How to Clean Mirrors and Glass Without Streaks

 

Streaks on a mirror are almost never dirt. They're leftover cleaner, or a dirty cloth spreading a thin film around. Use less product, use two clean microfiber cloths, and the streaks mostly disappear.

 

 

What causes streaks

• Too much cleaner. Whatever doesn't get wiped off dries into a film
• The wrong cloth. Paper towels leave lint, and a cloth washed with fabric softener leaves a waxy coating
• A dirty cloth. It spreads grime around instead of picking it up
• Sunlight. Cleaner dries before you can wipe it, so do sunny windows and mirrors in the shade or later in the day

 

The two-cloth method

1. Wipe off any spots first (see below)
2. Spray the cleaner lightly onto the first microfiber cloth, not onto the mirror
3. Wipe the whole mirror from top to bottom in overlapping S-shaped strokes
4. Immediately buff dry with a second, completely dry microfiber cloth, in the same pattern
5. Check it from an angle in good light and touch up any haze with the dry cloth

Spraying the cloth instead of the glass uses far less product, and it keeps liquid from running down behind the mirror's edge.

 

A simple cleaner

Mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle. For a faster-drying version, use one part water, one part white vinegar and one part rubbing alcohol. Either one works on mirrors, windows, glass tabletops and picture-frame glass. Our guide to DIY cleaning solutions has other mixes.

 

Toothpaste, hairspray and fingerprints

Bathroom mirrors collect dried spots that glass cleaner just smears. Dab them first with a cotton pad dampened with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol dissolves hairspray, makeup and toothpaste residue in a few seconds. Then clean the whole mirror as above.

 

Protect the edges

A mirror is glass with a reflective silver coating on the back. When liquid seeps behind the edge again and again, it eats into that coating and leaves black, spreading marks along the border. Those can't be repaired. Spraying the cloth instead of the mirror is the easiest way to prevent it, and wipe the bottom edge dry after you clean.

 

Other glass around the house

• Shower doors: white film is usually hard water, not soap. See removing hard water stains
• Windows: the same method works inside. For outside and second-story glass, see cleaning high windows
• Glass tables: clean both sides, or the underside will look like a streak on the top
• TV and computer screens: not with vinegar, ammonia or alcohol, which can damage anti-glare coatings. Turn the screen off and wipe with a dry microfiber cloth, or one barely dampened with plain water

 

Washing your microfiber cloths

Wash them separately from towels, which shed lint onto them. Use regular detergent, no fabric softener and no dryer sheets, and air dry or tumble dry on low. A clean cloth is half the trick.