Best Homemade Window Cleaner (Streak-Free Glass Cleaner)
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This No Streak Homemade Window Cleaner (known on the internet as Alvin Corn) is super easy to make, is much safer than a lot of the store-bought options, and leaves your windows and mirrors streak-free.
Plus it costs almost nothing to make, so it's easy on the budget too.
I personally think that it is so important to get Home Care and Personal Care Products that are toxin-free so that we, our families, and our world can be a lot more healthy.
Plus, you can save a TON of money by making these things yourself.
And it doesn't have to take a TON of time.
Benefits of Making Your Own Homemade Glass Cleaner:
1. Reduce Toxins In Your Home
Do you really want these things in your home?
propylene glycol
2 Hexoxyethanol
Ammonium Hydroxide
Mirapol Surf S-210
Viden EGM
Sodium C14-17 Sec-Alkyl Sulfonat
Fragrance Palette (The term fragrance can hide artificial fragrances are not healthy)
Liquitint Sky Blue Dye
Ick.
Yes, those are the ingredients in one of the more popular glass cleaners on the market.
Even if those chemicals don't make you feel bad, there's a lot of evidence that they aren't healthy, so it's a good idea to do what you can to remove toxins from your environment as much as possible.
2. Save Money
You can make your own cleaner for way less money than you'd spend on a commercial cleaner. Even if it's not cheaper, I'd still prefer to make my own for the other benefits.
3. Clean Up the Environment
Do you really want to add these toxins to our already toxically overloaded environment? I am convinced that one of the main problems regarding the onslaught of autism, auto-immune disorders, and cancer is the prevalence of toxins in our world. Every time you can use a toxin-free product over a toxin-laden one, you help the environment.
I used to use just plain vinegar to clean our mirrors and glass. Truth be told, we didn't really clean our windows often. Just didn't really think about it.
We'd put some plain vinegar on a piece of newspaper and wipe it all over the mirror.
It worked OK, but it did leave some streaks that were a little hard to get off.
This cleaner, however, is great. I found it on a number of sites all over the internet (not sure who created it, but it's called Alvin Corn) and I must say, it's a real winner.
This cleaner does contain isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, which some people may wish to avoid, but you can use vodka instead. It'll just cost more that way.
What's the Purpose of the Cornstarch?
One of the things you'll notice in this formula is that it has cornstarch in it.
Wondering what it's doing in there? Me too…
Here's what one reader shared with me:
On a microscopic level, glass is not perfectly smooth. When you spray water on it, the water molecules get caught in the pits on the glass surface. Water also clings to itself through hydrogen bonding – the hydrogen atoms from two molecules cling together. Water stuck in the glass + water stuck to more water = streaking. Cornstarch (or dish soap or oil-even a couple drops of essential oil) disrupts the hydrogen bonding, thus preventing streaks!
Cool beans! A DIY house cleaning recipe and science lesson in one!
How Much Can You Save?
A ton.
Vinegar: costs about $.59 for 32 ounces at Aldi. So even if we double the price, let's say it costs $.04
Rubbing Alcohol: Based on current Rite Aid pricing – $.25 for 1/4 cup
Cornstarch: A local Midwest grocery chain has it for $1.39 right now. If the tablespoon per pound info I got is correct, then the cost for 1 tablespoon is about $.04.
Water: I am just going to call this $0.00. The current approximate cost per gallon in my city is $.002 per gallon :-).
So – it costs a total of $.33 to make 2 1/2 cups of Glass Cleaner.
How To Use
- Windows
- Mirrors
- Glass Appliances
- Stainless Steel
- Chrome
- Aluminum
- Ceramic
- Plastic
- Do NOT use this on marble or coated eyeglasses, however!
Recipe Notes
- Shake: The spray needs to be shaken well each time you use it since the cornstarch might settle to the bottom or clog up your spray nozzle otherwise.
- Corn Alternatives: Though you're not eating this (please don't), if you need to avoid corn, other starches like tapioca or arrowroot should work as well.
- Cloth Options: You can use microfiber cloths or rags to wipe your surfaces clean. I prefer these options or newspaper to paper towels since paper towels leave lint and are more wasteful.
(Note – microfiber is plastic so I'm not really a fan, though it does tend to clean pretty well. A helpful reader commented that rags work pretty well as long as you don't use fabric softener on them (which, by the way, typically has lots of toxins in it like artificial fragrance, so here's another reason not to use it!) - Label Recommendation: As you make more and more non-toxic home cleaners you will know what is what. This handy dandy Chalkboard Contact Paper is great for label-making.
- Color It: Add natural food coloring to the bottle so kids will know it's not water. Beet juice (from canned beets) is one inexpensive natural color or you could drop a bit of powdered beet juice in as well but just a bit so it doesn't cause clogging.
- Prevent Streaking: Some readers have had streaking issues. This may be from impure essential oils or hard water. If you have streaking issues, please share in the comments what brand of essential oils you used and if you have hard water. I recommend only using pure essential oils even for house cleaning because even though it's “just” for cleaning, you still are breathing in oils (and whatever “else” might be in the oils. Another option is to leave out the cornstarch and see how that works.
