I moved into and old apartment and the windows are hard to open and close. how can I fix them?

Question

I cant tear the windows apart because I dont own the place and the owners wont do anything. They are hard to open and even harder to close. How can I fix them without damaging them?

Answer 1

buy an inexpensive putty knife, one that is quite flexible and about 3-4" wide. With a jar of vaseline, or similar product nearby, rub a small amount of the gel on the edge of the blade and insert the tip of the blade between the sash and window frame. Not gently pound on the end of the knife handle while inserting more and more of the blade into the same area. Eventually, all of the blade will be inserted and the paint seal will break. This is good. Now, when you get the window open, take a tube of Door Ease, which you'll find at any home store, and apply a libveral coat to the tracks supporting the window, on both sides. raise and lower the windows a few times so the waxy material spreads evenly and you should be good to go .

Answer 2

Of course you need to clean the surface of the slide area as you get it open to give the window more room in the groove. But a good thing to use as your freeing up the slide area is a good 100% silicon spray from an airasol can. good hardware stores have this.

Also Refrigeration supply houses have a food safe grade of the silicon spray. Its clear and penitrates and gets ya going fast.

Answer 3

spray some wd-40 along the track.get it at any hardware store or auto store,it will help significantly.

Answer 4

Lubricate the sliding window frames with linseed oil. Then open and close. Reapply several times to get the windows functioning again.

Answer 5

Lubricating with a candle stick or a bar of soap also works.

Answer 6

Since you didn't describe the type of windows, I'll guess they are double hung and the paint has built up on them over time.  You may be able to strip off multiple layers of paint, put a single coat on, and gain just a little room for them to slide. Or, it may be simple as rubbing the grooves with a candle to add some wax to the surface area so they will slide easier. Also works on aluminum sliders. Either way, you need to remove the friction that makes them hard to open and close. Ask at your local hardware store if they have any specialty products for your kind of windows.

Answer 7

try  running a bar of soap along the window fram while it is open or a bar of wax