How to Clean Car Windows

Your car windows do two things. First, they let you look outside. Second, they make your vehicle look good. If you have dirty windows, then it reflects poorly on your car, so it makes sense to keep them squeaky clean.

You might not notice how dirty your car windows have become, especially if you drive daily. But if you smoke or if there’s a lot of pollen in the air, you’ll find that the windows build up with dirtiness – and once you take the time to clean the glass, you’ll notice a substantial improvement.

In this article, we’re going to go over how to clean car windows. Additionally, we’re going to go over some ways of cleaning your car windows using household items. As an added benefit, we’re also going to go over how to clean car interiors and how to clean windshield wipers.

When you wash your windows, it’s not a bad idea to wash the rest of your vehicle at the same time. Take care of how to clean a car, windows and all, in a few hours rather than spreading it out on different days.

Clean Car Windows with a Cleaning Agent

If you’re cleaning your car windows in the direct sunlight, the water you use to clean is going to evaporate. Before starting, you might consider parking your car in a shaded area, like under a tree or inside a garage.

This is also a great idea when you decide to wash your car. How often should you wash your car and windows? A lot depends on the weather but every couple of weeks or so should be the minimum.

General Cleaning Recipe

How to Clean Car Interior

Select a streak-free window cleaner like Armor-All or Windex, and get a cloth. Spray the cleaning solution directly onto the cloth, because if you spray onto the window itself, only about half of the cleaner ends up on the glass.

The other half floats around the car and ends up on your seats and instruments, which doubles the amount of cleanup you have to do and might damage your interior. You’ll also want to use a washed microfiber cloth instead of a newspaper or paper towels.

Newspapers have ink on them which, when introduced into the cleaning solution, might run and stain your hands and make a mess inside the car. Paper towels tend to tear apart while you’re using them, meaning you’re going to go through a lot of them. Microfiber cloth is soft but durable, and it does a fantastic job of scrubbing away spots and stains.

Wipe in a vertical direction, and then a horizontal direction. Avoid rubbing in circles, as that increases the likelihood of streaking.

As for how to clean car seats: replace the glass cleaner with laundry detergent, and use a chamois cloth instead of a microfiber cloth.

If your seats are fabric, vacuum the seats and then scrub them thoroughly, first with hot water, and then use cold water to clean off remaining dirt. Avoid letting the seats get too wet. For leather, use liquid dishwashing soap and warm water. Again, take care to keep the seats from getting too wet.

How to Clean Car Exterior

Your first step is to wash the rest of your car, either with a garden hose or car wash. Prewashing takes care of a lot of bugs and gunk, saving time (and cleaning cloths).

Plus, if you wait until after you’ve cleaned the windows to clean the rest of your car, you risk getting dirt and grime on the windows you’ve just cleaned, doubling the work for yourself.

Unlike when you’re doing interiors, spraying the cleaner directly on the glass is recommended. Spraying directly on the glass makes it easier to dissolve bugs and grime, which will make the cleaning easier. This cleaner is just one example of the benefits of baking soda for cleaning just about anything.

Acidic Solutions for Windows

• Vinegar solution
• Lemon juice
• Baking soda
• Toothpaste

When you’re doing either of the windshields, stick to working in sections, so your cleaning solution doesn’t evaporate prematurely. Using these products helps remove hard water stains from car windows, as well as sticky substances like tree sap.

If you’re still having problems with evaporation, consider moving your car to a shadier spot, such as under a tree or in a garage. Find more recipes on our homemade window cleaner post.

Use a microfiber cloth, as you did with the interior. Microfiber cloths will do a good job of clearing away bugs and grime, and you’re less likely to cause streaking. If you’re doing the exteriors first, make sure you use a different cloth for the interiors.

Finally, use a vertical-then-horizontal motion as you did with the interior, which will reduce streaking. You might find, however, that you have to wipe with greater vigor to clean up the stuck-on bugs, dirt, and road residue.

How to Clean Hard Water Spots from Car Windows

The leftover mineral deposits after the water have evaporated can cause stains on your window. Since these stains are alkaline in nature, an acidic solution gets rid of them. Use household items to get rid of hard spots on your car window.

How to Use Vinegar Solution to Get Rid of Hard Water Spots on Car Windows

There are a couple of different measurements you’ll want to use while using vinegar, depending on how often you clean your windows and how long it’s been since you last cleaned them.

