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?
best window cleaner ever 10 times better than bought stuff,just remember to shake the bottle or the cornflower will settle out fantastic. thanks.
Thanks and you are welcome!!!
I use almost the same mixture, just skipping the cornstarch and replacing the essential oil with a little amount of fresh lemon juice. My advice is to use newspaper instead of of any kind of cloth. I am not sure what exactly is the reason but I promise the results will be fantastic. Happy cleaning.
Adrienne, I am a widowed single mom of four. I have homeschooled all my kids. My girls are in college and my boys are still in High School. I couldn’t wait to check out your blog when I got home from work tonight. You told me to check out your research on essential oils. I found it very interesting. I will read the rest of the series when I have more time.
That is a great recipe for window cleaner, but I prefer to use just water and my Norwex Envirocloth, followed with my polishing cloth. So quick and easy and it gets off greasy messes too. they clean the whole house so much easier and without chemicals. I wash them in hot water between laundering and hang them up to dry. They will self sanitize as they dry because of the silver in the cloth.
I also used to make my own laundry soap that I learned online but now I like to use the Norwex ultra Power Plus. It only takes a tsp of it to wash a load. So one bag lasts me 6 months. (that’s with 2 teen boys at home) I can use the wool balls with a drop or two of essential oil in the dryer in place of fabric softener. I like the lavender for that.
I have always been interested in finding healthy ways to clean, eat and live. Like you I have done a lot of research, even blogging a little about it. One of my reasons for researching alternatives to medicine and getting rid of chemicals is Cancer. It has devastated my family. I have lost 2 brothers and 2 sisters to cancer. My 16 year old son had Leukemia when he was 3 years old. He went through 2 1/2 years of chemo and survived. They search for a cure, but I think we should search for a cause and prevent it. There isn’t much support for that research because if they cure it, they will lose a lot of money. So we have to find our own cures. I’ll be
I’ll be checking back on your blog soon
Hope you enjoy it when you are back!
I looked at Norwex for awhile – the dryer balls didn’t seem to make a difference for me, and I lost one now :(. I thought they were supposed to cut drying time??? I am looking into a supplement that you might be interested in. Feel free to email me at wholenewmom at gmail dot com. I do have some of the Power Plus so I should try it. Thanks for the reminder!
Is the essential oil for anything other than smell?
Not really – but depending on what you use it could have germ killing properties.
Is the essential oil necessary for the success of the cleaner? I did order some, but have not yet received them and I am dying to try this window cleaner. Thx.
No, it’s not at all. Hope you like it!
Pls can I use any oil at all? Like olive oil. Tnx
I don’t think so – essential oils are oils but different. Here is a post that might help: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/essential-oils/
Ok and thank you!
Hi
I haven’t read all the other posts but this formula works well for me. If one doesn’t want to use isopropyl alcohol just use some cheap vodka…it was all I had handy and worked great!?
Great! I was thinking about cheap vodka – what price did you pay? I have no idea what to use as a baseline!
Just wanted to say that the suggestion to use this type of homemade glass cleaner (which we have used in our family for about 5 years) on marble surfaces may be ill-advised, because vinegar eats into marble quite easily.
…I was already aware of vinegar’s effect on marble, but a few years ago I happened to absent-mindedly put down a glass bottle of cooking vinegar on a marble-topped piece of antique furniture in my mother’s kitchen. There were a couple of droplets of vinegar left on the outside of the bottle after I had poured some out to use in a recipe, and after only 20 minutes that tiny bit of vinegar etched onto the marble surface a permanent circular impression of the base of the glass bottle. Therefore, I’m extra-careful now when it comes to vinegar and marble!
Ugh – that’s terrible!!! I will add that to the post -thanks!
Did you add that clarification about marble to the post? It’s here in the comments, but I still see marble listed in the post as something you can use the (vinegar containing) window cleaner on.
Just did – sorry I’ve been so swamped that it’s been hard to keep up. :).
I’m surprised to read all of the other negative posts, as we just used this and it worked PERFECTLY. I’ve never seen our windows so clean – and it took all the streaks out of our mirror, too (which have been impossible to get out previously). That said, we did tweak the ingredients just a tad by using arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. We started with warm water, followed the directions, and it was seriously like magic. I’ll never go back to plain vinegar again. Thanks for posting! 🙂
Thanks so much! I wonder if maybe the water isn’t filtered? Just not sure.
Just found your website and love it. I love using vinegar. However, my husband daughter can not stand the smell. Any suggestions?
Also – when I use vinegar & baking soda for toilet bowl cleaning, I have to clean more often. Any suggestions for longer-lasting cleaner?
Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar is fabulous to put on broccoli, potatoes, beans, as well as in chili, beef soup/stew.. Healthy and cuts down flatulence.
So sorry for the delay in responding – I’ve been swamped and am trying to catch up now. I guess you could just use a microfiber? I find the vinegar smell goes away quickly, however. We love ACV!
no thoughts on the toilet bowl…perhaps getting a whole house water filter would help? Thanks!