Last Updated August 20, 2024
What do you do if you want to clean your car but only have household cleaning supplies? Can you use Windex on your car?
Windex, the popular glass cleaner from S.C. Johnson, is great for cleaning glass, mirrors and other household hard surfaces. But is Windex good for cleaning a car? The answer depends on how much you care about your car’s appearance.
In this article, we’ll analyze Windex’s effects on various automotive surfaces inside and out to give you the truth on whether Windex is okay for cleaning cars.
Can I Use Windex to Clean My Car’s Paint?
You should never use Windex to clean your car’s paint because it contains caustic chemicals like alcohol and glycol that can be harsh on the paint.
Windex can also scratch your car’s paint because it doesn’t have enough lubrication to reduce the friction between your towel and the paint. This isn’t a problem with windows because glass is harder than paint and doesn’t scratch as easily.
If you want to clean your car with a spray product instead of a traditional bucket wash, we recommend using a “waterless wash” product designed specifically for car paint. Waterless wash sprays contain extra lubrication and gentle cleaning agents to safely remove dirt and grime without scratching the finish or being overly harsh.
Can I Use Windex to Clean My Dashboard?
We do not recommend using Windex to clean your dashboard. If your dashboard is made of leather, vinyl, wood or plastic, the alcohol in the windex can fade the color.
That being said, you can use Windex to clean your dashboard if it’s made of a hard material like piano black plastic or carbon fiber.
Can I Use Windex to Clean My Car Interior?
When it comes to your car’s interior, you should only use Windex to clean the interior windows. Using Windex to clean seats and mats can damage the leather, vinyl or fabric material. It also won’t be effective, as Windex is designed for hard surfaces and can’t penetrate leather or carpeting like a cleaner designed for those materials.
Can I Use Windex to Clean My Windshield?
You’d think of all the things you could use to Windex to clean on your car, it’d be your windshield. Think again. Windex contains ammonia, and ammonia damages window tints. Most windshields have some type of anti-glare tint on the very top of the glass. Using Windex can harm the tint and make it ineffective. The same goes for any window tint you have on your side windows as well.
So, generally speaking, you should never use Windex to clean your car, whether it’s the car’s paint, interior, dashboard or windshield. The fact is, Windex is too harsh to use on these surfaces and is only appropriate for window cleaning around the house.
Disagree with our advice? Have you used Windex to clean your car? Let us know in the comments!
Windex works great on car paint.
Windex is ok to remove birds poop, not to wash your whole car :-)
so me and my mom went outside to get in the car and when we opened the car doors, we noticed brown splashes all over the inside of the car. apparently, she had left a diet coke in the car by accident and the temperatures had dropped well below freezing. we realized that it was the diet coke that had exploded all over her car and so we went to clean it. my little brother came out to help us and we told him to start with using windex on the windows. so he god inside the car and outside with the windex he ends up getting it on the car itself, and has started cleaning he car with it on the outside. my mom explained to him (well more like yelled at him) never to do that. so he took a wet towel and started cleaning in. with the temperatures still below freezing and the salt all over the car, he ended up just scratching the whole outside of the car with the salt and towel. never clean the outside of your car with windex and then try to fix it when the temperatures are in the 20’s. (farhenheight).
Sounds to me like Windex had nothing to do with the problem.
Seems like you gave no real detail on why Windex is bad except “omg, chemicals maybe!?”.
Hi Brandon! I do agree the blog was a little vague on the actual negative effects of the chemicals found in Windex. Let’s get more specific: most Windex products contain ammonia. This can cause streaking on windows and may also eat away at whatever tint you may have. That is why we advise against using Windex.
what if you get an anmmonia freee one?
What. He literally talked about the alcohol content and why it’s caustic and bad for paint.
Used the Windex outdoors on my Harley. Used it exactly as I do the windows on the house. Best wash job it’s ever had. Rinsed, cleaned for 15 seconds and rinsed. Blew the excess water off with an air cannon and then applied Lucas spray on wax. This thing glows in the dark it’s so shiny. Says right on the bottle it’s safe for paint. You use it on your house paint and it’s fine, why not a car or bike? I’d upload pictures if I could to prove my point.