It never hurts to learn a little DIY, especially when we’re all cooped up and could use a good project. Something we all should be familiar with is how to clean car windows without streaks. Clear car windows are crucial to automobile safety.
Smudges can hinder our ability to read the road and could end in disaster, which is rare but far from impossible. All car owners should think about the importance of cleaning car windows for safety.
Professional help can be wildly expensive. Depending on how long and how far away the detailer or car wash is, you might have to plan your day around your car wash. Once you have the skills to clean your car windows at home, you can do it whenever you’re free and for much cheaper. You can also share these skills with family and friends.
- Learn Ways to Clean Windows without Streaks
- Prep Your Car
- The Importance of using Microfiber Cloths
- Washing Car Windows without Streaking on the Inside and Outside
- Baking Soda Window Cleaner
- Lemon Window Cleaner
- Ways to Clean Windows without Streaks using Cornstarch
- Removing Hard Water Spots
- Rubber Seals
- How to Clean Car Windows without Streaks that have Tint
- Cleaning Wiper Blades
Learn Ways to Clean Windows without Streaks
The cleaning agents used in auto detailing also tend to be horrible for the environment. The CDC has classified many chemicals used in detailing shops as toxic.(..) There is no way to be 100% sure that what your detailer is using to clean your car is also clean for the environment.
How can you be positive that you’re environmentally friendly with your glass cleaning? It’s easy – learn to make all-natural cleaners at home. The ingredients to these cleaning products are probably already in your kitchen cabinets.
Learning ways to clean windows without streaks is an invaluable skill for any car owner. Below are recipes and techniques for cleaning your windows of gunk and finding shiny, crystal clear ones beneath.
Prep Your Car
One of the essential steps of cleaning your windows is pre-washing your car. This step saves you lots of time and energy. If you skip pre-washing, grime will drip onto your freshly cleaned windows. You’ll have to wash the windows all over again.
This is the absolute last thing you want if your goal is a clean windshield. You can run your car through a car wash or spray it down with a hose. Either method is enough to get the majority of the dirt and bugs off your car. Save scrubbing time and save you more clean materials to use later.
It’s also essential to take your car out of the sun and heat to slow down evaporation. If the water and cleaner evaporate from your car before you can dry it off, it leaves spots. Slowing this process down saves time and materials.
The Importance of using Microfiber Cloths
Many people reach for their paper towels, washcloths, and newspaper when they wash their cars. When it comes to car window cleaning, the best option to wipe down both your interior windows and outside windows is a microfiber cloth.
Cotton washcloths work very well for cleaning cars. They’re soft and won’t scratch your vehicle. Cotton is also incredibly cheap and does fine if you don’t have a microfiber cloth on hand.
A microfiber towel, however, is much better than a cotton one when it comes to absorbing water and dirt. Microfiber leaves fewer streaks than cotton.
It is utterly lint-free since it’s made of synthetic materials. Less lint means less streaking and less debris left behind by cleaning materials.
Washing Car Windows without Streaking on the Inside and Outside
Many people forget that the key to learning how to clean car windows without streaks is to remember the interior windows. There won’t be pollen and dirt on the inside windows, but years of smoking or driving children with messy hands can create quite a bit of build-up.
It can be hard to find a solution suitable to clean inside a car windshield. The solution will most likely get onto your seats and dashboard, and products like ammonia can damage those materials.
For this simple car windshield cleaner, mix the dish soap and water until combined in a bucket, large bowl, or even in an empty gallon jug. You can then pour some of the cleaning solution into a spray bottle for easier use.
Spray the mixture directly onto a microfiber cloth and start wiping down your interior windows. When cleaning windows, it’s crucial to use horizontal and vertical moments rather than circular motions.
Circular motions increase the likelihood of scratching the automotive glass and leads to unwanted streaking. This applies to all kinds of window cleaning. Use this DIY car wash soap for your windows on the inside and the outside of the car, it’s also extra gentle for the interior.
Baking Soda Window Cleaner
Baking soda isn’t the first thing that pops into people’s heads when they think about window cleaning. It seems counterintuitive to use a powder to clean something that can be scratched.
