How to Make Homemade Window Cleaner

Make your own DIY window cleaning solution

Step 1: Gather the ingredients.

Before learning how to clean windows with vinegar, you must first gather the materials for this DIY glass cleaner. You’ll need distilled white vinegar (or lemon juice) and dish soap – a fragrant essential oil is nice to add, but not necessary.

In this recipe, like many other non-toxic homemade cleaners, white vinegar plays a major role. Its acidity cuts through dirt and grease, a feature that makes window cleaners well-equipped to remove stuck-on debris and streaks.

If you have washed your windows for years with a commercial cleaner such as Formula 409 or else WindexIt is likely that the glass forms a fine, waxy film. That residue comes off easily with ordinary dish detergent, which is another ingredient that contributes to the effectiveness of homemade window cleaners.

Step 2: Combine the homemade glass cleaner ingredients and dilute them with warm water.

In a spray bottle, combine ¼ cup white vinegar with ½ teaspoon liquid dish soap. Dilute the solution with 2 cups of water, then shake the bottle vigorously to mix the ingredients. If you don’t have white vinegar, you can substitute lemon juice. Like distilled white vinegar, lemon juice has a mild acidity that cuts through grease and grime with equal panache.

Step 3: Add essential oils for fragrance (optional).

As a cleaning agent, there’s a lot to love about vinegar, but the strong smell isn’t everyone’s favorite. Fortunately, you can go a long way toward masking the scent of your homemade glass cleaner by adding essential oils to the mixture in a spray bottle. Pick your favorite oil and add 10 to 15 drops.

With your homemade window cleaner now ready, spray the window glass with it. Then, using a lint-free cloth such as a Microfiber cloth or chamois, wipe the cleaner over the entire surface you’re cleaning. The cleaner will dry fairly quickly, leaving behind a streak-free shine. For best results, follow up with a window squeegee like the top-rated one Mr. Ciga Window Cleaning Squeegee and Scrubber.

What do the ingredients do?

This window-cleaning recipe works like a dream, but what do the individual ingredients contribute to the mix? We’ll break it down for you.

Vinegar

The main reason distilled white vinegar makes such a good glass cleaner is because it contains acetic acid. The colorless organic compound gives white vinegar its pungent taste and smell and kills some bacteria. When you wash windows with vinegar, not only will you break down and remove dirt, grease, and mineral deposits, you’ll also kill hard-surface insects around the house.

However, it is important to note that vinegar-based cleaning solutions should not replace a true sanitizing cleaner that kills 99.9 percent of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. EPA Standard for Products Labeled as Sanitizers.

Lemon juice

Like white vinegar, the acid in lemon juice can effectively break down grime on windows and other glass surfaces. The citric acid in lemon juice is technically slightly stronger than the acetic acid in vinegar, although both are equally effective when it comes to cleaning around the house.

Dish soap

Most liquid dish soaps on the market contain several ingredients, but one ingredient in particular, sodium lauryl sulfate, gives dish soaps their impressive grease-busting abilities. The ingredient bonds with oily particles and removes them from the surface, allowing for easy removal when used with water.

essential oil

The best homemade window cleaners leave a pleasant aroma. Many essential oils contain natural chemical compounds that are both purifying and pleasant to the touch. For example, tea tree essential oil doesn’t just smell good—it has antibacterial, antiseptic, and antifungal properties. Adding it to your homemade window cleaner can also help prevent mold and mildew growth.

hot water

As is the case when cleaning other parts of the house, water temperature makes a difference. Warm water has more kinetic energy than cold water, so it more easily agitates and lifts dirt particles from surfaces. This can help to some extent in cleaning dishes and laundry, but hot water is not necessary for cleaning windows. Cold or warm water will also work.

Tips for cleaning windows

A thorough window cleaning should be at the top of every homeowner’s seasonal cleaning to-do list. Early spring is the perfect time to tackle this task both inside and outside your home when the weather warms up. Before you start spritzing the glass, consider this Useful window-cleaning tips:

• Remove the dust. If the windows are dusty but not streaky, you can clean them without bringing a cleaning solution, homemade or otherwise, into the equation. Use only a lint-free cloth for dusting and cleaning. Then, once finished, finish the job by polishing the glass to a streak-free shine with a separate, clean cloth.
• Wait for the right weather. If possible, clean your windows on a cloudy day. When the sun shines directly on the window, the cleaning solution dries quickly, which can leave behind streaks and water marks.
• Start with the track and frame. Window tracks and frames can get dirtier than the glass itself. Cleaning these areas before cleaning the window panes will help prevent dust from getting on top of the glass as you clean it.
• Clean interior and exterior windows twice a year. Making a habit of cleaning the inside and outside of each window twice a year can help prevent dust, dirt and mineral deposits from accumulating.

