From decorating your hallway walls to elevating your bathroom ambiance, mirrors bring brightness and depth to your home. Dirt or grime covering your mirror is unsightly, and cleaning streaks off your mirror is a frustrating task when done improperly. Whether it’s toothpaste splatter or fingerprint smudges, keeping your mirrors clean requires a little elbow grease and some technique. Check out these simple ways to get a flawless shine on any mirror in your home.
1. Check All Angles
Before pretreating spots on your mirror and after wiping the mirror clean for the first time, you should view the mirror from all angles to highlight any hard-to-see marks. Changing your view and angle of the mirror provides different lighting on the surface of the mirror to help you locate any missed stains or splatter. Although looking at a 45-degree angle works best, you can stand in different parts of the room to see the mirror from all angles.
2. Focus on Technique
To avoid adding more streaks to your mirror, focus on your wiping technique. Your cloth should be folded in quarters for easy rotation and movement in your hand. Wiping your mirror from left to right using a zig-zag pattern helps reduce the amount of streaking. Start from the top of the mirror and work downward to decrease streaks.
To remove dirt or grime from the mirror’s frame, try using an old toothbrush. The soft bristles fit easily inside narrow spaces on the frame to flick out dust effortlessly. Simply use distilled water to dampen the bristles before cleaning the edges and corners of the mirror.
3. Use Rubbing Alcohol
Hairspray and air fresheners leave offputting marks on the surface of your mirror. Dipping a cotton pad in rubbing alcohol gives you a simple and easy way to spot clean your mirrors. Pretreating marks from toothpaste or fingerprints with rubbing alcohol prevents any grease or oil from smearing on your mirror.
Not pretreating spots or stains before wiping causes more streaking on your mirror. For best results, wipe the mirror quickly to remove all stains before the alcohol dries on the pad. Repeat this process as many times as needed to pretreat the mirror before wiping it clean.
4. Try Microfiber Cloths
Dry newspapers were the go-to choice for cleaning mirrors in the past, however, modern ink on the newspaper leaves residue and streaks on mirrors. The best material to rid your mirror of streaks is a flat-weave microfiber cloth. The soft and delicate touch of a microfiber cloth prevents debris or lint from sticking to the surface of your mirror.
For streak free mirrors, opt for a thinner cloth. Thicker microfiber cloths hold more particles inside the material, which can stain or scratch your mirror as you wipe. The flat-weave design of the cloth promotes faster drying and leaves a lint-free appearance.
5. Mix Vinegar and Water
Many cleaners pair soap with other products to clean your mirrors. Soapy cleaners are harder to wipe clean and lead to more streaks. You can create a simple yet effective homemade cleaner by adding 1 cup of distilled water with 1 cup of regular vinegar inside a spray bottle. Using a spray bottle works well, but dipping your microfiber cloth into the mixture delivers a suitable alternative when a spray bottle is unavailable.
To prevent the cleaner from damaging the frame of the mirror, spray the mixture directly on the microfiber cloth before wiping. Ensure the cloth is damp, but not wet from the mixture. Use a zig-zag pattern across the surface of the mirror to obtain a streak-free look.
Stains and streaks on your mirrors quickly draw the eye. If you desire streak free mirrors, you should focus on your wiping technique and use the right tools for the job. Although popular glass cleaners offer a quick remedy, using DIY options to clean your mirrors offer better results. A sparkling reflection on your mirrors inject bright light into your room and add depth to your space.
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