- Use Two Cloths: To avoid streaking, use two cloths: one to wash and one dry cloth for drying.
- Eyeglass Warning: You can use this Homemade Glass Cleaner on your eyeglasses, but only if they are plain glass. If they are coated, avoid using this since alcohol will cause crazing (small surface cracks) in polycarbonate plastic. It can also cause the lens coating to deteriorate, resulting in less durable glasses that are easily scratched.
- Avoid Marble: Do not use this cleaner on marble as it might cause damage.
- The key to making this mixture perfect is to be sure the water is warm enough to dissolve the cornstarch, but not boiling or super hot. Also, don’t add the cornstarch to the water, add the water to the cornstarch in the bottle. If you don’t do that you’ll end up with film over your glass.
After “perfecting” Alvin Corn, I added 2 extra tablespoons of alcohol (totaling 1/4 cup alcohol) to make Alvin Corn dry quicker (for less streaking) and make it easier for it to pick up gunk.
Homemade Window Cleaner
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup white vinegar (apple cider vinegar will work as well)
- 1/4 cup isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (vodka is a safer choice)
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (reduces streaking)
- 1 cup water
- 4-5 drops essential oil of choice (optional. Lemon, orange, or another citrus would be my choice here, but lavender or others would be nice as well.
- A good glass spray bottle
or quality BPA-free plastic spray bottle.
Instructions
- Boil the water. Let it cool a little bit.
- Add the cornstarch to the bottle. Then add the water to the bottle. Shake well to dissolve.
- Add the rubbing alcohol and vinegar. Shake again to dissolve.
- Shake well before each use to prevent the cornstarch from clogging the nozzle.
- Spray onto glass surface and wipe clean.
Notes
- Shake: The spray needs to be shaken well each time you use it since the cornstarch might settle to the bottom or clog up your spray nozzle otherwise.
- Corn Alternatives: Other starches like tapioca or arrowroot should work as well.
- Best Cloth to Use: You can use microfiber cloths or rags to wipe your surfaces clean. I prefer these options or newspaper to paper towels since paper towels leave lint and are more wasteful. (Note – microfiber is plastic so I'm not really a complete fan, though it does tend to clean pretty well. A helpful reader commented that rags work pretty well as long as you don't use fabric softener on them (which, by the way, typically has lots of toxins in it like artificial fragrance, so here's another reason not to use it!)
- Label your bottle: So as you make more and more non-toxic home cleaners you will know what is what :-). This handy dandy Chalkboard Contact Paper is great for label making.
- Color It: Add natural food coloring to the bottle so kids will know it's not water. Beet juice (from canned beets) is one inexpensive natural color or you could drop a bit of powdered beet juice in as well.
- Prevent Streaking: Some readers have had streaking issues. It's possible this is from impure essential oils or hard water. If you have streaking issues, please do share in the comments what brand of essential oils you used and if you have hard water. I recommend only using pure essential oils even for house cleaning because even though it's “just” for cleaning, you still are breathing in oils (and whatever “else” might be in the oils. Another option is to leave out the cornstarch and see how that works.
- Use Two Cloths To avoid streaking, use two cloths–one to wash and one very dry cloth to dry.
- Eyeglass Warning: You can use this Homemade Glass Cleaner on your eyeglasses, but only if they are plain glass. If they are coated, avoid using this since alcohol will cause crazing (small surface cracks) in polycarbonate plastic. It can also cause the lens coating to deteriorate, resulting in less durable glasses that are easily scratched.
- Avoid Marble: Do not use this cleaner on marble as it might damage it.
More DIY Healthy Home Recipes
Are you an avid frugal DIYer like me? Here are some more ideas of simple things you can make for your home to reduce your exposure to toxins and save money while you're at it!
Homemade Natural Cleaning Products
Natural Dishwasher Rinse Aid
Homemade Foaming Soap
DIY Scrubbing Cleaner (like Soft Scrub)
Best DIY Fruit Fly Trap
Easiest DIY Weed Killer
Homemade Cleaning Paste
Homemade Laundry Detergent
The images in this post were updated in Jan 2020. For reference, here's one of the original images.
What do you use to clean your mirrors and windows?
Thanks!
Sorry I had to remove the link to your site b/c that’s not ethically OK to drop those here. Thanks for reading, however.
I’m not sure why so many DIYers are so in love with microfiber! I hate the stuff, and that was BEFORE it was made known that it leaves bits and pieces in the water and therefore contaminates the earth. (it is PLASTIC!)
Check this out:
But for all its glories, Michaelann, you’ve already discovered microfiber’s dirty underbelly: For starters, it is, as you point out, a petroleum-based product. That alone might not be reason enough to toss it out with the dishwater, but this is: It’s likely contributing to the growing problem of plastic pollution in our waterways. Scientists are beginning to find tiny shreds of synthetic fabrics in oceans and lakes all over the world, tracing them back to our washing machines; a single synthetic article of clothing can shed around 1,900 fibers every wash. I haven’t been able to find any research that differentiates between the bits coming off of microfiber cleaning cloths versus, say, a fleece jacket, but experts often list both as a source of this pollutant. So every time you toss your reusable cloths into the washing machine after a calming cleaning session, they’re likely leaving a little something behind.
