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.

20 Uses For Baking Soda

You may bake with it; you may have a box in the fridge to absorb odors; but did you know that baking soda can be used for so many other things?

Baking soda is the common name for sodium bicarbonate. It is slightly alkaline, is generally sold in small crystals that are so fine they resemble a powder, and is a reactive salt.  These characteristics make it wonderful for non-toxic cleaning of all kinds of things!

Personal Care

Sprinkle on a toothbrush as a toothpaste.  It is salty and icky tasting at first, but you will do more to whiten your teeth and neutralize the acid in your mouth than any expensive toothpaste.  Because it is slightly abrasive, it will really get your teeth clean.

If you can’t stand the taste as a toothpaste, then after brushing with your chemical-laden toothpaste, rinse your mouth with a solution made from a teaspoon baking soda and one cup of water.  You will neutralize acids in your mouth and you will destroy odors in your mouth, not just cover them up!

After you take care of your teeth, you can use baking soda as a gentle exfoliant.  Just mix one part water to three parts baking soda and scrub your face or your whole body!  Oils will be removed, dead skin cells washed away and your skin will feel softer.  This scrub is gentle enough to use every day.  This mixture is also great for washing really dirty hands (like when you have been working in the garden) or really smelly hands (like when you have been cutting up fish or chopping lots of garlic). 

Want to soak in a relaxing tub but are out of Epsom salts?  Just add ½ cup baking soda to your bath tub and deodorize, relax, and soften your skin.  Because baking soda reduces the hardness of your water, you will use less soap in the tub and create fewer water spots.

Just want to sooth your tired feet?  Once again, instead of Epsom salts add baking soda to your warm water foot bath to soothe away the aches and pains in your feet and make the skin on your feet softer.

In the Kitchen

Use baking soda in place of harsh scrubbing powders to remove baked on food from casseroles, pots, pans, and skillets.  Sprinkle on and scrub lightly with a clean sponge.  For really dried/baked on messes add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to your dishwater and let soak.  Then, sprinkle and scrub.

Want to scrub that sink but afraid of scratching?  Just sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the surface of the sink and scrub with a damp sponge.  Rinse and look at that sparkle!

Baking soda can be used to wash kitchen counters, microwave ovens and the surface of your stove.

Scrub your cutting boards with a solution of baking soda and lemon juice.  You will clean, disinfect and deodorize all at one time.

Wash fruits and vegetables with a solution of baking soda and water instead of buying expensive produce washes.

Because baking soda reacts with the acid in meat, you can sprinkle it on or add to your marinades to tenderize even tough cuts of meat.

Laundry Uses

Add baking soda to your liquid or powdered detergent to boost the cleaning power.  It will adjust the pH of the water and soften the hardness to make your soap work better.

Add baking soda to the wash to help deodorize stinky athletic or work clothes.  Be sure to put baking soda in the laundry when you wash sneakers.

Soak diapers in baking soda and water before washing.  It will control diaper pail odor and make washing dirty diapers easier.

First Aid

Add baking soda to bathwater and soak to relieve the pain and itch from windburn, sunburn, and poison ivy.

Make a paste of baking soda and water to put on insect stings. It will neutralize the acid in the venom and ease the pain.

Rinse your mouth with baking soda and warm water to ease the pain from canker sores and help them heal faster.

Make your own antacid by mixing baking soda with water.  It will neutralize the acid in your digestive system to bring relief from heartburn and indigestion.

In The Yard

Spray a solution of baking soda and water to treat plants for fungal diseases.

Baking soda is listed with the EPA as a biopesticide.  Use it to repel cockroaches and ants in the home and sprinkle around your plants to deter pests.