Looking After Aluminium Windows and Doors: The Honest Maintenance Guide

One of the quiet reasons architects specify aluminium is what happens after handover: no repainting, no warping, no swelling in wet winters. But "low-maintenance" is not "no-maintenance" — a powder-coated frame keeps its guarantee, and its looks, with a routine so simple it fits in a Saturday morning twice a year.

The twice-a-year wash

Frames want nothing more exotic than warm water with a little mild detergent, a soft cloth or sponge, and a rinse. The point is to stop grime, traffic film and airborne salts sitting on the coating for months. In town that means every six months or so; on busy roads and within a few miles of the coast, quarterly is wise — marine environments are harder on every finish, which is why our coastal specification guide treats washing frequency as part of the spec, not an afterthought.

Avoid abrasive pads, solvent cleaners and pressure washers: they damage the coating faster than a decade of weather, and coating guarantees (up to 25 years on SIVAL finishes) assume reasonable care rather than aggressive cleaning.

Hardware likes being used

Hinges, multi-point locks and handles stay smooth when they operate regularly and get a drop of light machine oil on moving parts once a year — more for a seafront letterbox latch, less for a spare-room casement. Tilt-turn gearing, as on our window systems, needs no user adjustment; if an opening sash ever starts to catch or drop, that is an installer visit rather than a DIY job, and one phone call under an insurance-backed workmanship guarantee.

The small checks that prevent big problems

• Drainage slots: every frame drains rainwater through discreet slots in the bottom of the profile. Once a year, check they are clear of leaves and cobwebs — a blocked slot is behind most "mystery leak" callouts.
• Gaskets and seals: wipe them during the frame wash and look for anything pinched or displaced. Seals are replaceable components; decades into a system's life they can be renewed without touching the frame.
• Thresholds and tracks: sliding doors reward a vacuum along the track and a wipe of the rollers' path — grit is the enemy of that one-finger glide.
• Sealant joints: glance at the perimeter mastic around the frame each spring. Cracked sealant lets water tour the wall, not the window, and re-sealing is quick.

What maintenance is not required

No sanding, no staining, no repainting, no fungicidal treatment — the comparisons with timber end quickly. Powder coating's colour change over decades is measured in barely perceptible gloss units, and anodised finishes are harder still. That is the whole-life economics behind aluminium: the money goes into the system once, then the upkeep is soap and five minutes with an oil can.

Inherited windows with a problem — a dropped sash, a stiff lock, a torn seal? Send a photo through our quote form and we'll advise whether it's a service visit or a component, whoever originally supplied the system.