Vinegar Car Windows Cleaning Recipe

• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 cups distilled water
• 1/2 tsp dish detergent
• Microfiber cloth
• Spray bottle

If you’re using vinegar for the first time, or if it’s been a while since the last time you cleaned your windows, you’ll want to use a stronger solution. Mix water, vinegar, and dishwashing detergent. Mix in a spray bottle, shake well and apply according to the instructions provided above.

On the other hand, if you clean your windows regularly, you can back off on the ingredients a bit. Just mix a cup of vinegar with a cup of water. Additionally, this is a handy solution to have on-hand for general cleaning purposes.

This vinegar cleaner also works well to clean hardened tree sap off a car and the windows. If you parked under a tree and found sap stuck to your car, use this recipe to remove it. Of course, it’s always easier to remove sap when it first happens rather than waiting but sometimes you just don’t notice it.

Lemon Juice Based Car Window Cleaner

If you want to add an extra kick to your vinegar solution, use lemons. Start by collecting the things you’ll need. You have a choice regarding the lemons. You can use bottled lemon juice from the supermarket, or you can use real lemons.

There’s an additional benefit to the latter option – if you use real lemons, you can keep the peels and stick them in your garbage disposal for extra freshness. New spray bottles are available for purchase at most major retailers, or you can repurpose an old spray bottle. If you choose a used one, try to use a bottle that held glass cleaner previously.

The mixture won’t necessarily increase the potency of your vinegar-and-lemon solution, but if you put it in a container that held a different chemical previously (such as furniture polish), you risk diminishing the power of your solution.

Best Way to Clean Car Windows

Contaminants that adhere to paint will also stick on car windows. The front windscreen, in particular, is a magnet, as you would expect. It gets a fair share of dirt, bug splatter, tree sap, and water stains. Cleaner glass not only means a vehicle that looks brand-spanking new, but it also means better visibility and safer driving.

If you’re the type of car owner who spends a lot of time prepping up the paint, cleaning and decontaminating the car windows should be the final step. With that being said, the windows and windscreen should only be treated after any waxing or polishing job.

But what is the best way to clean car windows?

There is no direct answer. It will depend on the general condition of the glass. Newer vehicles are easier to clean. You can get the job done with a glass cleaner and a couple of microfiber towels. But for older vehicles, you’re likely going to have to work a little harder than that.

If the windows and the glass have never been deep-cleaned, consider the option of decontaminating the windows before further cleaning. There is also the option of polishing the glass using a machine, but I will get to that later.

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The Best Way to Clean Windshield Glass and Car Windows

Remember there is no right or wrong way to clean the car windows. As I said, it all depends on the condition of the glass. The first obvious step is to wash the car thoroughly using a high-quality car shampoo. Rinse the vehicle and let it dry.

The next thing to do is to carefully examine the windows and the windshield.

Can you see a lot of visible water spots or water stains? How about tree sap and bug residue? Wipe your dry hand over a clean surface of the glass. Is it rough to the touch? Does the glass feel like the face of a pimply teen?

With all of that considered, here are the steps on the best way to deep-clean and decontaminate automotive glass and windows.

Automotive Glass Deep-Cleaning and Decontamination

Consider this important step if there are visible stains and contaminants on the car windows and windshield. If the glass feels like sandpaper, the steps listed below will get rid of all those deep-embedded dirt in the fastest possible time.

Step 1

There are two ways to do this. You can use a razor blade scraper knife like the Glass & Ceramic Hob Scraper Knife (or any similar tool) to gently remove contaminants on the glass, or you can do it the old-school way using a quadruple-zero (yes, it’s 0000) wire wool.

GLASS & CERAMIC HOB SCRAPER KNIFE CLEANER & 10 SPARE Replacement

• If you need a scraper to get rid of those stubborn burnt on stains on your ceramic hob, look no further, this is the ‘daddy’. If you have used various plastic items over the years, Try this is definitely the best scraper It is metal, therefore sturdy and also easy to use. Replacement 2 sided blades are readily and changing the blade takes no more than a couple of minutes. The tool is also useful for scraping away any surplus paint on glass on windows and doors, It can also be used for scr

No matter which you choose, it is easy to achieve great results. Grab a bottle of high-quality glass cleaner like the Stoner Invisible Glass or Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass. The glass cleaner will act as a lubricant to loosen up the contaminants on the glass. Spray a liberal amount of glass cleaner on the surface. Make sure there is enough glass cleaner on the area to be treated.

Step 2

If you have a scraper knife, gently scrape the glass surface from top to bottom. Do this several times to make sure the entire area is treated with the scraper. Spray more glass cleaner as needed. Do not scrape the glass if the surface is dry.

