Paper towels are typically treated for absorbency, which makes them ideal for spills, but awful for glass cleaning. Instead, substitute your paper towels for something more practical, like actual cloth. Lint-free cotton cloths, like microfiber cloths are great options for glass cleaners.
Strict 'No' for Paper Towels, Dry Cloth and Tissues
Avoid using paper towels, clothes and tissues as they may be soft, but may have a crude surface that can easily attract dust or scratch your residential glass or storefront glass. Use microfibers to elongate their life.
The best way to clean glass windows or tabletops is by using either a coffee filter or a microfiber cloth. In the end, using microfiber cloths or coffee filters is a bit easier and yields more or less the same streak-free shine a properly wielded squeegee would.
Additionally, newspapers are more absorbent than paper towels so they can soak up more liquid which makes them ideal for wiping away residue from windows quickly and efficiently without leaving behind any smudges or streaks.
If you don't want to break out a squeegee and scrub brush, which is always our number one recommendation, you can use paper towels, newspaper, or microfiber cloths to clean with. The best paper for cleaning windows is newspaper with soy-based ink. This won't streak, smudge or stain, and it scrubs effectively.
Don't use harsh chemicals or ammonia-based cleaners. These products can damage the integrity of your glass. Likewise, you should avoid ammonia and alcohol-based cleaners as they can leave streaks and make your glass look dirty.
While many people stock their cleaning closets with paper towels to tidy up mirrors and glass, paper towels actually aren't recommended for cleaning windows or glass, since the microscopic wooden fibers that make up paper towels can be abrasive to smooth glass surfaces.
Microfiber cloths are the agreed upon winners when it comes to glass cleaning. These cloths made of polyester and polyamides are great for sensitive surfaces like glass. They attract lint and dust, and soak up your window cleaning product to leave your windows with that professional-quality finish.
Use a cleaning solution: Like Glass-Rite cleaner! Or we also recommend a simple solution of equal parts vinegar and water, a Windex solution in water is good also. Do not use glass cleaners that are ammonia or alcohol based. They may leave streaks or make a film that attracts moisture or dust.
Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes are easy to use and work on a variety of hard, nonporous surfaces, including mirrors and glass. The powerful cleaning technology dissolves kitchen grease and fights soap scum.
"Using hot water and lotion-free soap will do the trick." Don't use disinfectant wipes to clean your glasses. They may ruin your lenses. "You want to stay away from household glass cleaners as they have chemicals in them that can damage certain lens coatings," Parker says.
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.
This has to do with the evaporation rate—if your cleaning solution evaporates before you have time to wipe it off, it will leave a mark. Alcohol- and ammonia-based cleaners evaporate more quickly than vinegar, but any window cleaner can leave streaks if it isn't removed fast enough.
Microfiber or other lint-free towels won't leave behind little specks on glass surfaces. Newspaper or old, clean cotton diapers are other great options.
Microfiber cloths are effective for achieving a spot-free finish on glass surfaces. The best microfiber glass cleaning cloths include The Rag Company 16x16 microfiber glass cleaning cloth, Chemicals Guys 24x16 waffle microfiber glass cleaning cloth, and Microfiber wholesale 16x16 glass cleaning cloth.
The simplest answer is you should have your windows cleaned once or twice a year in spring and fall. Most professional window washing companies will tell you the same.
Odd though it might seem, wiping down glass with newspaper not only helps produce streak-free glass, but also a lovely, bright shine! Be sure to spray your cleaning product on the newspaper or cloth rather than directly on the mirror. This will prevent the cleaner from dripping into the frame and possibly corroding it.
More environmentally-friendly than disposable paper towels, a microfiber cloth has numerous other benefits that make it an ideal alternative for cleaning windows and surfaces: Absorbency: A microfiber cleaning cloth absorbs over six times its weight in water and when used dry, collects fine dust through static charge.
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. Sweep away dirt: Using a broom, sweep away the cobwebs and debris from the windows and sills.
Paper towels are typically treated for absorbency, which makes them ideal for spills, but awful for glass cleaning. Instead, substitute your paper towels for something more practical, like actual cloth. Lint-free cotton cloths, like microfiber cloths are great options for glass cleaners.
While paper towels are wonderful for cleaning up spills, they do a terrible job on glass. Because they are made of tiny paper fibers, they leave a residue of lint and fuzz all over your otherwise clean windows.
Some folks like drying panes with newspaper, but you're better off reusable microfiber cloths. "They are super absorbent, washable and leave the glass shiny and streak-free," Forte says.