Do You Make These Mistakes When Cleaning Your Car’s Glass?

Quick Fix Guide to Keeping Your Glass Clean & Clear

Has a passenger ever fallen asleep on a long drive in your car only to leave you with a greasy smudge from their hair on the window? Nasty, right? Well things like oil smudges, finger prints, and even those smiley faces your kids left on the window when it was fogged up are easy fixes, but should be handled appropriately to avoid streaking and smudges. There are certain things that should never come into contact with your windows, and some common mistakes can leave your windows dirtier than before. Read on and learn how to keep your windows clean the right way and how to avoid cleaning the wrong way…

One of the biggest things that I will advise all car owners to avoid is using paper towel to clean or defog your car’s glass. Because the windows of your car aren’t full of liquid, the paper towel becomes useless in terms of absorbency, and often times you will leave behind lint and streak the surface. If you want to be able to see, grab a microfiber towel for cleaning your glass. In many cases, small finger prints and smudges can even be removed by these types of towels without a cleaning product. Paper towel, on the other hand, will spread the smudges and do nothing to remove the oil from the surface. Another benefit of not using paper towels is waste. If you get a quality towel, it will last longer than 100 paper towel rolls would; this could save you thousands over the life of your car.

So by now you’re probably wondering how to clean the bigger messes the right way. It’s really quite simple. Just be sure you have an automotive glass cleaner, not the cheap household cleaners (why not?), a quality microfiber towel as I stated before, and some good ol’ elbow grease. Obviously that’s a figure of speech, but a little pressure is all you need. With these products you will notice no streak, no smudges, no nothing except for the clear road ahead.

When and When Not To Clean?

Cleaning is always necessary for spills, sticky stuff, finger prints and smudges, but you shouldn’t need to clean when the windows get fogged up. In winter time you see a lot of people wiping the interior glass to see out, but this will only make things worse once the fog dissipates. If you absolutely have to clear the fog quickly, use a microfiber cloth as this wont leave lint and will eliminate the change of streaking. Your bare hand on a foggy surface will cause problems, too. Your hands carry oils and when your hand is wiped on a glass surface, the oils transfer to the glass and will smudge, print, and create visibility problems.

Overall, keeping your glass clear isn’t tough, but you can make it tough if you don’t know proper practice. Here I’ve clarified some of the common mistakes that drivers everywhere make, and if you make it a priority to avoid these mistakes you will notice cleaner, clearer glass whenever you’re in your car.