What happens when you combine a 5-year-old playing with toothpaste and a steamy bathroom mirror? You call it a big mess, and I call it an object lesson. There’s no way that I’m going to wash that dirty bathroom mirror.
However, I also don’t want ANY of us breathing in the funky ingredients that are in Windex:
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2-Hexoxyethanol
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Isopropanolamine
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Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate
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Lauramine Oxide
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Ammonium Hydroxide
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Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye
These ingredients are so nasty that Environmental Working Group has given Windex a grade of “D” because these ingredients have the potential for acute aquatic toxicity; respiratory effects; and nervous system effects.
Make Your Own Glass Cleaner
It’s easy and inexpensive to make your own window or glass cleaner, without any of those nasty chemicals.
There are lots of homemade glass cleaner recipes out there–I’ve tried many of them and this one is the best. One batch costs pennies to make–compare that to store brand glass cleaner at $2.39!
Homemade Glass Cleaner
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Pour into a clean 24oz spray bottle (I like these because they’re sturdy and don’t leak) and fill with tap water.
Hand the bottle to your minion and send him to the nearest dirty mirror.
If you’re lucky, he might get motivated enough to wash more stuff.
Watch as your bathroom becomes sparkly clean! Or less of a biohazard, at least.
Now if I could just get him to mop the kitchen, I’d be in business…
Maya says
I’m not comfortable with the toxic fumes from ammonia, so I use vinegar instead of the ammonia and rubbing alcohol in your recipe. Works better than the store bought cleaner, for sure!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says
Ugh toothpaste on the mirror. BTDT! Thanks for sharing at Healthy 2Day Wednesday!
Anonymous says
Is ammonia not very bad for the environment?
Leslie A says
You may want to check out a great recipe I found a few months ago that uses Prell shampoo, instead of ammonia. It’s found here, if you are interested: http://www.theprudentlife.net/2012/05/glass-cleaner.html
Jenny @ The NY Melrose Family says
I love your helper. Do you think 2 is too soon for this? Lol! Thanks so much for sharing at Whimsy Wednesdays.
Annnightflyer says
Vinegar and wipe with newspaper works excellent too.
Antoinette Nozzero says
Yes, I started doing the same, white vinegar and water in a squirt bottle
Dolly Trebilcock says
To Annnightfllyer: This method left visible scratches all over my windows.
Anonymous says
A better recipe is 1 cup water, 1 cup rubbing alcohol and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. NO ammonia needed. I’ve been using this recipe for years.
Practical Parsimony says
Ammonia is very hard on the lungs. Everytime my mother used ammonia to clean, she ended up with such lung congestion that it took weeks to get over it and many trips to the doctor. I would not let a young child near it.
Anonymous says
I use water and a dry J-cloth.
Anonymous says
I use your recipe plus old newspaper flyers and it works great! No streaks and doesn’t leave your house smelling like french fries after:D
Robyn L. Coburn says
I use very dilute hot soapy water and squeegee instead of any kind of cloth or paper. So much faster!
clarego says
peroxide!
galacticwalker says
Everyone in the UK knows there is only one way to clean windows…… Vinegar water and a dot of washing up liquid, then rub it on with newspaper and dry it off with more dry newspaper.
Hilde Tipton says
Glad someone mentioned using newspaper. This is the way we cleaned all the glass in the house back in the 60s – vinegar, water, and newspaper.