It’s inevitable that the air pollutants and debris can get caught on car windows when you drive regularly. And they’re not only unsightly, they’re also visually obstructive. Thankfully, cleaning car windows is an easy task with the use of something you probably already have in your home: vinegar.
You can count on vinegar to remove grime and dirt on car windows. In a nutshell, how to clean car windows with vinegar simply involves preparing the solution, spraying the solution on the windows, and wiping the windows with vertical strokes then switching to horizontal strokes. Read on for more details.
Table of Contents
What You Will Need to Follow This Tutorial
The easy and simple task of window cleaning only requires a few things. See the list of items needed below:
- Vinegar – Vinegar is not your ordinary household item. It is capable of cleaning all sorts of things, including car windows. It can clean off dirt and grease as well as disinfect surfaces.
- Water – Water would be needed to combine with the vinegar to clean car windows.
- Spray Bottle – A spray bottle would be needed for applying the solution to the windows.
- Microfiber Cloths – Microfiber cloths are very absorbent cloths that can trap dirt and debris on their surface, which makes them excellent for the job. You would need several of these, as you will need to always use a clean, dry cloth.
- Newspapers – Some newspapers would be needed for protecting the dashboard from cleaning solution drips. Or you may also use some microfiber cloths.
Step by Step Instructions
All there really is to cleaning car windows with vinegar is creating a simple vinegar and water cleaning solution, spraying, and wiping.
But you also have to do the window cleaning when the temperature is not too hot, under a shade, or in the garage to wipe away the solution quickly before it dries up. This is to prevent streaks on the car windows.
You must also avoid wiping the windows in circular motions, as it would create streaks on the windshield.
You should also wash your car before window cleaning to prevent the dirt, debris, and grime from the other parts of your car from getting on the windows again.
Now that we’ve already discussed the things you need to keep in mind before window cleaning, let’s move on to the steps on cleaning window exteriors and interiors.
Cleaning the Exterior of the Windows
Step 1. Make the Solution
The first step in cleaning car windshield with vinegar is, of course, to prepare the ingredients: a cup of distilled vinegar and a cup of water. Pour the ingredients into a spray bottle. Then give the spray bottle a thorough shake so that the ingredients would be mixed well.
Step 2. Lift Up the Windshield Wipers
It would be good to start with the windshield exterior. But before doing the cleaning, you should lift up the windshield wipers first to thoroughly clean the entire windshield without them in the way.
Step 3. Spray and Wipe on One Side of the Windshield
Work on one side of the windshield exterior first. Spray the solution on it about two to three times. Try to apply the solution to the broadest space you can possibly cover.
You should start wiping the windshield with the microfiber cloth at its upper center going down. And continue to wipe in that manner as you move towards the edge, wiping in straight vertical strokes. Make sure to maintain vertical strokes when wiping, starting from the top and going down until you reach the edge of the windshield.
On areas with stubborn dirt, debris, and grime, wipe with more added pressure to get rid of them. Flip the microfiber cloth to another side when you notice that it has gotten too dirty and damp. You may also replace it with another clean, dry microfiber cloth as needed.
After you’ve finished wiping the first half of the windshield in vertical strokes, you would next wipe it in horizontal strokes. You would again start from the upper center but this time, wipe towards the edge rather than towards the bottom part of the windshield.
Step 4. Work on the Other Side
Repeat the spraying and wiping on the other side of the windshield exterior in the proper manner as instructed. Also, make sure to use a clean, dry microfiber cloth when you start working on the other half.
Step 5. Work on Other Windows
Work on the remaining window exteriors one by one. Just like on the windshield, you would spray the solution on a window, then wipe vertically and horizontally. Remember to flip over the microfiber cloth as needed or make use of a new microfiber cloth if necessary.
Cleaning the Interior of the Windows
Step 1. Protect the Dashboard With Some Newspapers or Microfiber Cloths
After cleaning the window exteriors, you can move on to the window interiors, starting with the windshield. As a precaution, you must protect the dashboard from vinegar and water solution drips by covering it with some microfiber cloths or newspapers. Otherwise, the vinegar and water cleaning solution may drip and damage it.
Step 2. Spray the Solution on a Cloth and Work on One Side of the Windshield
Unlike when washing window with vinegar on the outside, you have to spray the solution on the microfiber cloth when cleaning the interior of the windshield. It would be more efficient this way, as all the solution that is sprayed would be consumed and applied to the windshield.
Spraying the solution directly on the windshield interior would be wasteful, double the cleaning, and may damage your car’s interior: only some of the cleaner sprayed will get on the glass, while the rest would end up in different areas of the car.
Moreover, a windshield interior cleaning hack you can do is to clean from the passenger seat. That way, the steering wheel wouldn’t get in the way of cleaning.
But the manner of wiping in windshield interior cleaning is similar to that in windshield exterior cleaning. You would work on one side first, starting from the upper center and wiping in vertical strokes until you reach the edge. Then, switch to horizontal strokes after finishing wiping in vertical strokes, starting from the upper center going across.
Step 3. Work on the Other Side
Clean the other half of the windshield interior in the same manner as you did with the previous half.
Step 4. Work on Other Windows
After you’ve finished working on one windshield interior, you can move on to the other window interiors. Similar to cleaning the first one, you would spray the solution on a microfiber cloth then wipe the windows using vertical strokes first, then horizontal strokes next.
Conclusion
The process for how to clean car windows with vinegar is easy and simple. So there’s no excuse for you to not clean your car’s windows. It is necessary to clean car windows for presentability and most importantly for safety.
Now that you know how to clean car windows, grab your cleaning materials and get cleaning. But perhaps you can give this article a like or comment if you liked it or share it to spread some car care knowledge before you go.
