How to Make Window Cleaner From Vinegar

Cleaning is always more fun when you make your own cleaner.

Homemade cleaning products are always cheaper and usually better (and safer) than the name brand products you can purchase in a store. In this article, we show you an easy way to make window cleaner (or glass cleaner) with ammonia, vinegar, and water. And because you are reusing the spray bottle, this is a great ''green'' product.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• non-sudsing household ammonia
• white vinegar
• cornstarch
• blue food coloring
• warm water
• 32 fl oz spray bottle

1. ammonia

   Gather all of your ingredients.

2. 32 fl oz bottle

   In a 32 fluid ounce spray bottle with a tight-fitting lid, mix 1/4 cup household ammonia, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. [NOTE: For a 16 fl oz spray bottle, use 1/8 cup of ammonia and vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch.]

3. warm water

   Fill the remainder of the container with warm water. Replace the tight fitting lid and shake well to mix.

4. food coloring

   Although not required, putting 1 or 2 drops of food coloring in the container will help you to identify that the container is NOT water.

Tips & Warnings

• A stronger (smelling and cleaning) window cleaner can be made by mixing equal parts of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol. [NOTE: Do not add any additional water to this recipe. For example, if your container holds 16 ounces, you would mix 8 ounces (1 cup) of white vinegar with 8 ounces (1 cup) of rubbing alcohol.]

• Instead of using the spray bottle directly on the glass surface, you can also spray the window cleaner directly onto a rag and use that to clean the glass surface.

• Be sure to clearly mark the spray bottle of its contents. Children are often poisoned getting into unmarked chemicals. You may also want to include a Mr. Yuk sticker on the bottle (link below in Resources section).

• Never mix ammonia products with products containing chlorine as it will form ammonium chloride, a highly toxic gas.

• Do not use any product containing ammonia (or alcohol) to clean computer monitors and some television glass as it will remove the protective ARAG (anti-reflective anti-glare) coating.

Resources

• Mr. Yuk stickers