Over the next few months, I experimented, disbelieving that it was possible to clean a mirror without chemicals and a paper towel.
I am here to tell you it's true: rub the smudges with a damp towel and use a dry corner for a final swipe/polish. The towel trick is less successful if you've got globs of toothpaste or soap bubbles on your mirror - you might have to get out the chemicals or ignore it until the next cleaning day.
We clean the bathroom mirrors once a week with Windex and newspaper. We have two big mirrors because it's a tiny bathroom and (here's another trick!) small rooms look more spacious with mirrors in them.
It's possible that this a common tip and I just never heard it before, although I do confess to being a tip junkie who adores Hints from Heloise and the tips sections in the back of cookbooks and such.
What do you think? Do you have smudgy mirrors that need this cleaning tip?
15 comments:
That's the only way I clean mirrors! At least on a regular basis. When I want to get fancy (once a month, maybe), I use a damp rag and newspapers. Never chemicals (I think they make glass smudgy).
Haha! Globs of toothpaste and soap! Yeah, uh huh that's about right! Lol. Ill be trying this tip! My grams loved to send me tips in the mail she found in magazines. I inherited all of them when she passed last year.
Christina
That's how I've always done it! I don't own any windex. I clean windows (rarely) with vinegar water or even just a damp rag like the mirrors.
I do own a fancy schmancy micro-something-or-other towel for drying the windows (and sometimes mirror). It doesn't leave behind lint and is guaranteed not to smear. I bought 4 of those towels when we got married and still have all 4. I just love them. They are perfect for shining glass ware, too.
I only discovered for bathroom sinks a few weeks ago when I made a new chore system. My four-year-old is now in charge of bathroom sinks and mirrors and he CANNOT BE TRUSTED with a spray bottle - especially one filled with chemicals - even the safe ones. At first, I was just spritzing the rag for him, but then laziness and distraction got the better of me and I just started handing him a dry rag. And WOW! Yep pretty clean except on toothpaste and soap days. I've been having him not do the mirrors on days when I can't be with him, but now I have to let him give it a go! Thanks for the tip!
This Is How I clean Our Mirrors. I Clean Houses For A Living And Have Tried A Few Different Glass Cleaners, And Like You, I've Found Water To Work Just As Well. I Use Microfiber Towels For All Of My Cleaning Jobs. I Get The Ones At Sam's club Because I Can Buy Different Colors (Green For Toilet Areas, Blue For Kitchen, Yellow For Floors, Etc) And I Can Buy In Bulk. (Sorry About The Capital Letter On Every Word. Sending This From My Phone. Obviously Something Is Messed Up. Lol.)
Jennifer Jo, you're right! I always have smeary mirrors/windows even after I clean them (which, to be perfectly honest, doesn't happy THAT often); I thought it was the price of doing business with pious cleaning products. Drat you, 7th Generation!
Margo, I'm off to grab a damp towel.
Yes, I've been doing something like this for years! I grab one of my cleaning cloths, wet it and go over the mirror, then wipe dry with the towel we keep hanging in the shower area for the post-shower wiping down of the walls. (of course, I am not so diligent in actually Windex-cleaning them as you are, Margo!) I also do this on the oven and microwave doors.
When I worked briefly in a Marriott hotel housekeeping department, that is exactly how we cleaned the mirrors daily! Just a small amount of water and a clean washcloth- simple and easy.
I am going to have to try this. I would love to not use chemicals.
I've used microfiber cloths on the sinks for about a year now. They are fantastic. No cleanser is needed, and less elbow grease is needed as well. Why have I never thought to try them on the mirrors?
WHat a great idea.. I am going to try it tonight.. thanks ..
well, blow me down, y'all! I had no IDEA that you could clean with just damp microfiber cloths! I use mine for dusting and that's it. I think I should do more posts on cleaning and coax more tips out of you, clever readers.
Tracy, I would love for you to give more professional cleaning tips :)
Sara, yep, I can't give my kids squirt bottles unsupervised either.
Sure, Margo!
I'd Love To Share. Not Sure I'd Be Super Helpful, But I'll Try. :-)
LeT Me Know If You Do A Post On Cleaning.
Great trick to keep clean the bathroom mirror.
Dampen a microfiber cloth and use it to wipe the mirror, avoiding the frame. The microcloth is suitable for cleaning fragile and sensitive items such as mirrors since it leaves no lint on the glass.
Best regards! Selsdon Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
That is a cool tip for cleaning mirrors with slight smudges and fingerprints! Nice mirror, by the way. Though it’s really hard maintaining a clean bathroom mirror, especially when you have kids, because things always end up in the mirrors somehow. Anyway, thanks for sharing us that idea, and I hope you continue to share home-improvement stuff that you discover along the way. Keep us posted!
Frank George @ Dutch Hollow Supplies
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