Mirrors offer more than just a reality check for your grooming efforts before you head out the door each morning. They are valuable decorative fixtures that can make rooms look larger or brighter depending on where you place them in a room. Part of maintaining a welcoming and well-functioning space is keeping mirrors free of streaks, marks, and lint particles. If you struggle with streaks when you clean your mirrors, this step-by-step guide to streak free mirrors is for you.
1 Gather the Right Cleaning Materials
Using the wrong cleaning products can result in streaked mirrors that look worse than before you attempted to clean them. When you want streak free mirrors, it’s best to stick with cleaners that are specifically designed for glass and mirrors. Besides commercial products such as Windex, homemade solutions such as white vinegar and water work well on mirrors. If your mirrors have sticky residue from price stickers, you’ll want to have rubbing alcohol on hand to spot treat those areas.
The implements that you use to apply cleaners to your mirrors make a dramatic difference when it comes to getting them streak free. We recommend that you use clean, flat-weave microfiber cloths to wipe down mirrors for streak-free results. These cloths ensure that no lint sticks to your mirrors when you’re cleaning them. Also, a squeegee is a secret weapon for streak-free results on large surface areas.
Some common products and tools result in streaked mirrors and frustrated housekeepers. Avoid using all-purpose cleaners to wash your mirrors. You’ll end up with mirrors that are covered with streaks and an undesirable film. Resist the temptation to clean your mirrors with paper towels. They leave lint. When you try to remove the lint, you’ll produce streaks. Your grandmother probably encouraged you to use newspapers to clean mirrors and glass when you were growing up. However, changes in newspaper inks and printing dyes make using them to clean mirrors undesirable now.
2 Apply Your Product
Inspect your mirror for sticky residue. If you have glue from price tags or your child’s sticker collection on your mirrors, apply rubbing alcohol to the area with your microfiber cloth. When the residue is gone, spray your mirrors with your chosen cleaning solution to complete the task.
Apply your commercial or homemade cleaning solution to the top of your mirrors. Gravity will make sure that the solution drips down to cover the entire surface of your mirrors. If you spray the cleaner on the bottom half of your mirrors, the solution is likely to drip off before you can thoroughly wipe the mirrors clean.
Apply your cleaning solution without spraying surrounding fixtures. The metal finishes or wood varnish on nearby fixtures can be prematurely damaged when you repeatedly spray them with the wrong cleaning solutions.
3 Watch Your Technique
We recommend misting your mirrors with glass cleaner instead of saturating them with your cleaning solution to avoid streaks. Fold your microfiber cloth into four sections so that you’ll have four clean surfaces for wiping down your mirror. Wipe your mirror from top to bottom to eliminate streaks. Make sure that you don’t miss a section. You’ll also want to avoid overlap when wiping your mirrors. If you have a squeegee, wipe your mirror from top to bottom for an easy clean that covers a wide area.
When cleaning mirrors, occasionally you’ll encounter residue that’s hard to remove. Try using your rubbing alcohol or another appropriate solvent to remove the substance. Do not scrape the mirror with a razor blade or other sharp tool. This often leads to unsightly scratches and chipping that can ruin your mirror.
Conclusion
Getting most mirrors clean and streak free isn’t hard when you follow the listed instructions. The task becomes more complex when you have to clean large mirrors that are hung on high walls. However, you don’t have to settle for streaks on your large mirrors when you hire Helping Hands Cleaning Services. Ask for our mirror cleaning service the next time that you schedule a house cleaning appointment with us. We have the professional cleaning supplies and equipment to leave large mirrors sparkling without a trace of streaks, dust, or fingerprints.