We should be concerned about this for a few reasons. Plastic, obviously, doesn’t biodegrade; like a clueless party guest, it sticks around in the ecosystem long after natural fibers have returned whence they came. And plastic has a nasty habit of soaking up and concentrating toxins, like carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Microplastics in particular are worrisome because it’s easy for fish and other aquatic creatures to scoop them up. The plastics and their hitchhiking chemicals can then build up in the animals’ tissues, and the tissues of larger animals that eat them, right on up the food chain to us. I don’t know about you, but I tend to pass when PCB Surprise is on the specials menu.
So despite their advantages, Michaelann, I’d hop off the Microfiber Bandwagon
FROM:
https://grist.org/living/psst-do-you-know-microfibers-dirty-little-secret/
The reason I hated it when I tried it several years ago is that it doesn’t hold water, literally! It would just smear all over whatever I used it on. But the post above and many others told me I was right. I know it, for some, does the job and they like it, but if you are truly trying to be environmentally responsible, DON’T USE MICROFIBER!
Sorry about the rant, but I feel this so strongly, and when I see bloggers, especially ones like you who try to be less toxic, suggesting using it I actually cringe!
JUST FYI: NORWEX IS ALSO JUST MICROFIBER, DISGUISED
Hi Carol! I actually have been struggling with this for awhile now. I think there’s a benefit to be had for skipping the toxins in the sprays and reusing the same microfibers for years, but on the other hand, how about just using some lintless non microfiber rag instead? So yes, I share your concerns. I worked w/ Norwex for a very short time and then stopped. Mostly b/c they ended up stinking. LMK what you think. I’m making a note in the post now. 🙂
Thanks Adrienne! I’m sorry my comment sounded like a rant. I just get worked up about microfiber! I have rags from old towels form decades ago I use for this sort of stuff. If you don’t use fabric softener, (haven’t used FS for decades, either!) they work pretty well.
You are so welcome! I so appreciate your coming back and responding. I get worked up about a lot of things as well. I know it’s easy to come off wrong when worked up LOL. I have a ton of rags–we use them for all of our cleaning really. We have never used fabric softener!! Thanks again and I’ll put the fabric softener note in the post too :).
Peroxide and rubbing alcohol (50,70or91) I use 70 or 91°/° I just add approx equal parts of each. Spray a good amount covering entire glass surface wipe off with cotton rag*(t-shirt material). No streaks!! wipe top to bottom twice effortlessly for crystal clear mirrors windows any glass
*Cloth/rag can not have fabric softener when washed…rag will smear cleaner instead of absorb.
To clean soap scum from shower doors use any brand cleaner for glass top stoves….amazing results in one step!!!
I use my Norwex Enviro cloth and my Norwex window cloth to clean my windows and so much more in my home.
I just made this re c ipe and it worked well. I have clean windows with no streaks!
So glad to hear!
what would the measurements of ingredients be in a smokers house or vehicle? because i tried this and it’s greasy and streaky.
Oh my I don’t know! Maybe you need to do it several times?
unfortunately washing several times is necessary for cars ( & not because of smoking, it’s the off gassing of plastics in interior of car 🙁 ) and if windows aren’t washed regularly they can take a few times to get clean. Also I have found even expensive paper towels can cause streaking that doesn’t happen if I use a microfiber (personally yucky to touch for me) or lint free dish towel that has no soap residue in it.
I am a housekeeper and need to get lots of windows clean and this type cleaner is effective but the towels are important. don’t give up 😉
Hi there, I want to subscribe for this weblog to
take most recent updates, thus where can i do it please help.
Hi Mark – there’s a subscription bar at the top of the blog and in the sidebar and below each post – thanks for subscribing.
I have to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this website.
In fact, you have encouraged me to get my very own website now.
Has anyone tried hydrogen peroxide. Works wonders and no streaking. Just put some peroxide in a spray bottle and spray mirrors, car windows, house windows, etc. I use a microfiber cloth to wipe it off and it shines.
You know what works better than anything to clean windows and mirrors…..plain old hydrogen peroxide. Just pour some in a spray bottle and spray your mirrors and see how clean they will be, does not leave any streaks.
Interesting. What kind of cloth do you typically use?
I use a microfiber cloth. Mirrors and windows and even shower doors clean so well, never any streaks. My daughter has her own cleaning business and she tried it and that’s all she uses on any glass.
I clean my outside windows with; Hot water, a few drops of blue dawn dish soap, a old rag or sponge, a squeegee, an old dish towels.
Put a few drops of soap in maybe 4 c. of water, put your old rag in and somewhat wring it out but not alot. Wash you window and right away squeegee it off top to bottom. Each time wipe squeegee off when you get to the bottom with the old dish towel. Then just wipe the bottom of the window across with the dish towel.
Thanks! Glad you found something you like! I just prefer not to use things like Dawn. I wish I could find another option. I wonder if another more natural dish soap would work??