Straight vinegar will work fine to clean your interior windows, but for excellent results, mix 1 cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap such as Dawn in a spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Add essential oil if you’d like it scented. Newspaper works well to avoid streaks.
For exterior window washing here are 5 more recipes (3 with ammonia, 2 without):
- Combine 2 cups rubbing alcohol (70 percent isopropyl), 1/2 cup ammonia, 1 teaspoon dish detergent (liquid such as Dawn). Top off with water until you have 1 gallon of window cleaner. Mix and pour into your bottles.
- Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/2 cup ammonia and 1/2 cup white vinegar in a bucket containing 3-4 quarts warm water. Mix well and put the solution in a trigger spray bottle. Spray on the windows, then wipe with a warm-water rinse. Rub with a dry paper towel or cloth.
- Combine 1 bottle of Jet Dry, 8 Tablespoons Rubbing Alcohol (70% ), 1/2 Cup Ammonia, 1/2 cup powdered dishwasher soap (Cascade), 4 Gallons of Hot Water. Squirt windows with hose with spray nozzle. Use long handled brush, apply window cleaner to windows and scrub. Spray windows to rinse away grime and cleaner.
If your windows are thermal pane or have any type of insulated film or rubber type sealing/stripping, too much ammonia might discolor the windows and stripping. If you have thermal windows, I would avoid the ammonia and use either of these two recipes.
- Combine 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon dish detergent (liquid such as Dawn) and top off with 1 gallon water. Mix and pour into your bottles. Use a scrubber and squeegee if windows are really dirty.
- Mix 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a bucket (2-gallon) of warm water. Apply to windows with the sponge side of a squeegee and remove with the squeegee side. Or use a microfiber cloth.