After scraping the glass, remove the excess (and the gunk) with a medium-pile microfibre towel. It is better to use a thicker set of towels when cleaning and decontaminating the car windows. This will allow the cloth to remove as much of the liquid and dirt without soiling the towel.

Now, the same method applies if you prefer to use wire wool. Spray a liberal amount of glass cleaner on the windows and wipe the wire wool aggressively over the surface to remove deep-seated dirt and contaminants. Wipe off the excess liquid using a medium-pile microfibre towel as well.

Step 3

By this time, the glass will be smoother and cleaner than when you first started. If your car is devoid of tint, you will immediately see a marked difference in the clarity and smoothness of the glass.

But if you still see or feel some mild contamination, you will need to use a clay bar.

With this next step, the glass cleaner will function as clay lubricant. Grab a fresh piece of clay and knead it into a flat shape. Spray glass cleaner on the surface and rub the clay in a repeated up and down motion. Spray more glass cleaner if required.

After treating the surface with a clay bar, use a clean medium-pile microfibre towel to remove the excess liquid. Turn the towel over and give it a quick buff.

Step 4

This step is optional.

After using a clay bar, the glass will need to be polished to level the surface. The deep-seated dirt and contaminants that were removed by the scraper and clay will leave minuscule pits and valleys on the surface of the glass. Polishing the glass will level and smoothen out the surface. This means a crystal-clear and see-through finish similar to brand new glass!

All you need for this step is a machine polisher, glass polishing pad, and some glass polish.

Apply three to four drops of the polish to the polishing pad. Make sure the pad is slightly saturated with the polish before proceeding. Turn the polisher ON and allow the pad to scrub the glass in medium speed setting. It is better to work with a smaller section at a time to ensure the best possible results.

After polishing the glass, it is time to remove the haze. Spray glass cleaner on the treated surface and remove the haze using a medium-pile microfibre towel. Again, it is better to use a thicker pile of towels for this step.

Step 5

The finishing step is to give the windows a final wipe using the glass cleaner. Simply spray and wipe off to make sure all traces of dirt and residue are removed from the surface. But this time, use a low-pile waffle weave microfibre towel to wipe the glass. Using a thinner pile of towel will help to further prevent streaking during the final wipe down.

Step 6

After cleaning and decontaminating the car windows, don’t forget to clean the windshield wipers! Grab a separate towel and mist it lightly with the glass cleaner. Raise the wipers and run the damp towel on the wiper blades to remove dirt.

Don’t be surprised if you find an alarming amount of gunk on the cloth after cleaning the wiper blades. Repeat this step if necessary. The wiper blades should be cleaned every time the vehicle is washed.

General Car Window Cleaning & Maintenance

I’m not saying you should do all of the above steps each time you wash the vehicle. However, I recommend deep-cleaning and decontaminating the glass every time you polish the vehicle, which is once every six months or at least twice a year.

However, you can apply glass cleaner as a final step after washing and drying the vehicle, which should be preferably achieved at least once a week. This will ensure the clarity and cleanliness of the glass in-between deep-cleaning and polishing.

It is also a good idea to treat the windows with a clay bar as you wash the vehicle. Car shampoo is also an ideal lubricant for clay bars. This will help to remove any traces of mild contaminants on the glass without scraping the surface.

The Best Way to Clean Inside Car Windscreen

The interior side of the windows and windscreen (whether tinted or not) are relatively easy to clean. Since the inside is not exposed to weather, wind, and industrial fallout, there is no need to use a clay bar or razor blade.

All you need is your trusted glass cleaner and a couple of clean microfibre towels. But if the inside of the glass is visibly dirty, grab a damp microfibre towel and wipe the surface to remove excess dirt. This holds especially true for smoke haze.

Next, spray the glass cleaner on a clean towel until mildly damp. Avoid spraying the glass cleaner directly on interior glass. You don’t want to end up cleaning the overspray on the dash and door sills. Wipe the inside of the windows from top to bottom with a microfibre towel. Turn the towel over and give the glass a final buff.

Using a towel to clean the inside car windscreen might prove tricky due to the presence of the steering wheel. Since it is wildly impractical (and inadvisable) to remove the steering wheel so you can wipe the windscreen without obstructions, there is a better way of doing it.

I use the DEDC Windscreen Cleaner Tool for this job. And while this product might be intended strictly for cleaning the inside car windscreen, I actually found out this is the best and easiest way to clean all the interior glass surfaces in my vehicle. The tool is equipped with a long handle and an ultra-fine microfiber cloth to effectively remove dirt and grease.