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    Home » Home Remodeling » Cleaning

    Published: Dec 18, 2020 · Modified: Feb 11, 2021 by Rachel

    The Best Homemade Glass Cleaners (Tried and True)

    This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.
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    Simple homemade glass cleaner recipes that I have tested. These work as well or even better than store bought without the nasty chemicals. In fact, I haven’t bought glass cleaner in over 5 years!

    Cleaning your windows and mirrors is often a real challenge, and we are all in search of that perfect streak-free but effortless window cleaner. If you want to experiment with some DIY ideas, these easy and cost-effective recipes will help you to make your glass surfaces sparkling clean and shiny in the fastest possible way.

    Small child with bottle of cleaner wiping glass window with rag.
    Contents show
    1 Why Use a Natural Glass Cleaner
    2 My Favorite Glass Cleaning Method!
    3 Glass Cleaner Recipe With Ammonia And Rubbing Alcohol
    4 Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol Recipe
    5 DIY Glass Cleaner FAQs
    6 Homemade Glass Cleaner

    Why Use a Natural Glass Cleaner

    When you make your own cleaner, you save a lot of money that you would otherwise use for buying a commercial one. On the other hand, when you turn to DIY ideas this automatically contributes to the cleaning up the toxically-overloaded environment.

    Consider the following fresh glass cleaner recipes and try them!

    Collage of Cleaning products in use for diy glass cleaner.

    My Favorite Glass Cleaning Method!

    I know this is going to sound crazy, but I use nothing but water to clean my windows! Oh, and they are the easiest, most sparkling streak free windows I have ever seen!

    Wanna know my secret?

    It’s this polishing cloth! Even with things like dog licks, dried on dirt, and hot car windows directly in the sun, my windows are streak free in less than a minute! If you are looking for a cheaper alternative that also works really well – check out this polishing cloth. I have used 1 cloth for over 4 years and I don’t think I will ever need to replace it.

    How it works: Use a wet towel or sponge to clean any caked dirt off. No need to soak the window, I think the towel does better if the glass is almost dry. Using a dry polishing cloth, wipe the glass until all water and streaks disappear before your eyes!

    If you would like to read more about the Cleaning Cloths I use to eliminate all chemicals in my house, you can read my honest Norwex review here.

    Glass Cleaner Recipe With Ammonia And Rubbing Alcohol

    Some of the best non-streak recipes for windows cleaning include rubbing alcohol, as it evaporates quickly. Here is one effective natural recipe that will make the glass shiny and spot free:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups of rubbing alcohol
    • ½ cup of ammonia
    • 2 tablespoons of hand dishwashing liquid
    • 3 cups of water

    When you mix the ingredients, pay attention not to add too much dishwashing liquid because it will only make the glass look cloudy.

    Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol Recipe

    This is another natural recipe, leaving your windows and mirrors cleaned in an impeccable manner.

    Ingredients:

    • ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol
    • ⅓ cup of white vinegar
    • 4 cups of water

    This DIY recipe is easy to apply, and I guarantee that the glass will become fantastically clean. It’s not as fast as the polishing cloth in my opinion, but it does work great.

    DIY Glass Cleaner FAQs

    Can I add fragrance to natural DIY glass cleaner?

    You can add up to 5 drops of essential oil for scent. As far as the choice for essential oil is concerned, citrus or lavender are great. Be careful not to add too much or the oil may be hard to clean off.

    How should I store homemade cleaning products?

    Always label the contents of your cleaner bottles. Adding a date to the label is also a good idea as chemicals can break down over time.

    DO NOT USE LEFTOVER BOTTLES! Rubbing alcohol can leach trace amounts of chemicals out of plastic bottles and then chemicals mix in unexpected ways. Use only new bottles for these recipes.

    Is vinegar effective for cleaning glass?

    The acetic acidic composition of vinegar acts quickly to break down the film that often accumulates on windows and other glass surfaces. When cleaning glass with a vinegar based solution, the result is a sparkling and streak-free surface. Vinegar also acts as a disinfectant and can kill germs in as little as 30 minutes when applied to a surface.

    There you have it! There are several options for some fresh ideas for natural no-streak glass cleaner. Make sure that you have an appropriate spray bottle or a container where you can mix the ingredients, and do not hesitate to try these excellent natural recipes whenever you want to do something about the poor look of the glass surfaces.

    More Cleaning Solutions

    • My Honest Review
    • Deep Cleaning Printable List
    • Best Norwex Products
    • How to clean a Glass Stove
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    Collage of woman cleaning windows and window cleaning products with post title of DIY glass cleaner.

    Homemade Glass Cleaner

    Simple homemade glass cleaner recipes that I have tested. These work as well or even better than store bought without the nasty chemicals.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Project Time: 2 minutes
    Total Time: 2 minutes
    Author: Rachel
    Cost: $3

    Tools

    • Spray Bottle

    Supplies

    • ¼ cup rubbing alcohol
    • ⅓ cup white vinegar
    • 4 cups HOT water distilled is preferred

    Instructions

    • In a spray bottle, add all ingredients. Close lid and shake to mix.
    • Spray onto glass and wipe with a sponge or wet cloth to remove large amounts of dirt. Follow with a paper towel to polish to a streak free shine.

    Notes

    Rubbing alcohol has a tendency to dissipate quickly. Make sure that the bottle is air tight during storage. 
    If you have large windows, a squeegee that professionals use is very useful for cleaning in a quick manner.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kimberly says

      June 07, 2015 at 3:01 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely love this! Thanks for sharing it with us. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tomorrow night at 7 pm. We can’t wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls

      Reply
    2. B says

      June 02, 2015 at 12:23 am

      5 stars
      Thank You very much for this great ideas.
      Birgit from Austria

      Reply
    3. Emily says

      May 31, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      5 stars
      I love DIY cleaning recipes. This past year I changed over almost all of my cleaning supplies to nontoxic ones. I have been using a solution of half vinegar and half water to clean my mirrors and windows. I’ll have to try adding the rubbing alcohol like you suggested.

      Reply
    4. Steph says

      May 30, 2015 at 9:33 pm

      5 stars
      Between kids and pets, we use a lot of glass cleaner – love this much cheaper approach!

      Reply
    5. Jody @easypeasymom says

      May 30, 2015 at 10:38 am

      5 stars
      I love using natural products to clean! So much better for our health (and our wallets!) Pinning, thanks for sharing!

      Visiting from the Best Recipes DIY link party.

      Reply

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