Usually housewives do not experience any particular difficulties when cleaning small mirrors, but difficulties arise when a wardrobe with mirrored doors or even walls appears in the house. From the article you will learn how to wash a mirror without streaks at home, what products and devices to use to get the best results.
You can clean the mirror surface without streaks using special products.
The reason for divorce
To understand how to properly clean a mirror and not leave streaks on it, you need to find out why they appear on the glass surface.
There are three main reasons:
- the use of low-quality detergents that leave soapy residues;
- insufficiently thorough removal of dust and grease;
- using dirty water with impurities.
Now, understanding the reasons for the occurrence of stains on a mirror surface, we will select the optimal cleaning methods.
Green tea cleansing
This is one of the most budget-friendly mirror cleaning products. Use it like this: take a glass of freshly brewed strong natural green tea, add a tablespoon of ordinary table salt to it, and then apply this mixture to the mirror with a nylon cloth. Wipe the surface dry; there will be no streaks left on it.
Video: cleaning mirrors with tea:
Important:
use exclusively nylon fabric for this purpose. Any other will leave lint.
By analogy with this remedy, you can use a weak blue solution. It also copes well with various contaminants.
Selection of cleaning products
The choice of a product for cleaning a mirror surface depends not only on its effectiveness, but also on the personal preferences of the owner. Which chemical should be used depends on many factors, for example, the presence of small children in the house, whether any family members have allergic reactions, and others. An excellent alternative to store-bought drugs are traditional methods. Below we will tell you in more detail about each of the options.
Chemicals
The leading positions among housewives are occupied by industrial products specially created to remove dirt from glass surfaces, for example, “Mr. Muscle” and LOC. Also, a liquid intended for cleaning monitor and TV screens is often used to wash glass.
The most advanced ones use preparations designed for washing car headlights and mirrors. However, you need to be careful with such products, as they have a strong odor and are often not intended for use in apartments.
Removing dirt using detergent and a special cloth
Traditional methods
Despite the large number of special products presented on store shelves, many still clean mirrors with cold water and paper, considering this option to be the simplest, correct and safest.
The following recipes are also very popular among people (especially among the older generation):
- by moistening a nylon cloth in a solution of salt water and green tea, you can achieve not only cleanliness, but also an attractive shine to the surface;
- Using half an onion to rub on a mirror will help get rid of dirt left by flies. After 5-7 minutes, wipe the surface dry with paper towels;
- You can clean the mirror with a wet cloth rubbed with chalk, then wait until it dries and wipe with a dry towel;
- a mixture of ammonia and tooth powder (1:1) perfectly washes heavily soiled areas of the product;
- a solution of vinegar and water (one to one) will not only wipe the mirror, but also add shine to it;
- cologne, vodka and other alcohol-containing mixtures can remove greasy stains and marks left by hairspray;
- Wiping the glass surface with shaving foam or fabric softener will permanently remove dirt and reduce the likelihood of fogging (this is especially true for the kitchen and bathroom).
The video below shows what results can be obtained by using tea leaves to clean a mirror:
Regardless of which method was chosen, an important factor influencing the effectiveness of sedum is the choice of tool.
Clean surfaces with ammonia
How to wash mirrors so that they retain a beautiful shine? Ordinary ammonia, which is found in almost every first aid kit, will help you cope with this difficult task. It is recommended to work with it like this:
- First you need to deal with the ammonia solution. To do this, you should take a glass of ordinary boiled water, and then add a spoonful of ammonia to it.
- You need to pour the resulting mixture into any bottle with a spray bottle. A regular water spray bottle will do, as will an old perfume bottle or hair product. Next, you will need to apply the product to the entire surface using such a bottle.
- Now you will need to wipe the glass with napkins or newspaper.
This means of cleaning mirrors is considered one of the most effective. Many housewives use it to keep their home clean, without any ready-made chemicals.
Mirror Cleaning Tools
To clean glass surfaces, housewives use a wide variety of tools, from “grandmother’s” to innovative inventions.
