Mix up your window-cleaning solution: In a plastic spray bottle, mix together 2 cups of warm water with 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn.
In a spray bottle, combine ¼ cup of white vinegar with ½ teaspoon of liquid dish soap. Dilute the solution with 2 cups of water, then shake the bottle vigorously to mix the components. If you don't have white vinegar on hand, you can substitute it with lemon juice.
Glass Cleaner Recipe:
1 tablespoon of Dawn EZ Squeeze Dish Soap. 1 gallon of water. A clean cloth. Paper towel or squeegee (optional)
DIY Glass Cleaner Recipe
Beginning with your empty plastic spray bottle, add in the cup of distilled water. Then combine with one cup rubbing alcohol and two tablespoons of distilled white vinegar. Once everything is in the bottle, please give it a good shake to mix the solution up. That's it - super easy, right?
It contains vinegar and isopropyl alcohol, which both cut through grease and kill bacteria. Simply mix one cup of alcohol and water and add a tablespoon of vinegar. Add the mixture to a spray bottle, and you're good to go! This cleaner works on any glass surface, from your windows to the lenses in your glasses.
A typical solution used by professionals is 3/4 cup clear ammonia or white vinegar, 1 gallon of water and 2 to 4 teaspoons blue Dawn dishwashing liquid combined in a bucket.
It's fine to use a commercial window cleaning spray, but you can also make your own that's just as effective—and much cheaper. Combine about 8 ounces of hot water with a drop or two of Dawn dish soap—which is great for cutting grease and grime, says Fisk—in a spray bottle.
To get streak-free windows, mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a bucket. Then, dip a standard mop or a microfiber cloth in the cleaning solution, and wipe down the window's surface. To dry the windows, use a rubber squeegee in straight motions from top to bottom.
The combination of dish soap and vinegar is highly effective for a few different reasons. They're both excellent at breaking down tough grease and grime, but vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, and dish soap is too thick to use on its own.
If streaky windows are a big issue in your home, try cleaning them with vinegar and warm water, which should leave them sparkling and streak-free. Another option is wiping them down with a newspaper, which cuts down on streaks and produces maximum shine.
Squeegee the windows
The dry edge creates the perfect surface to get a good start and you don't have to be up against the window edge and causing missed spots. There is little to no cleaning up leftover drips from the squeegee when you use this method making it much faster.
Dish Soap. You can clean your vinyl windows by simply mixing a small amount of dish soap with water. Use a soft cloth when cleaning the windows. While cleaning, apply the soap and water in a circular motion until all dirt and debris has been removed.
Another tried-and-true tip is washing those windows with soapy water (we like to use Dawn because of its grease-fighting properties). This will banish those smudges, but you will need to rinse and dry the windows afterward.
For very dirty windows, especially exterior windows, combine 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of vinegar, and 1/2 tsp of dish detergent. If you're cleaning immediately, use warm but not hot water for added cleaning power. Shake the bottle to combine.
While the complete “recipe” is inaccessible for the masses, a Dawn spokeswoman has pointed the magic to uniquely powerful surfuctants—or, the chemical compounds that reduce the surface tension of a liquid when it's dissolved, aka the stuff that cuts the grease.
When using Dawn Powerwash, you should avoid cleaning porous surfaces such as marble and other soft natural stones or untreated wood. It is also best to keep Dawn Powerwash away from painted surfaces, too. Always make sure to test new cleaning products on inconspicuous areas of surfaces first.
The blue solution in the reservoir is an alcohol-based glass cleaner probably diluted with some water. After multiple people have wiped bugs, mud, oil, and gasoline off their vehicle using the squeegee and dunked it back into the tub, that fluid is more filth than detergent.
A big problem is the evaporation rate. If you're cleaning your windows on a warm sunny day, the liquid part of the solution evaporates quickly and leaves behind a residue that appears as streaks. On the other hand, if you don't entirely remove the liquid you can also be left with a streaky window.
We've also found that a solution of one part white vinegar to ten parts water is the best for cleaning the film off the inside of vehicle windows. Note: Dirty film on windows impairs the effectiveness of the defroster.