Crystal Clear Glass Cleaner!

Dirty, Dirty

Crystal clear glass cleaner


1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups warm water
Clear Spray bottle

Using a funnel (you can cut up the bottom of a plastic cap bottle if you don't have a regular funnel), start by adding cornstarch (It is important to add this first because it is the only dry ingredient). Next, add warm water to a spray bottle and all of the other ingredients. Make sure you use warm water as the heat will help dissolve the cornstarch. Cap your spray bottle. Place a finger over the nozzle opening and shake your bottle up a good bit to mix. You know you are done when your mixture is cloudy white and there is no cornstarch left on the bottom of the bottle. This is why using a clear spray bottle is most helpful :-) use as you would Windex or any other glass spray cleaner. Be sure to add one extra round of wiping down the glass surface with a new dry paper towel or lint-free cloth. This part is what will really make all the difference!


Background:

Windex stinks. Period. My grandmother loves smelling the stuff but it makes me down right nauseous and always has. I've also always been frustrated by the streaks it promises not to leave behind but always does. I've heard the newspaper trick a bunch of times, but I don't subscribe to any and never have any handy when I'm actually cleaning any glass...

I figure, if the smell of a cleaner makes you feel ill, it probably isn't the best for your body. Also, I've learned how Windex is harmful to self and earth. I've tried Method's glass cleaner, and while the peppermint smell is kind of nice, it streaks worse than Windex and doesn't do a good job getting dried up toothpaste off the bathroom mirror. Our bathroom mirrors are almost always covered with toothpaste splatter thanks to the rugrats. Also, with the price of a gallon of milk up to $6 and gas up to almost $4, I found myself motivated to find more household cleaning substitutes that would be non toxic, easy to make, and budget friendly.  The recipe above is a combination of several "do it yourself" recipes I found online, and one I read during a visit to Barnes and Noble. :-)

Oh my GOODNESS! This stuff works! I've never been so excited about a cleaner! I've also never seen a bathroom mirror look so crystal clear and new! I was skeptical at first when the first swipes of the paper towel left behind milky and then beady tracks, but as it started to dry and I wiped the surface down one more time with a new dry paper towel, my mirror transformed into crystal clear sparkly-ness! I was so surprised that my exclamations had my grandmother rushing in to see what the big fuss was. Then HER exclamation put mine to shame! Grandma loves seeing clean, and this had her super smiling! Yay, a total win for our home, our bodies, our earth, and our pocketbook!


CLEAN!

 Additional Notes:

$0.30 is the approximate cost of my bottle (about 24 oz) of glass cleaner
$5.00 is the approximate cost of Windex (32 oz)
$4.00 is the approximate cost of Method glass cleaner (28 oz)
$4.00 is the approximate cost of Seventh Generation glass cleaner (32 oz)
… you get the idea!

To read more on why Windex isn’t so cool, visit some of these links:

http://organicajane.blogspot.com/2008/05/spring-cleaning-behind-label.html

http://www.ewg.org/news/safe-house

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/08/02/128925841/study-reinforces-need-to-prevent-injuries-in-kids-from-cabinet-poisons

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