Cleaning glass?

[newman]

What materials are recommended to clean windows and mirrors and leave them free of streaks and fluff?

Regards

[Chris Bacon]

Windolene on a clean cloth, and elbow grease.

[brugnospamsia]

Cheap clear pickling vinegar from the greengrocer, diluted in water plus newspaper - wipe horizontally on one side and vertically on the other so you can locate any streaks.

I don't go in for window cleaning myself, but I know it works and it was confirmed by a "domestic goddess" on the telly last week :-)

Vinegar is all I use in the loo too, but apparently will be enhanced by the use of borax - once I can find a cheap local source ...

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[Christian McArdle]

I use a bucket of warm water with a slug of vinegar added. Apply and scrub with sponge. Wipe off with squeegee.

Christian.

[Pete]

Absolutely. I used to make and deliver glazed bookcases, and that's what we did when we left the factory. Works a treat.

[Chris Bacon]

Also well worth washing the windows carefully first - if grit gets embedded in the paper, cloth, or WHY, then it scratches the glass...

[Holly, in France]

Damp newspaper followed by dry newspaper. The cheaper quality the paper/ink the better.

-- Holly, in France. Holiday home in the Dordogne, website:

[Andy Dingley]

Up to a point. You need to avoid coloured inks, which rules out most of the free-ads papers. I use our local one because it's really awful paper and cleans better than the Grauniad does - but I have to take the colour-printed outer pages off, otherwise the red smears.

[doozer]

You've got to make sure it's the original stuff in the pink bottle as well not the new clear squirt on stuff. The new stuff just doesn't cut the mustard.

[Chris Bacon]

New stuff?!?

[Stuart]

I belive ethat the "pink" Windolene has just been re-introduced but water anf vinegar with newspaper to polish off is still best . Stuart. Stuart

[Holly, in France]

Yes, good point. Most stuff we get here has shiny paper if it has coloured ink, no good on either count :-)

-- Holly, in France. Holiday home in the Dordogne, website:

[Vera]

Diluted vinegar and free newspapers.

If you don't like the smell of vinegar, lemon juice.

[Mary Fisher]

A steam cleaner.

Mary

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If out of the sun, warm water with a sploosh of washing up liquid, rinse with clean, then dry with a chamois.

[Andrew Gabriel]

My father discovered it is very good for removing the conducting component from rear windscreen heaters. They still look the same afterwards, but they don't have any of the metal left on them;-)

[doozer]

The new windolene is like every other window cleaner out there, just some vinegar formulation. I, personally, don't think that the vinegar and water window cleaners are all that great but maybe it's because I haven't tried polishing with newspaper.

I imagine that the newspaper is acting as an absorbent and it's very slight abrasiveness polishes the glass removing the streaks and possibly microscopic scratches too which is why you get such a great finish.

The old windolene came with the abrasive in the bottle so you could use a soft cloth and get the same effect and because it was white you could easily see missed bits*.

Any body else have any ideas why newspaper is so good?

*I remember it was a pain to get out of the corners though.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

IIRC, it's from the days they used carbon based inks which imparted a shine to glass. Modern inks don't.

[Lee]

Lidl isopropanol based glass cleaner works fine for me, spray and wipe

*which does leave streaks*, then wait until it's nearly dry and buff off with a clean cloth. Does require a little elbow grease.

Lee

[p00kie]

The autoglym screen cleaner ... and a clean lint free cloth .. works a treat!