A stained glass full of streaks and dirt immediately leaps to the eye and create a careless image of your home. Cleaning delicate surfaces such as glass are not as easy as you might think: to prevent stains or streaks from remaining, you must use the most suitable cleaning method and suitable detergents.
In these cases, I advise you not to use a degreaser or similar products at all, as you will create a haloed glass like those of the buses that take your children to school!
The detergents you find on the market allow you to wash shiny surfaces quickly, but sometimes the halos’ problem persists. It is advisable to use traditional methods which, in addition to being natural and less expensive, guarantee excellent results and allow you to remove the most stubborn stains.
Remove dust and dirt residues.
Before starting with the various cleaning steps, wipe the glass with a clean and soft cloth (a microfiber cloth is ideal if you do not want to scratch the most delicate surfaces), starting from the outer sides and continuing towards the center.
This preliminary phase will help you eliminate all residues of dust and dirt, the effects of smog and rain, or handprints. If the windows are particularly dirty, you can use a cloth moistened in lukewarm water. In this way, you will be able to clean even the most difficult stains.
Prepare a mixture at home.
Then prepare a mixture that will replace most detergents for windows present in various hypermarkets and supermarkets: mix 1 liter of water, half a glass of distilled white vinegar, and 3% isopropyl alcohol. Alternatively, if you don’t particularly like the pungent smell of vinegar, you can prepare a mixture of ammonia and water (add about a capful of ammonia per liter of water).
Both solutions must be mixed and poured into a spray bottle, or you can use them directly on the surfaces by soaking a rag in the cleaning solution. In any case, use rubber gloves so as not to find yourself with the unpleasant smell of vinegar or ammonia and completely chapped.
Spray the affected area with the mixture and rub it with the newspaper sheets
Next, spray the affected area with the freshly prepared mixture, roll up some newspaper sheets and start cleaning the windows: on the inside, rub the area creating small circles, while on the outside, rub vertically. Obviously, when you notice that the newspaper is completely saturated, change it.
If stains or streaks are left, repeat the same procedure, spraying a small amount of household detergent. The newspaper sheets, thanks to the oil contained in them, have the ability to absorb and remove stains from glass perfectly; alternatively, you can always use absorbent paper sheets, which are also ideal for these purposes.