Expert tip

“Don’t forget to inspect your window hardware. If your finish has faded, you can apply a coat of wax to preserve and restore it. Also, it’s never a bad idea to take the time to put a dry lubricant on the gears of your windows to keep all components working smoothly for seasons to come.”

-Michael Wandsnyder, Director of Product Management Marvin

While you can use a paper towel, a soft microfiber cloth works best to first remove dust and loose debris from the window. Use a separate clean microfiber cloth to work the homemade window cleaner over the glass surface and remove stubborn dirt and residue. Coffee filters The window is also easy to clean, viz squeegees. The latter is especially useful for deep cleaning the outside of your windows, which you can DIY instead. Paying for professional window cleaning.

Safety precautions

Using natural ingredients is more environmentally friendly and safer for your skin and lungs than the chemicals found in many commercial cleaners, but there are still some safety precautions to be aware of when making your own window cleaner. Natural ingredients like white vinegar, lemon juice, and essential oils are effective in homemade glass cleaners, but they can’t replace a real sanitizer that kills 99.9 percent of disease-causing pathogens.

This is the most important thing to remember when making window cleaner (or any other homemade cleaning solutions). Never mix vinegar with chlorine bleach. When sodium hypochlorite, the basic chemical compound in bleach, mixes with acetic acid found in vinegar, it gives off toxic chlorine gas. Chlorine gas can burn the skin, cause breathing problems and even be fatal with long-term exposure.

Glass Cleaner Vs. Window cleaner

Formulas for exclusive Professional glass cleaners Most are ammonia-based, and can leave streaks or foggy spots on some types of glass. Car windowsFor example, ammonia-based window cleaners should not be cleaned because the residue poses a risk of obstructing the driver’s view. Natural glass cleaners that do not contain ammonia, such as the homemade window cleaner recipe above, do not leave behind residue or streaks when wiped using a clean microfiber cloth.

Final thoughts

The best window cleaning solutions are safe, natural and effective. Following this recipe for a natural window cleaner can help you achieve all of these goals and give you clear, clean and streak-free windows. Adding a few drops of essential oil to a vinegar-based cleaner adds a pleasant scent.

Cleaning your home’s windows doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task. Consider focusing on one level or room at a time to keep the workload manageable. Remember, you should also clean outside windows and screens a few times a year.

FAQ

Q. Can you use rubbing alcohol instead of vinegar to clean windows?

Yes, you can use rubbing alcohol to clean windows if you don’t have vinegar on hand. To make the best window washing solution with rubbing alcohol, add 1½ cups of water, 1½ cups of rubbing alcohol, and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (if you have it) to a spray bottle. Close the bottle, shake it to mix the ingredients and use it to clean windows and other glass surfaces in your home.

Q. Why are my windows streaky after I clean them?

Ammonia-based commercial window cleaners leave behind a residue that can leave windows looking streaky. For streak-free windows, try making your own natural homemade window cleaner using white distilled vinegar, water, lemon juice, essential oils, and dish soap.

Q. How do you deep clean windows?

Start by cleaning window tracks and frames with a solution of three parts white distilled vinegar and one part water. Then, mix together white distilled vinegar, lemon juice, water, essential oils, and dish soap and use the solution to clean the glass.

More recipes for homemade cleaners

For the kitchen

• Homemade degreaser
• Homemade Granite Cleaner
• Homemade Oven Cleaner
• Homemade stainless steel cleaner
• Homemade silver polish
• How to clean a glass cooktop

for the floor

• Homemade floor cleaner
• Homemade carpet cleaner
• Homemade Wood Floor Cleaner
• 10 Homemade Carpet Cleaning Remedies

For the bathroom

• Homemade shower cleaner
• Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Homemade Grout Cleaner
• Homemade drain cleaner

for outside

• Homemade Deck Cleaner

Your complete guide to spring cleaning

‘Tis the season of refreshment. Get started here with our checklists, tutorials and cleaning product recommendations to get your home and property in shape for spring.