How to Clean Mirrors Without Leaving Streaks

How to Clean Mirrors Without Leaving Streaks

It's strange how much of a task cleaning a mirror can seem. On many other surfaces, it is much more difficult to see streaks and marks. With a mirror, even the smallest blemish can become an annoyance. We want our mirrored surfaces to be as clean as possible. To do this, we need to get rid of stubborn stains, blurry sections and streaks. At oneHOWTO, we show you how to clean mirrors without leaving streaks. Whether caused by toothpaste, food or general waste, you will have a mark-free mirror every time.

Liquid dish soap and water

If you want to know how to clean a mirror without streaks, the first thing we need to keep in mind that mirrors are made of glass. For this reason, we need a cleaning product which will work on this surface. Of course, you can buy special glass cleaner at the supermarket or store, but there are effective home remedies you can use for cheap or if you don't have any glass cleaner left.

Dish soap is one of the most common and you can use it for streak-free mirrors by following these steps:

  1. Remove dust from the mirror by simply wiping it with a microfiber cloth (to avoid scratching it).
  2. Put half a liter of warm water in a bowl and add a splash of liquid dish soap, the same you use on your dishes.
  3. Dip a squeegee in the bowl and mix up the dish soap and water.
  4. Run the squeegee over the mirrored glass.
  5. Now use the rubber blade of the squeegee to remove the dish soap solution, moving in even straight lines.
  6. To finish, take clean newspaper and rub over the glass. This gets rid of any streaks easily.

Ammonia

Do you want more shine and not a single mark on your mirrors? In addition to removing dust and general dirt as we have indicated, cleaning mirrors with ammonia is one of the best cleaners for a very dirty mirror. Follow these steps and learn how to clean mirrors with ammonia:

  1. If you see that there are still marks on the glass of your mirror, prepare a solution with hot water and ammonia in the same proportion (1 cup of water and 1 cup of ammonia solution).
  2. Dampen a clean, lint-free cloth (microfiber) with the mixture and wipe the entire surface. You can scrub hard on tough stains as long as you use cloths which won't scratch the glass.
  3. Let it dry for a few minutes and finish by drying it with the newspaper to get rid of streaks.

Check out our article on how to clean with ammonia for more household ammonia uses.

Alcohol

If you are looking for tricks to clean a mirror, 70º proof rubbing alcohol is a common addition to many medicine cabinets, but can be useful for many purposes. It is perfect for an ‘express’ cleaning and to erase any trace of dirt which may have stuck to the mirror.

Put a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a paper napkin or a piece of newspaper and wipe it all over the surface. Scrub hard on the dirtiest stains and add more alcohol if necessary. The newspaper will then clean without leaving streaks.

If you want a streak-free bathroom mirror, take a look at our article on bathroom mirror cleaning tips for more info.

White vinegar

There are many uses of white vinegar in cleaning and disinfecting a house. Making sure a mirror is clean and free of streaks is only one of them. Follow these steps to see how it's done:

  1. Clean your mirror with diluted dish soap and water as explained above, but also add a small cup of white vinegar to the mixture.
  2. If your mirror is clean but there are still marks, roll up newspaper into a ball.
  3. Dampen the newspaper ball directly with white vinegar and go over the glass to give it extra shine.

Lemon

Lemon is a powerful natural anti-stain cleaning product. It can be used to make the marks and lines that remain on the mirror's glass disappear. It is also effective in removing stains from old mirrors without damaging them.

  1. Put the juice of two lemons in a spray bottle and dilute the mixture by adding a little water.
  2. Apply the mixture directly with the vaporizer all over the mirror. Let it act for a few minutes and remove with a dry cloth.
  3. If you have persistent stains with a greasy texture, such as those caused by creams and makeup, before drying, pour a little of the mixture on a cotton ball and rub gently on the stain. You will see how easily they disappear.

Do you want to know the different uses of lemon in the home? Our article on how to clean with lemon has everything you need to know.

Potato

For our final tip on cleaning a mirror without leaving streaks, we throw you a curveball. While the potato may not seem like a cleaning agent, it is actually one of the best ways to clean marks off of surfaces without damaging them.

  • Cut a potato in half and use it as if it were a scouring pad. Pass it all over the glass in a top to bottom motion.
  • Wait a few minutes and then apply a solution of water and white vinegar in equal parts (you can use water and lemon if you prefer).
  • Spray it on with a vaporizer or directly with a cloth soaked in the solution of your choice.
  • Dry with a microfiber cloth and use a newspaper if necessary for a final buffing.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Clean Mirrors Without Leaving Streaks, we recommend you visit our Home cleaning category.

Tips
  • When cleaning your mirrors without leaving streaks, do not overdo the amount of product you pour on the glass because it will complicate cleaning. This means you will have to wipe the cloth several times to remove excess soap.