However, the unique texture of baking soda is abrasive enough to scrub away grime while also being soft enough not to scratch the car glass.
Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp or wet microfiber cloth and use this to gently scrub away debris from the glass surface. After the window has been scrubbed with baking soda, use another cloth with warm water to wipe the baking soda away.
It’s best to follow this up by using an acidic cleaner afterward. Baking soda is slightly alkaline and can leave your windows feeling both gritty and slick.
Spray the acidic cleaner (a vinegar/water solution or one of the other recipes in the article) onto the window and once again wipe away. Ensure that you are still using an up and down motion rather than a circular one.
Lemon Window Cleaner
Another window washing solution recipe uses an ingredient you most likely already have in your kitchen. Acidic solutions cut right through grease that has accumulated on the glass surface.
Combine the water and lemon juice in the spray bottle. Spray this solution directly onto the microfiber cloth and start using the same vertical and horizontal movements to clean your windows. No rinsing is necessary.
Ways to Clean Windows without Streaks using Cornstarch
You can stay in your kitchen and have no shortage of what to clean car windows with. There’s a lot more to cornstarch than its powers for thickening dishes and making oobleck!
For one of the best homemade glass cleaners, combine the white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, cornstarch, and water in the bucket or spray bottle. Ensure that the mixture is thoroughly combined – you don’t want a clump of cornstarch ruining the sight of your beautiful clean glass.
This recipe is also useful for when you need to remove sticky residue from your car window. You may need to scrub a bit longer to get the residue off. Using a razor blade to carefully peel off stickers or gunk can speed this process along.
Another great place to use vinegar is on your car’s headlights. Cleaning headlights with vinegar removes any condensation buildup and makes the cover resistant to moisture.
Removing Hard Water Spots
Dried and evaporated water leaves its mark on your car windows. An important key to car care is ensuring that these are taken care of every time you get a car wash.
Since hard water spots are alkaline, you need an acidic solution to remove them. You can use the lemon, vinegar, and cornstarch recipe above or try out this recipe.
Combine the vinegar, water, and dish soap in the spray bottle. Spray directly onto water spots and wipe away.
Be careful – throughout the cleaning process, you may end up with more spots than before. That’s why it’s necessary to keep your car out of the sun and heat as much as possible when washing it.
This vinegar and dish soap cleaning solution also makes a great homemade bug remover for a car windshield. Bugs can leave nasty smudge marks on the glass, so be sure to keep this cleaning solution on hand.
Rubber Seals
The rubber seals of your windows are important for both the look and health of your car. Nobody wants rain and dust making its way into their car. Make a DIY solution to clean the rubber seals of your windows.
Combine the dish soap and water in the bowl or bucket. Dip your brush in the solution and start to gently scrub away grime from the rubber seals around your windows. Once you’re done, use your microfiber cloth and some warm water to rinse away the soap.
Streak free windows mean very little if the inner mechanisms of the car rust due to eroded seals. Take care of the seals before it’s too late.
How to Clean Car Windows without Streaks that have Tint
Window tint does change the way you need to clean your windows. Most of the solutions above are safe for tinted windows. The only unusual part about cleaning tinted windows is that your solution must be ammonia-free.
Spray on the window cleaner and gently wipe away. Your window tint will stay streak-free and still be hard to see through, thanks to an ammonia-free cleaner.
Cleaning Wiper Blades
A common issue people have with their windshield wipers is that they serve more to smear pollen and dust across a windshield than they do to remove it. Cleaning wiper blades is not only crucial for window clarity but can also keep them in good shape for years longer.
To clean your windshield wiper blades, you can use a DIY rubber seal cleaner. Wipe down your blades and give a quick rinse to remove any soap residue. Afterward, use a product like 303 Wiper Treatment to keep those blades moving smoothly.
As you’re cleaning, ensure that you are wiping down all of your windows. The interior of the rear window is often forgotten, but it is just as important as your front windshield. Cleaning car windows without streaks is far from an impossible task, but make sure you’re cleaning all your windows!
It is so vital for aesthetic and safety reasons to make sure that your windows are streak-free. Washing car windows without streaking is incredibly easy and can be done with things you already have in your home.
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