This is Day 11 of the 31 Days to Green Clean series.
One of the last places that I switched to a green and natural cleaning was window and mirror cleaner. And now I can’t believe that it took me so long to make the change, because it really was so easy.
Honestly, I’m not super picky about my windows and mirrors being spotless, and if you’ve been to my house it’s not too hard to notice. I have two little kids and a dog and a huge main window in our living room that is right at their level. Enough said.
I had tried using my water and vinegar mixture and it was okay, but it didn’t do as good of a job as my trusty purple bottle of spray. If the window was too dirty, it required too much elbow grease, and it left more streaks more than I would have liked.
Finally, I read Donielle’s post over on Simple Homemade comparing different homemade window cleaners. She did all the work and I got to reap the benefits!
She said that straight rubbing alcohol ended up working the best for her. I happened to have a bottle of alcohol sitting in the back of my cupboard that was almost completely full because I bought it and then never used it for anything. I took one of my spray bottle nozzles, screwed it on the top of the rubbing alcohol and went to work on my windows and mirrors.
And… it worked great! It cleaned easily without a lot of hard scrubbing. It dried quickly, and was streak free. Basically everything you could ask for in a glass cleaner. The smell is obviously a little strong, and I wouldn’t feel super comfortable using it around my kids or letting them spray it and clean with it the way I do with my other homemade cleaners. But, that’s okay, because it works so well and the smell does dissipate pretty quickly.
*Bonus tip: While you already have the rubbing alcohol and a rag out for cleaning windows and mirrors, you can spray your faucets and door handles to clean and shine them, and most importantly disinfect them – which is important for keeping your family healthy this time of year!
So, if you haven’t tried cleaning your windows and mirrors with rubbing alcohol, I’d encourage you to give it a try and see how well it works!
What do you use to clean your windows?
Go here to read all the posts in the 31 Days to Green Clean series.
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Just be ever so careful to never have any open flames in the room when cleaning your mirrors and windows with rubbing alcohol. A Cincinnati family lost their home when using rubbing alcohol to get ride of bed bugs. Snopes has an article at http://www.snopes.com/humor/follies/bedbugfire.aspAnd here is another example. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-07-09/local/17901813_1_st-vincent-fdny-apartment and
Good to know. Thanks so much for sharing Anita!
I have been using rubbing alcohol in many of my products and noticed the strong smell. Do you think its harmful to breath in? Just curious
Emily, what a great blog and really appreciate the tips and resources you share with your readers. Thanks for the helpful suggestions for green cleaning.
First I want to say thank you for all your posts and great info. I have been slowly switching out all the harmful chemicals and the first to go have been cleaning products. I have been using a glass cleaner made with equal parts vinegar and rubbing alcohol, a little cornstarch and water. In my 16 oz bottle I fill it about 1/4 way with the vinegar and alcohol about 1 T of cornstarch and the rest with water. This works amazingly with microfiber cloths. I also ave these microfiber glass orbs that I got at restoration. Hardware and they work just as well all by themselves. I haven’t tried just alcohol yet, but I will.
Love how well this works. My glass has never been cleaner!
So glad you like it Megan!
Emily. I love your blog. I clean the windows with vinegar, but now I’m curious to try your method.Gallows Corner Carpet Cleaners Ltd.