In my mind I have clean sparkly windows that give me a royal view of God’s greatness growing outside.
In reality, my windows are smudged.
Some days look foggy, even when they’re not.
It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I have about five million, seven hundred and three things i would rather do. Along with a dog. A very large dog. Actually, I take that back as my mother and step dad are the proud owners of a great dane/bull mastiff mix. So my 125 pound rottweiler looks a tad teeny compared to that monster.
Anyways…..I have plenty of dog drool on my windows along with toddler prints, and I’m not a fan of having my hard work ruined all in the matter of seconds. So, to be honest with you, I only wash my windows when people come over. Or when it looks foggy on a nice day in June.
Whichever comes first.
But I’m really picky about what cleaners I use in my house and I’d rather not have chemicals floating around doing who knows what to my body, so I make sure that I either make my own or buy one of the natural options now available. But making your own is so much cheaper.
A couple of weeks ago, I did an experiment for my post over at Simple Organic. I took five natural cleaners and put them head to head on my dingy windows to find out which one worked best for me. (All of them mentioned by my facebook fans.)
I tested:
- A vinegar and water mix – I chose to use 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar, which seemed to be the most commonly used ratio.
- Alcohol – Many actually said they used vodka, but like others, I used 70% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol since it’s much cheaper.
- Cleaning mix – 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol.
- Norwex polishing cloth – granted, this isn’t a homemade option, but you only use water with the cloth.
- Newspaper and vinegar – I’ve always been told that newspaper does a great job and had never tried it.
You can head over there to check out the winner – I even documented the streaks by picture to show how each worked on my windows. And no, I did not include before pictures for fear that y’all would think I never clean. (Remember, it’s not June yet)
I actually have a norwex polishing cloth that I love to use and it leaves my windows pretty much streak free, so I don’t bother much with mixing any window cleaner together. So I guess this post is really a call to action – to toss out the conventional cleaners – rather than a how-to or recipe. This is such an easy change to make in your cleaning routine, and it actually saves you money.
Money that you can use further down the road in your move to cleaner living.
What do you use to wash your windows?
For more natural cleaning recipes, check out the 30 Days to Cleaner Living series or my friend Michelle’s ebook Clean Start: your room to room guide for natural cleaning. (only $4.95)
Donielle Baker
Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner