Homemade “windex”

[Catscankim]

I am in love with homemade glass cleaner! I just started making it not so long ago. I feel like it cleans so much better and i have been putting eo in it which makes it smell awesome and covers up the smell of vinegar really well.

My question is, can i use fo instead of eo? EO is so expensive to be putting in a cleaning product. Plus i have lots of options with fo.

Not sure if it will make it smeary

 

[AliOop]

Guess you could try... or hop on over to @JasmineTea's destash thread and make her an offer on the d-limonene. It's a great degreaser and smells nice, too.

 

[Catscankim]

Figured I would follow up on this.

I have been using orange essential oil. It doesn't take much.

I found the original window cleaner recipe online:

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white vinegar
couple drops of Dawn
couple drops of orange eo

I usually double the recipe and fill a windex bottle with it.

I may never buy windex again. I have been using this for months and everything comes out so sparkly and streak free. I also use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels.

 

[Obsidian]

I've made cleaner by soaking orange peel in vinegar for a week or so. It adds a nice scent and boosts the cleaning ability.
It might be another way to help scent your mix.

 

[violets2217]

Guess you could try... or hop on over to @JasmineTea's destash thread and make her an offer on the d-limonene. It's a great degreaser and smells nice, too.

I think I got her last d-limonene…

I use FO in all my homemade spray cleaners.. and honestly I just use my multi-purpose cleaner on my windows and mirrors… no streaks.

 

[earlene]

I usually just use plain vinegar in a spray bottle. Never thought to dilute it and I don't care about adding fragrance. I haven't bothered with store bought window cleaners (other than store bought vinegar) in several decades.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

At some point in the last year my partner brought home a spray bottle of Clorox Green Works. It smells great and cleans better than most spray cleaners I’ve tried. I assume the ethanol is playing a role. I keep meaning to try making my own but haven’t figured out the alkyl polyglucoside part. ETA: it’s just another name for Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside

Ingredients. Filtered water, plant-based cleaning agent (nonionic surfactant: alkyl polyglucoside), yellow and blue colorant, corn-based ethanol, fragrance with essential oil, biodegradable preservative, salts (potassium carbonate, potassium citrate, sodium gluconate), sodium hydroxide. Contains no phosphorus.

 

[Cat&Oak]

This is for outdoor use but I thought it might be helpful.

I just cleaned all my outside windows yesterday and it was relatively easy. Took about an hour and a half to do the whole house.

3 gallons hot water
A squeeze of Dawn
1/4 cup jet dry
1/2 cup alcohol

I've got an o'cedar spin mop and used it and didn't need a ladder. Soap up window and then rinse that's it.

 

[Megan]

I just found a microfiber cloth set from target the other day that uses only water and I thought it was hokey when I was buying it but it works really well. It's a two step process, but I like having less stuff around with three little ones getting into everything.

 

[lonalea]

Just water with microfiber works great...no streaks!

 

[Catscankim]

Just water with microfiber works great...no streaks!

My experiment this weekend will be testing one side of the slider with the faux windex and the other side with just water, both with microfiber cloths. I will repot back lol

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I just use an old fashioned process - vinegar & distilled water 50/50 by volume. Spray it on , then scrub with crumbled newspaper. My sister still gets the newspaper every day, so I have a ready supply of that. Use it for windows, mirrors, anything made of glass.
I might try the orange peel infusion as mentioned by @Obsidian .

 

[Megan]

I just use an old fashioned process - vinegar & distilled water 50/50 by volume. Spray it on , then scrub with crumbled newspaper. My sister still gets the newspaper every day, so I have a ready supply of that. Use it for windows, mirrors, anything made of glass.
I might try the orange peel infusion as mentioned by @Obsidian .

This is what my husband recommends. Apparently this is how his family cleaned windows and he says it's the "best way" (he says that about everything he comes up with, he's kind of stubborn that way)