I recently hired my daughter Harriet (not her real name) and her gentleman caller to wash all of my windows inside and out. I paid them handsomely for their work and it still cost me less than half of what a professional company would have charged. It was a win for all of us.
Because we are trying to be green, I had them use homemade glass cleaner and shop cloths that we keep on hand for this type of work. We ordered a pack of shop cloths many years ago that are 100 percent cotton that are handy for cleaning and dusting. I looked into a few different recipes for the glass cleaner and came up with a combination of a few different ones to try out. Some recipes say that you can add essential oils to cover up the vinegar smell but I didn't do that. I don't have essential oils and I'm not going to buy them. The smell of the mixture fades a few moments after use and it isn't so bad to begin with.
I used water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol and it really worked great. The kids got the windows clean and didn't have any issues at all. The homemade mixture seems to have worked better than regular Windex since they didn't get any streaks or smudges at all. I think I really lucked out with this recipe working great as I've heard there are a lot out there that leave much to be desired.
If you shop at Target you are going to pay $3.29 for a 26-ounce bottle of Windex with the spray nozzle. The 2-liter refill bottle is cheaper per ounce and will cost you $5.99. The mixture I made cost a few cents to make and I feel that it works better than Windex. The Windex refill bottles are a better option than buying a new spray bottle each time since they are larger and easier to recycle without the nozzle. If you buy the Windex Vinegar, it is made from 100 percent ocean plastic. I think the effort is nice but if you can avoid plastic, you should. Since there is a need to reduce the number of recycled materials overall, it's best if you can make something yourself and use one of your refillable glass or aluminum spray bottles.
Betty's DIY Glass Cleaner
1/2 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
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