WINDOW CLEANING - HOMEMADE GREEN RECIPES

by Izzy Smith
(UK)

If you want a clean house that has fresh and healthy air, you need to take care of many things. One of the areas that gets dirty quite quickly is your windows. It is nobody’s favorite task to wash the windows, so most people usually postpone it for months. However, this results in greasy windows that are hard to clean as well as darker rooms. The good news is that you don’t need some magical commercial cleaner that costs a fortune in order to have sparkling clean windows. There are many homemade recipes that will work just fine and the results will be more than satisfying. Let’s look at them in more detail.

If you want to have clean windows, mirrors and glass surfaces, you need to spend some time on them at least once a month. This will prevent the nasty buildup, and it will be much easier to clean them regularly.

Some of the household ingredients that are commonly used for cleaning glass surfaces are vinegar, ammonia, alcohol and dishwasher liquid. Ammonia is your ultimate helper in the fight with grease on the glass. Dishwasher liquid gives really good results when used on greasy stains as well. You can use alcohol as a solvent to dissolve buildup easily too.

Since ammonia and alcohol evaporate rapidly, don’t pick the hottest or the sunniest day to clean your windows. Vinegar is mildly acidic which cuts through the grime marks made by hard water on glass. Don’t mix ammonia and vinegar though, as this will make the cleaning solution absolutely ineffective. Ammonia and vinegar neutralize one another, because of their pH, so pick just one of them and mix it with something else.

Window Cleaning Recipe 1
•1 part ammonia

•2 parts rubbing alcohol (isopropyl)

•7 parts water

•A few drops of dishwasher liquid

Mix these ingredients, pour the solution in a spray bottle and use it for cleaning your windows, mirrors and bathroom glass surfaces. Don’t add too much of the dishwasher liquid, or you might cause streaks on the glass. If your windows have aluminum frames, be careful of contact with ammonia as it could damage it.

Window Cleaning Recipe 2
•1 part white vinegar (distilled)

•1 part hot water

Combine them, pour them in your spray bottle and use a clean white cloth. Try to quickly wipe down the windows, while the water is still warm enough. This will give you the best results. Always start from top to bottom and work your way through by applying some elbow pressure.

Window Cleaning Recipe 3
•1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

•2 cups of club soda

•1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Pour the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake it before using. This is a great solution which will give a nice shine and sparkle to your windows. It’s completely easy and affordable, and you wouldn’t even need any dishwasher liquid.

All of these homemade recipes for cleaning windows are just some of many you can use. They are effective, quick and affordable. Some people use coffee filters for wiping down the windows, as this gives a nice shine too. Whichever method you choose, make sure you clean your windows more often than once a year during spring cleaning.