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Ditch the Chemicals, Keep the Clean
Many chemicals are bad for your respiratory system, harmful to the environment and bad for your window films.

People often wonder why it is so hard to get their car windows clean and 100% streak free. We would argue that automotive glass is not harder to clean, it is just under much more intense scrutiny. You rarely look out your kitchen window into direct sunlight with the same focus that you would your windshield while driving, and that is why you notice every little blemish on your vehicle’s glass. Here is a quick outline about how to clean your windows without chemicals, leaving no streaks and protecting your window films at the same time.

 

What NOT to do

There are many glass cleaning products available in the market which contain ammonia. You can usually tell which ones they are without looking at the label, because they tend to be bright blue. Vehicle owners should avoid such products since ammonia does not play well with common car surfaces such as rubber, leather, and vinyl. Ammonia fumes are dangerous as well and should not be inhaled in a closed environment. In addition, glass cleaners with ammonia compounds cannot be used to clean tinted windows – they pose a damage risk to the film itself. Over time, the ammonia could react to the chemicals used in the film and cause blotchiness.

 

What you SHOULD do

Step One: Grab a cloth and give all of the windows a spray and wipe down using any natural cleaner you have handy. Don’t even worry about streaks or spots at this point, you are only doing a first pass to get all of the grimy film off of the windows and get they clean. There are many natural cleaners on the market, but you could also try a really simple solution of 50% water and 50% white vinegar.

 

TOP TIP: When it comes to cleaning the rear window, use wiping motions that are parallel with the heating grid lines. This way, you can get the ridge edge of the copper heating element clean. If you wipe across the strips, the rag can’t get to the edge – it skips over and leaves a film edge on both sides of the copper strip.

 

Step Two: Pick up a micro-fibre cloth from any hardware store (like Canadian Tire). They clean-up the cleaning that you will have done in Step One and it gets done WITHOUT the use of chemicals. These little rags are amazing. You simply wet them in water, wring them out and start wiping. After finishing one window re-rinse, wring out, and go again. The millions of tiny fibres pick up every bit of residue left behind and leave only tiny water droplets that will evaporate immediately. This leaves you with a perfectly clean window with no streaks. If you do this regularly, you will find that you no longer need to do step one and you can just do a weekly touch up with water and a microfibre cloth. You will never need to use chemicals on your windows again!

 

Sound Smart With Your Friends

If you use a microfiber cloth, there’s no detergent involved whatsoever, so how is the dirt removed? Instead of detergent, it relies on millions more fibres that can sweep dirt away. The fibres are made of plastic and many of them attach themselves to each dirt speck with Van Der Waals forces. Working as a team, many fibres apply powerful enough forces to dislodge the dirt (loosened with a small amount of water) and carry it away, leaving the surface naturally dirt-free. This is new-fangled cleaning with physics using nothing but the adhesive power of forces—cleaning mechanically and without chemicals.

 

Need to Step-Up Your Ride?

If you think your vehicle is looking a little bland, or are wanting a bit more performance out of it, window tint can save the day. Give us a shout or check out our services page for info on how an application of window tint can take your ride to the next level.

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