Using a special rubberized brush for cleaning
The table contains the most popular and in-demand devices that allow you to effectively clean the reflective surface of dirt:
| Tool type | Features of use |
| Rag | As a device for cleaning mirror surfaces, you can use a regular rag, the main thing is that it is free of lint and protruding threads |
| Microfiber cloth | An alternative to a regular rag is a microfiber cloth. The use of such material in combination with optimal detergents eliminates the appearance of streaks. However, before using such a delicate tool, you should remove heavy dirt with a regular cloth. |
| Brush with rubber base | If you don’t want to lag behind modern trends, you should take a closer look at brushes whose operating principle is similar to car wipers. Thanks to the presence of rubber bands, this tool perfectly collects water from glass surfaces without leaving streaks. |
| Vacuum cleaners for glass | Such devices are most often used by cleaning companies and wealthy housewives who do not want to spend a lot of time cleaning mirrors. However, some of those who have tested the operation of the devices from their own experience claim that vacuum cleaners often leave streaks on the mirrors |
| Paper, nylon, gauze | If you don’t have a suitable rag or microfiber cloth at hand, experts recommend using nylon or gauze folded in several layers. Paper towels and toilet paper are also often used by housewives to clean mirror surfaces. As for such a popular medium as newspapers, it is better not to use them, since printing ink contains lead that is hazardous to health. |
A microfiber cloth will help ideally clean the glass surface without using chemicals. Watch a video about the results you can achieve:
Rub the mirror with onion
If you are thinking about what to wash with so that there are no streaks on the glass, you should try using ordinary onions for this purpose. The principle of its use is similar to the use of potatoes for this purpose. You will just need to cut the onion in half, rub the surface with it and leave it all for 10 minutes. After this, you just need to rinse the surface with water.
Advice:
Use this product if insects often land on your glass. The onion will easily scare them away.
Step-by-step instruction
After getting acquainted with the means and tools that can be used to clean mirror surfaces, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the optimal sequence of actions to get the best effect:
- We remove dirt . First of all, it is necessary to wash the surface from dust and grease. To do this, wipe it with a cloth soaked in any detergent, such as glass cleaner, dishwashing liquid or hair shampoo. Use only soft rags and sponges, do not use hard or abrasive materials. Rinse thoroughly afterwards, removing traces of foam. For heavily soiled surfaces, it is acceptable to use well-moistened powdered cleaning agents.
- Wash with water . After the main contamination has been removed, thoroughly wipe the product with water. It is best to use boiled or well-filtered liquid.
- Polishing . When the surface is perfectly clean, you need to start removing stains. You can polish the product using pre-crumpled paper or a microfiber cloth. Before you start polishing, it is recommended to moisten the surface with a special product. If this is not at hand, you can prepare an analogue yourself by taking 1 tablespoon each of ammonia and vodka and mixing them with 200 ml of boiled water. Place the resulting solution in a spray bottle and spray onto a mirror surface. Then rub until shiny.
You can remove heavy dirt using the back of the sponge.
Watch a video on how to clean a mirror surface with vinegar without leaving streaks:
Cleaning the surface with potatoes
If you don't have any special chemicals on hand, you can get by with regular potatoes. How to clean a mirror with it? You need to do this:
- First, cut the potatoes in half to form a large, juicy cut.
- The resulting cut will need to be thoroughly rubbed onto the surface.
- After this, you need to rinse the mirror with water and wipe it dry.
Advice:
you can use the presented product even if there is dirt on the mirror. It can handle them with ease.
Note to housewives
To ensure that the mirror retains its attractiveness for many years, you should pay attention to the following recommendations:
- High humidity negatively affects amalgam. Therefore, before fixing the mirror in the bathroom, it is recommended to paint its back side with oil paint. A protective layer can be created using melted wax and turpentine, taken in a 1:2 ratio. This should be done immediately after preparing the solution, because the wax hardens quickly.
- Bright sunlight can also damage the surface. The mirror becomes cloudy and loses its shine. Therefore, when choosing a place to hang the product, avoid walls located opposite the windows.
As you can see, caring for a mirror surface is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The main thing is to choose the right tools and devices that will greatly facilitate the cleaning work.
Returning shine to the surface
How to wash a mirror so that it starts to shine again? You just need to take ordinary milk, put it on a cloth and thoroughly wipe the mirror with it. After this you will need to wipe it dry.
