Any hints on cleaning the car windshield?

Ruth n Jersey

Ruth n Jersey

Well-known Member
Location
Northern New Jersey
I don't know if they are adding something to the salt and other things they put down on roads for snow and ice but it is absolutely impossible to get them smudge free. Years back I would get the Windex out and I had no problems.

It actually feels greasy. The more I rub the more smudges appear. I've tried washing them first with a household cleaner,rinsed and then used a glass cleaner. It did nothing. I tried rags instead of paper towels.

The inside isn't much better.

Nothing more irritating then looking through smudge and streaked windows as I'm driving.
 

Trisodium phosphate (TSP)
It’s cheap, it’s everywhere

It’s what pro window washers use (or used when I did high rise)

sprinkle a little into a pail of warm water
Apply with sponge
Squeegee off
 
There is a product called Rain X that is designed to clean and polish the windshield so that it actually protects and repels grime.

It is amazing. During a rainstorm the droplets just bounce off.

You our have to be careful with harsh chemicals because they attack the paint on the vehicle.

TSP is a good cleaner but it's also used as a paint remover.
i don't know if you use a car wash but there is a final wax rinse. That doesn't help the glass clarity.
 

We're into non-chemical cleaners. The old, vinegar/baking soda and water will do it. We use cleaning vinegar (higher acidic content) for most everything in the house and garage. Can buy it by the gallon at Walmart (among others). Cheap and effective.
I also like Simple Green for oily surfaces. Yeah, it's chemical, but it works well.
 
50-50 water and vinegar and dry with crumpled newspaper - Then Windex-type cleaner. Then clean water. Then Rain-X. That works for me and I deal with salt treated roads. Yes... takes time; but, it lasts! Once a month or less even in Winter.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I live three hours south of Ottawa in an area that averages 123.8 inches of snow each year and it works just fine.
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Really. So you really DO get snow and have salted muddy roads.

I cant stand my car dirty, especially not the windows since it interferes with optimal vision. I used to use vinegar to clean them
but now I get a product called ‘Method.’ It’s an all purpose cleaner derived from natural sources and smells like pink grapefruit.
It works great for most dirty surfaces.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I don't know if they are adding something to the salt and other things they put down on roads for snow and ice but it is absolutely impossible to get them smudge free. Years back I would get the Windex out and I had no problems.

It actually feels greasy. The more I rub the more smudges appear. I've tried washing them first with a household cleaner,rinsed and then used a glass cleaner. It did nothing. I tried rags instead of paper towels.

The inside isn't much better.

Nothing more irritating then looking through smudge and streaked windows as I'm driving.
Click to expand...

Ruth, some towns across the country have started using different things like Beet Juice, Molasses and Cheese Brine to treat their roads rather than salt. This might be why you're getting smudgy windows on your car.

Beet Juice, Molasses and Cheese Brine Used to Treat Icy Roadways

By Carolyn Thompson

January 07 2014 08:21 PM EDT

Associated Press


BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A splash of beet juice, a dollop of molasses, a squeeze of cheese brine. In the coldest weather, the recipe for safer roads often goes beyond the usual sprinkling of salt.
Across the nation's snow belt, transportation officials are in the market for cheap and environmentally friendly ways to make rock salt work better by keeping it on the roads longer and melting ice at lower temperatures.

Plain salt is largely ineffective below 16 degrees. Additives can keep it working in temperatures as low as minus 25.
"This winter, it's been a godsend to be able to do that," said Leland Smithson, the ice and snow expert at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "It's been so cold."
In Milwaukee, road crews are experimenting with plentiful cheese brine, leftover from cheese making. New York and Pennsylvania are among states trying sugar beet juice, while molasses and potato juice are flavoring roads elsewhere.



https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/beet-juice-molasses-and-cheese-brine-icy-roadways-20140107
Click to expand...
 
bingo said:
thats my method too!
Click to expand...

But what is in the windshield cleaner?

THere are different windshield washer fluids depending on where you live and the temperature but I'm guessing that they would make a good cleaner in a spray bottle and a rag.

A windshield wiper doesn't clean the entire glass or the rest of the glass.

I'm betting there is alcohol and a bit of ammonia in that windshield wiper fluid so it can be used in freezing temperatures.
 
Last edited:
"....Ruth, some towns across the country have started using different things like Beet Juice, Molasses and Cheese Brine to treat their roads rather than salt. This might be why you're getting smudgy windows on your car....".

Yes. Chicago area mixes regular road salt and beet juice. Most areas in Canada use the mixture. I don't believe anyone uses pure beet juice due to cost. And the stuff is 'tacky'. When it's processed to be mixed with salt, it's kind of a molasses. So yes, it's filmy on glass.
 
I use a utility razor knife on ours just make sure it is new and SHARP. We get lime rock dust on ours and it really sticks to the glass so I scrape ours now and then. Plus our windshield is older on both vehicles, 1995 and 1978.
 
For the ""greasy feel" you mentioned use Dawn dish soap. All glass cleaners work well. The key with glass is constant washing. A home made cleaner is 1/3 isopropyl alcohol 1/3 white vinegar and 1/3 distilled water.
 

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