Streak Free Glass Window Cleaning

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Prius The First, Nov 23, 2006.

  1. Prius The First

    Prius The First New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2006
    141
    0
    0
    I have seen lots of, "Streaked Window" posts here and thought I would share my secret of TOTALLY STREAK FREE windows for your car.

    I have won many 1st Place ribbons in Concour level events with our 1982 Porsche 911 with this method.

    Here is the trick:

    In a clean bucket, fill with hot water. Not hot enough to scald your hands, but HOT. Be Careful!!!

    Using a terrycloth rag, get it wet and rinse all the excess water out. While it is still steamy, go after the window. Before it dries, follow up with another dry terrycloth rag and buff or polish till dry. Thats it. NO CHEMICALS, NO NEWSPAPERS, NO STREAKS!

    A word on rags.......

    I have a supply of car rags that are "car only". They are bulk purchase, 100% cotton terrycloth towels from big box retailers. About 12" x 18" in size.

    Wash them in HOT water with little laundry soap - about 1/2 of what you would normally use.
    NEVER use fabric softener. It leaves a residue in the cloth that causes STREAKS. NEVER use dryer sheets either.

    That's it. Hope this helps out.
     
    #1 Prius The First, Nov 23, 2006
  2. Oxo

    Oxo New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 17, 2005
    533
    3
    0
    Location:
    Oxfordshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Nov 23 2006, 08:54 AM) [snapback]353439[/snapback]</div>
    What's a terrycloth?
     
    #2 Oxo, Nov 23, 2006
  3. klevitsky

    klevitsky Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2006
    34
    2
    0
    A cotton mini-towel. In the US, the texture of a bath towel is called terrycloth, with its many tiny little loops of cotton thread.
     
    #3 klevitsky, Nov 23, 2006
  4. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2004
    4,333
    7
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Nov 23 2006, 07:43 AM) [snapback]353473[/snapback]</div>
    terrycloth

    n : a pile fabric (usually cotton) with uncut loops on both sides; used to make bath towels and bath robes [syn: terry, terry cloth]
     
    #4 IsrAmeriPrius, Nov 23, 2006
  5. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2006
    188
    0
    0
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    The best glass cleaning cloth is a surgical towel. They are very tightly woven to be 100% lint free so lint is not left in surgical wounds. Ask a surgical nurse or a hospital materials manager if they have any old surgical towels to discard (after they have been cleaned and sterilzed, of coruse). You could perhaps order them on a surgical supply site also.
     
    #5 Dr Ed, Nov 24, 2006
  6. narf

    narf Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2005
    611
    45
    4
    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    I'll stick with windex and newspaper. I haven't had any streaking problem and the papers keep showing up on my driveway, so I might as well do something with them before I recycle them.
     
    #6 narf, Nov 24, 2006
  7. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2006
    6,057
    389
    0
    Location:
    Northern CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Darell's way:

    Dry glass-specific microfiber towel, followed by a used-up-should-be-discarded dryer sheet. The second step is only when it want it to REALLY sparkle. Typically I only use dray microfiber, and I simply never have streaks.

    Never tried hot, steamy water before. I can see how it would work though. Thanks for the tip. :)
     
    #7 darelldd, Nov 24, 2006
  8. jimklausner

    jimklausner Connecticut Yankee

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2006
    44
    1
    0
    Location:
    New Milford, CT
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Prius The First @ Nov 23 2006, 08:54 AM) [snapback]353439[/snapback]</div>
    How do you get to the corners of the inside of the windshield?
     
    #8 jimklausner, Dec 3, 2006
  9. RobertG

    RobertG New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2006
    166
    1
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    On Queer Eye for the Straight Guy they recommended using coffee filter paper with glass cleaner to avoid streaks. I haven't yet tried that one myself.
     
    #9 RobertG, Dec 3, 2006
  10. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    641
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Nov 24 2006, 10:50 AM) [snapback]353686[/snapback]</div>
    Not sure about where you live, but the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun use a lot of Soy ink in their production. Your hands get smeary just reading the newspaper. I would never try cleaning any surface with it, though I will use the paper - especially the Winnipeg Sun! - to put under my cat's litter box.
     
    #10 jayman, Dec 3, 2006
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)