Important:
Use this product after you have already cleaned the surface with soapy water or any other product. This is the only way you will achieve the best effect.
How to eliminate specific contaminants
It happens that children play around by gluing stickers, chewing gum on mirrors, or drawing with markers or felt-tip pens. If a reflective object hangs in the bathroom, then from dampness and drops of water it quickly becomes covered with a whitish, limescale coating. A slice of lemon, which is rubbed onto problem areas, will help solve the problem. After 1 minute, the composition is washed off with clean water and wiped dry. A solution of water and vinegar can also help. They are sprayed onto dirty areas from a spray bottle. Then wipe with a dry cloth.
If you need to remove stickers, you should first soak them with a cloth soaked in hot water. Next, gently scrape with a spatula or heat the area with the sticker with a hairdryer. Rub with alcohol or vegetable oil, applying with a cotton pad. Let sit for 2 minutes and remove any remaining residue with a paper towel.
You can try to wipe off contaminated areas from the tape with alcohol, acetone, vinegar, window cleaner, or white spirit. Superglue is cleaned with the same means. And also to help - liquid soap, solvent, ammonia, vegetable oil, dishwashing composition.
Nail polish remover and acetone work well to remove stickers. If the mirror is stained with a water-based marker, it can be easily cleaned with clean water and wiped dry with microfiber. If the marker has an alcohol base, then vodka or alcohol is used. To remove oil marker, use vegetable oil or fat that soaks the fabric. The stain is wiped off. The surface is rubbed until shiny with a dry cloth.
Video
The video below clearly demonstrates the process of cleaning a mirror surface:
Author: Nadezhda Chernobay
Found a mistake? Select the text with the mouse and click:
The habit of using an automatic washing machine “sparingly” can lead to the appearance of an unpleasant odor in it. Washing at temperatures below 60℃ and short rinses allow fungi and bacteria from dirty clothes to remain on internal surfaces and actively multiply.
There are special traps to combat moths. The sticky layer with which they are covered contains female pheromones that attract males. By sticking to the trap, they are eliminated from the reproduction process, which leads to a decrease in the moth population.
The dishwasher cleans more than just plates and cups. You can load it with plastic toys, glass lamp shades and even dirty vegetables, such as potatoes, but only without using detergents.
Stretch ceilings made of PVC film can withstand from 70 to 120 liters of water per 1 m2 of their area (depending on the size of the ceiling, the degree of its tension and the quality of the film). So you don’t have to worry about leaks from neighbors above.
Fresh lemon is not only suitable for tea: clean dirt from the surface of an acrylic bath by rubbing with half a cut citrus, or quickly wash the microwave by placing a container of water and lemon slices in it for 8-10 minutes at maximum power. The softened dirt can simply be wiped off with a sponge.
Before removing various stains from clothing, you need to find out how safe the selected solvent is for the fabric itself. It is applied in a small amount to an inconspicuous area of the item from the inside out for 5-10 minutes. If the material retains its structure and color, you can move on to stains.
Chic, shine, beauty, or how to remove stains from a mirror at home
Mirrors are an integral part of the interior of any apartment.
There are usually several of them in any house. And each of them needs proper and regular care using special products or folk recipes.
As a result of cleaning, the reflective surface becomes streak-free. If you are interested in how to remove stains from a mirror, read this publication.
Removing nail polish stains with alcohol
How to clean a mirror that has hairspray stains on it? You can cope with this task with the help of alcohol colognes. To do this, you just need to put any cologne on a cloth and rub the smooth surface with this cloth until it shines.
Advice:
To make it easier to deal with such contaminants, try to remove them immediately. If they remain on the glass for more than a week, it will be very difficult to get rid of them.
Store-bought household chemicals
Special formulations and sprays are sold in stores in bottles with a sprayer. Suitable for processing mirrors, TV screens, computer monitors. They clean surfaces well without streaks: Mister Muscle, Frosch, LOC Amway. Cloudy plaque is removed by Spectr-Profi, Clin, DOM Faberlic.
Non-toxic products are considered to be Clean, Snow White, White Cat. You can use Ultra, Clean Chan, Alon to prevent fogging of mirrors.
Optical wipes are ideal for removing dirt, streaks, and stains.
