The Smart Trick To Get Perfect Streak-Free Windows Every Time

If Windex and paper towels have been your go-to products for cleaning household glass like windows and mirrors, there may be a way to not only get a more streak-free shine, but also to do so more economically — simply by using things you already have in your house. Rather than defaulting to chemical-laced cleansers, consider using vinegar. Vinegar is an exceptional cleaning agent because of the acetic acid its made from. Acetic acid is the colorless compound that makes vinegar taste sour and smell so strong, and it's also responsible for vinegar's ability to dissolve mineral deposits, grease, dirt, and grime on household surfaces. It can even kill bacteria! In fact, many bottled, store-bought cleaners contain this type of acid as a main ingredient ( via Healthline).  

So for cleaning glass surfaces in your house, you can use vinegar as the main ingredient in your own homemade cleaning agent: try mixing two cups of water with 1/4 cup vinegar, and a 1/2 cup of liquid soap, as noted by PureWow. 

Now that you have your cleaning mixture, you might be ready to reach for the paper towels, but wait! There's a more environmentally-friendly item you can use that will actually help to increase shine and decrease any leftover residue: newspaper. It's probably lying around your house already, so no need to kill more trees for the paper towels. And because newspaper isn't as soft as paper towels, it won't leave behind all those annoying little fibers on your windows or mirrors, which catch the light and make it look like you haven't dusted in weeks. And unlike using newspaper to clean molding or walls, you don't have to worry about the ink bleeding onto the glass since glass is a non-porous surface. It's like using a squeegee without the extra work.

If you don't have newspaper lying around, a microfiber cloth, which is reusable and washable, will also give you streak-free, fiber-free results — and still be just as environmentally conscious.