Cleaning Glass - Tips & Techniques

One of the most dreaded household cleaning tasks is cleaning glass.  So many things can go wrong with cleaning glass.  You squirt, you spray, you wipe, you polish and when you step back to admire your hard work streaks and lint give you the stink eye.  What sent wrong?  Here are some tips for cleaning glass:

                                     Cleaning Glass – Use the Right Tools

What are you using for your cleaning agent?  To start with, make sure that no matter the cleaning agent, you use distilled or reverse osmosis water to rinse or as part of your cleaning mixture.  Tap water contains calcium, lime, magnesium and other minerals that can leave a haze behind.  Also, make sure your water is never super hot or cold.  Otherwise, your glass could crack.

Use a squeegee when washing outside windows.  It will make the job so much easier.

artwork courtesy vectorlie

Do not clean or buff with paper towels.  Paper towels leave behind lint. When you are cleaning glass you don’t want to leave lint behind.  If you want to use paper, use newspapers or newsprint paper.  If you use newspapers, be sure to wear gloves to keep the ink off your hands. 

Microfiber towels are great for cleaning glass, but expensive.  A tee shirt in good condition will work as well.

Use a steam cleaner to clean glass without chemicals.  Many of the newer steam cleaners have attachments for cleaning glass.

                                Best Agents for Cleaning Glass

You do not need to buy the blue stuff in the bottle to get glass that is clean and shiny.  You can make several glass cleaners from things you already have around the house. 

One of the most common DIY glass cleaners is white vinegar.  Make a mixture with a ratio of 50/50 vinegar and distilled water.   

If the smell of vinegar bothers you, use a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and water and spray on glass.

For particularly dirty outside windows, you may want to use ammonia and water.  Remember that ammonia contains soap.  Soap leaves residue.  Residue is what makes streaks and smears.  If you use an ammonia solution rinse thoroughly.

 

Use the Right Procedure for Cleaning Glass

How you clean can be almost as important as the cleaning agent you use. Do your glass cleaning work on low humidity days.  This is especially important in South Florida during the summer.  If it is too humid, your cleaning solution will never evaporate.  Trying to wash outside windows on a humid day is an exercise in futility.   A cloudy day is better than a sunny day.  The higher the temperature, the faster your cleaning solution will evaporate and leave streaks.

Work fast and buff streaks before they get a chance to form.

Clean in different directions on different sides of the glass.  Use an up, down motion when cleaning on one side, use a back, and forth motion on the other.  This will make it easier to find out on which side the streak lies.

Clean from top to bottom

When cleaning outside windows, first wash with soap and water then rinse. Once you have the heavy soil removed, spray glass cleaning solution and squeegee clean.

When cleaning inside windows, put a towel down in the window sill to protect it from any dripping cleaning solution.

Cleaning Cloudy Glass

Sometimes your glass wear will get a foggy appearance.  This is commonly caused by a buildup of calcium and other minerals from the water.  Sometimes this cloudiness can be removed.  However, if it has become etched in the glass, you might not have success.  But it is certainly worth a try.  If you use ammonia you must rinse, but it will clean cloudy glass.

If the cloud is on the inside of the glass or vase, fill with a mixture of ammonia and water and let stand for a few hours.  Then lightly scrub and rinse thoroughly.

For clouds on the inside of the object, fill it with water and drop in a denture cleaning tablet.  This will also remove mineral deposits from toilet bowls!

If the clouds are on the outside of the glass, you can spray with Dow Tub and Tile Cleaner or Lime Away.  You will need to do some scrubbing, so be sure to use a light touch and circular motion.  When you finish, rinse thoroughly.

If you have the right tools and use the right process cleaning glass doesn’t have to be a big chore.  However, remember if despite your best efforts you get a streak, it can always be buffed away with a chamois cloth.