How to Clean Windows and Glass Naturally

There are few things more frustrating than spending your Saturday morning cleaning all the windows and glass in your house, only to find them streaky and spotty still. The truth is, for me, the best way to clean windows is to use a microfiber/chamois type cloth, which requires simply warm water, a wipe down, and a walk-away. But, psychologically, some people feel the innate desire to spray something on their glass to get it clean. The following is the next-best of the natural window cleaning solutions.

Note: For photographic purposes only, I’m showing the solution for how to clean windows on a bathroom mirror. Rest assured that the results will be exactly the same on your windows and mirrors alike, because…glass.

You’re going to love the fact that this window cleaning solution is made up of two simple, 100% natural ingredients: (1) white vinegar, and (2) water. (You can use tap water.)

Begin by opening up a spray bottle, placing a funnel in the top, and pouring in 1/2 cup of vinegar.

Keeping the funnel in place, now pour in 1/2 cup (or whatever amount of vinegar you used) of water.

Screw the spray lid back onto your bottle, which now contains equal parts water and vinegar.

Look at the window/mirror/glass object you’re ready to clean. Appreciate its spottiness. (This is important to add to the level of cleaning satisfaction at the end.)

Spray one or two squirts of your vinegar-water glass cleaner onto the window (or mirror). You want enough liquid that you can easily wipe the entire mirror, but not so much that you saturate your rag completely.

Use a dry, clean, white rag (I prefer old t-shirt rags, because they leave minimal lint; you could also use wadded up newspaper) and start wiping your window. Please avoid using paper towels in your window cleaning. You’ll spend the rest of your days trying to wipe up the fiber residue from paper towels off your glass…which leaves more fiber residue.

You might notice the glass surface begins to look sort of foggy. This is okay.

You may also notice liquid droplets staying on the mirror, even after you’ve wiped. This is also okay.

You can see the vinegar-water droplets left behind after a cleaning swipe movement in the middle of the glass here.

Before the droplets dry (because they will leave spots), grab a second clean, white rag and conduct a second wiping. So, essentially, your first rag will get pretty wet; its purpose is to do the actual cleaning.

The second rag will get slightly moist but shouldn’t get too wet (or you’ll need a third rag); its purpose is to swipe away the cleaning solution.

Once your second (dry-ish) rag has wiped up all the leftover drops of vinegar-water solution, your mirror should look streak-free clean. Congratulations. Spring is going to look a lot different this year, through windows that are actually clean!