http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-clean-with-vinegar.html
How to Clean Windows with Vinegar
By Annie B. Bond
If you have tried to clean your windows with plain vinegar and gotten streaks, there is a simple reason and an easy remedy.
Oddly enough, it was the task of cleaning windows that
turned a huge number of well-intentioned, environmentally
friendly consumers away from non-toxic cleaning using the
simple ingredients that can be found in most kitchen cupboards.
Around Earth Day 1990, every newspaper in the country
(or so it seemed), offered tips for cleaning in ways that didn’t
harm the planet, and the recommendation for windows was
almost always to clean them with nothing but vinegar and water.
People by the thousands tried this, and many swore off cleaning
with homemade products for good because the formula left
streaks on their windows. (I wish I had $1 for every time
someone has said to me, “Well, I tried non-toxic cleaning and it
didn’t work. I used vinegar to clean my windows …”)
The problem was that the commercial window cleaner used before the switch to vinegar left a very fine wax residue. The vinegar alone wasn’t enough to remove it, and the result was streaky windows. If instead, everyone had added a dab of liquid
dish soap to the vinegar and water, the wax would easily have
been removed and the windows would have been cleaned perfectly!
My favorite recipe is to combine 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of
white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or
detergent in a spray bottle. That’s all there is to it. (Make sure to
label the bottle and keep it out of the reach of children.)
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Better Basics for the Home
Natural living has reached the mainstream: we are now far more concerned about the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the chemicals that surround us, and recognize that government regulations all too often fall short of safeguarding our health. Enter Annie Berthold-Bond, whose Better Basics for the Home is a compendium of practical information -- recipes, tips, and guidelines -- for creating a simpler, cheaper and environmentally safer lifestyle.buy nowrelated stories
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20 comments
add your comment »Vinegar certainly works for mirrors - and tiles and lots of other surfaces. Just be careful to test a small bit if you are unsure . Polished surfaces and marble may be damaged by vinegar.
I think the reason some people have problems is that they mix it too strong. You really need very little vinegar - a capful or two in a bucket of water.
You can find detailed instructions on greenfootsteps.com/cleaning-with-vinegar.html
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IN reply to Connie D., I have the same problem with my double glass patio doors. Unfortunately your gonna have to have the windows taken apart,cleaned a resealed by a professional.
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I use vinegar for so many things, when it comes to windows I only ever use crumpled wet newspaper to clean and crumpled dry newspaper to dry off, always successful for me
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Who says you can't teach an old (81) dog new tricks??
Used this formula today and was astounded at all the things I can now see through my windshield! Didn't know there were so many trees on my street. Great stuff.
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I have a glass top table, and I have tried cleaning with both non toxic stuff and vinegar, and have always ended up with a streaky table, which led me right back to aerosol stinky spray stuff. Well, I decided to quit trying it like that, and I've used nothing but non toxic "green" cleaner for over a month now. I have very few streaks, if any!
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I would like to know if this works for mirrors also?
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I have tried just about everything to have clean windows and no streaks. Help! Also does anyone know how to fix water spots in between glass??
Thanks!
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If you use newspaper, trace amounts of ink will come off of the paper and give your windows a nice glossy shine.
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I came up with a slight variation on this mixture that seems to work quite well. I used 50:50 vinegar/distilled water with about a teaspoon or less of Jet-Dry in a quart spray bottle.
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My mom has sworn by this method since I was a little girl. However, she also swears that you MUST use a newspaper to wipe the windows. Is this true? If so, what makes the newspaper so special?
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