty, and the three that get skipped when the job is paid by the window with no mention of the frame:
- the perimeter seal between the glass and the frame, where dust settles in a line and fixes itself with overnight humidity
- the glazing bead, the strip holding the unit in place: it creates a horizontal ledge that collects everything, and it is worked with a fine brush
- the contact points — handle, espagnolette, hinge, stop — greasy by nature, needing local degreasing before the general pass
These three items are ticked separately on the checklist handed over at the end of the visit.
What we do, and what belongs to the joiner
We clean. We do not adjust, we do not replace, and we take nothing apart: opening lights, glazing beads, shutters and trims stay where they are.
Not part of the service: adjusting a leaf that catches, replacing a hardened seal, repairing an espagnolette, lubricating a mechanism, replacing a split glazing bead and redoing a wood stain. When any of these is found, it is reported in writing on the site report — not charged for, and neither repaired nor bodged.
See also the guide channels and slats of roller shutters, which obey the same logic of sand and sliding, and our window cleaning service for the full scope.
Why it is included rather than charged as an extra
In this market the frame is nearly always a separate line on the quote, when it is mentioned at all. That suits the contractor: it allows a low headline price per window, then an extra charge for the part that makes the result visible.
We do the opposite, and for a technical rather than a commercial reason: glass cleaned inside a dirty frame goes hazy within days, a free re-do is then requested, and nobody gains. Frames, tracks, runners and reachable roller shutters are therefore included in the published price: with or without a shutter, the price is the same.
Eight windows and one patio door, frames included, come to 8 × 75 + 150 = 750 MAD incl. VAT. The item-by-item detail sits on our window pricing, and an estimate can be requested from the quote form.
Cleaning window frames and joinery — prices and what affects them
| Service | Price incl. VAT |
|---|---|
| Window, up to 2 m² frame, tracks, runners and reachable roller shutter included | 75 MAD incl. VAT per window |
| Patio door, up to 4 m² mullions, track and brush seal included, nothing taken apart | 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door |
| Minimum call-out charge a top-up is added if the total falls below it | 400 MAD incl. VAT per visit |
Indicative prices incl. VAT, confirmed after photos or a visit.
Our services
Frequently asked questions
Is frame cleaning charged on top of the glass?
No. Frames, mullions, transoms, tracks, runners and glazing beads are included in the price of the glass: 75 MAD incl. VAT per window up to 2 m², 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door up to 4 m², with a 400 MAD minimum call-out charge.
Five windows come to 375 MAD, so a 25 MAD top-up brings the total to 400 MAD. Billing the frame separately would mean selling a half-finished job, because clean glass in a dirty frame goes hazy within days.
My aluminium joinery has gone whitish — is that limescale?
Usually not. On joinery facing south for several years, the powder coating breaks down under ultraviolet light and powders into a white bloom: that is chalking. It is not a deposit, it is the finish itself. Rubbing harder accelerates the loss of coating. We identify the case from photos or at the visit and say so, rather than promising aluminium as good as new.
Can a scouring pad be used on an aluminium frame?
Never on a coated or anodised face. A single abrasive pass dulls the coating along the whole mullion and leaves a permanent mark, more visible than the soiling you were trying to remove. We work with microfibre and water, with local degreasing only on the greasy contact points.
Why does water sit in the bottom of my windows when it rains?
Because the drainage holes at the bottom of the profile are blocked with compacted sand. The water no longer runs away, it stands in the frame and wicks up into the seal. Clearing those holes is part of the routine visit: one minute per opening that prevents a leak later blamed on the joinery.
Do you clean the timber joinery of a riad?
Yes, with a wrung-out cloth and immediate drying, never letting water stand at the foot of the mullion. Areas where the stain or the paint has already opened up are flagged and avoided: driving water in there accelerates the decay of the timber. Redoing the finish itself is not part of the service.
Do you repair a window that closes badly?
No. Adjusting a leaf, replacing a hardened seal, repairing an espagnolette and changing a glazing bead belong to the joiner. When we find one of these, it goes in writing on the site report, without charge and without improvisation. Cleaning alone does free a stiff opening, though, when the cause is sand compacted in the runner.