What products are best for making house windows gleam ?

We have had so many threads on this subject - only recently there was another one. As Audi10 has asked again, the problem is obviously still not solved. My tuppence worth on the subject is that the results vary among people using the same method because it depends on the windows and the dirt. If your windows are new, they will be easier to clean than old ones which may have be one porous over time. There are, no doubt, varying qualities of glass, too.

And what makes your windows dirty will depend on whether you live in an agricultural or industrial area, and what type of agriculture or industry they are.

Washing the windows before you polish them seems to be a good idea, as grande tante describes, and also, doing them frequently will probably make it easier, too. I have not found the right solution, and often put it off because the result never satisfies me. Also the mirrors in the bathroom - I think they look perfect, then next time they steam up, they have smears in directions I never wiped them in!

DH does ours. They get covered in salt so it’s like having net curtains sometimes. It takes him a while but he does a great job and I don’t have to pay?

I use two microfibre cloths, one to clean that has been wrung out in warm water containing a squirt of washing up liquid and a generous amount of white vinegar. After cleaning just wipe over with the dry cloth.
No smears and so quick and easy to do the whole house.
Do have a window cleaner for the outside though, don’t really want to be climbing a ladder………. ??

I too have tried everything - vinegar, newspaper, lint free cloths, chamois leather etc but find nothing beats the Karcher window vac with either Karcher's glass cleaning solution (expensive but lasts and is worth it) or HG glass & mirror spray (available in Tesco & I imagine other places)

My windows are floor to ceiling south facing so the sun streams in and there are never any streaks

Hi
I just use white vinegar and water which I put in an empty spray bottle. Then use kitchen paper to remove. If windows are really bad ie outside ones then I wash first with water and washing up liquid and rinse off. Then use the vinegar solution. Also use on mirrors. Excellent result every time.

Window cleaner does the outside. Helper uses white vinegar and tiny drop of fairy liquid in a spray bottle and wipes with a micro fibre cloth. Looked as there was no glass until the Sahara sand came.

I have just cleaned the kitchen window, using for the first time pure white vinegar 10%. A very satisfying finish, especially considering I live near Paris which causes the outside pane to be sticky with pollution.

I have a Karcher window vac and am still trying to find the best way of using it without it leaving streaks. Found out you mustn’t put too much pressure on it or you get rubber streaks, but even when I think I’ve done a good job the sun then comes out and I see my mistake. Going to try the vinegar next.

Go and live in Singapore, nobody cleans the outside of windows nor cars for that matter..... it rains , and I mean RAINS, every afternoon about 3 pm for around 5- 10 mins. Result very clean windows. If considering the move I have to say it is also around 30C morning, noon and night

Umbers has a lovely scent as well.

I've tried everything and still there are smears on the glass when the sun shines. My French doors drive my nuts, sun comes out I close the blinds so I don't see the marks.

I don't have any newspapers. Could you use kitchen roll instead?

Hot water, vinegar and newspaper. Never fails.
We also have a product called Sealfix Non-Smear Glass Cleaner (bought online). You get a big 1 litre spray bottle for about £1. It lives up to its name and leaves sparkling windows or mirrors.
We bought it specifically for the car windows as DH doesn't like using vinegar on the car.

I think that my windows always look a bit streaky when the sun shines through them .

I've tried newspaper and vinegar, that purple stuff (!) and recently various commercial window cleaning preparations .

Am I boverred in the words of Catherine Tate ?

Not really !

I get more upset by plants threatening to fail !

I use Fairy washing up liquid and warm water. A small spray of elbow grease shifts dirty sticky marks. Always used a wiper blade, with kitchen roll for edges, but now have a window vac which works well

My window cleaner only uses Fairy liquid in water, the windows come up a treat. I always used Windolene in the days.
Vinegar then newspaper were the order of the day when we were growing up.

So long as I can see out of them I don't care.

E Cloths for windows and plain water. One to clean and the other to dry. These cloths have changed my attitude to window cleaning. Also use the drying cloth on the shower door.

The best thing to use is the distilled water that they sell at garages. You only need to liberally wet windows and then squeegee. It is what professional window cleaners use in my area and I see them forming queues early morning to get their water. You need to take a large plastic bottle as it comes out of a pump.

I don’t know really why I’ve never tried it maggiemaybe maybe I should

Water with a few drops of vinegar and scrim cloth. The problem I have is keeping shower screen clean, free from streaks. Not problem with limescale as water is soft.

window cleaner for outside and a good old fashioned chamois leather for inside

Methylated spirit diluted in water.

I am having a massive disagreement with my OH at the moment because he washes the widows first with soap and water then uses glass cleaner to do it all over again, (Mr Muscle) he won’t accept that windolene etc are glass cleaners, driving me nuts!!! I said ‘would you thoroughly wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher!!!, eye openers, I only moved into his house 6 months ago.

A good old fashioned REAL Chamois leather that has soaked in vinegar and warm water and after wringing it out well it did everything in the house including the furniture. NO streaks and kept the dust off the furniture longer. Nothing needs going over with a duster afterwards when one of these are used.

I dont mean the fake wash leathers in the local supermarkets which go like a lot of slime.