I have kids, therefore I have fingerprints.....

On glass.

On mirrors.

Doorjambs, walls, tables, fridge, counters.

Seriously?  I'm not sure what they get on their fingers that make this tiny little smuge spots on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  I have a large mirror in our family room that I swear will never be clean.  Ever.

Of course....I was the braniac who just HAD to have the glass table top kitchen table.  Stupid.

Windex?  I think they make 4 different kinds of Windex, maybe more, and I've tried every one of them.  I still can't get mirrors to that no-streaks-or-haze state.  And it drives me NUTS!

So.  New search.  There appear to be 2 main recipies of homemade glass cleaner out there.  One includes ammonia, one has no ammonia but has cornstarch.  Based on the fact that I had cornstarch in the house and didn't have ammonia I chose that one. (I also hate the smell of ammonia - I do the cleaning around here, I'm not smelling that on everything!!)

Super easy to make.  And it works.  For the first time I had absolutely clean, streak and haze free glass!.

The cost difference is great.  Especially when I noticed that the price tag was still on the bottle of Windex on my counter.  $5.99.  OUCH! I cringed when I saw that.  Obviously NOT a great 'shopping for the lowest price' moment.

For the sake of my ego, sanity, fairness, we will pretend that the bottle of Windex Original that I have actually cost the current price (at Walmart) of $2.93.  And yes, I know that there is a slight difference between the bottle sizes but really, even if you double the cost of the homemade stuff, it's still ridiculously cheaper.

Windex - $2.93/765ml 
Homemade - $0.48/ 750ml

SAVINGS OF $2.45/bottle 

Here is how I did it and what it cost.

Glass Cleaner

Ingredients

·      ½ cup rubbing alcohol

·      ½ cup white vinegar

·      2 TBSP cornstarch

·      2 cups warm water

Directions

1.     combine everything in a spray bottle and shake.

Yield

·      750ml

Cost

·       Vinegar ($1.49/4 litres) = $0.04/ ½ cup

·      Rubbing Alcohol ($2.87/1 litre) = $0.36/ ½ cup

·      Cornstarch ($1.49/454g) = $0.08/2 TBSP (24g)

Notes:

·      Shake it before using.  The cornstarch settles at the bottom of the bottle and may plug the sprayer.  Give it a good shake before cleaning your windows and that problem is gone.