By Kerry Hale

How To Clean Bathroom Mirrors Without Streaks

  • Tuesday 27 June 2017
  • 3 minute read

There’s nothing more annoying than spending an age wearing out your arms as you desperately buff your mirror to a high shine and then stand back to admire… a surface blighted by streaks. So, you grab the newspaper or kitchen towel again and frantically rub away the streaks only to see them resurface moments later.

Cleaning mirrors doesn’t have to be that difficult, time consuming or exhausting. We’ve gone through the best ways to clean mirrors that we could find online, tried them all out and distilled them down into one handy how-to guide, which is guaranteed to leave your mirrors sparkling and streak-free.

The first step on our journey towards a streak-free bathroom involves an old friend we’ve mentioned before (and probably will again): white vinegar. True there are many, very efficient window and mirror cleaning sprays available in your local supermarket. Of these, we’re especially fond of Windex, but a cheaper and effective solution (pun intended) is a mix of white vinegar and water.

You’ll also need an empty spray bottle, cotton buds or an old toothbrush and our other secret weapon: a microfibre cloth. For decades, newspaper was said to be the best way to clean mirrors but these days the ink runs too readily and leaves a residue all over the glass that leads to streaks. Similarly, kitchen towel is no good as it disintegrates as it cleans, leaving little fibres of towel all over the glass.

You will need:

  • White vinegar
  • Water
  • Spray bottle
  • Cotton Cloth
  • Cotton buds or a toothbrush
  • Microfibre cloth

Cleaning:

  1. Spot clean any gunk, toothpaste etc. with white vinegar and a cotton cloth.
  2. Clean the edges or around any screws with vinegar and the cotton buds/toothbrush.
  3. Mix one-part vinegar with four parts water and pour it into the spray bottle.
  4. Spray the solution onto the cotton cloth or directly onto the mirror.
  5. Before the spray dries, wipe the mirror from side to side or up and down with the cotton cloth. Never wipe the mirror in circles.
  6. Take the microfibre cloth and dry the mirror using the same side to side or up and down action.
  7. Once the mirror is dry, look at the mirror from the side to see if there are any missed areas or streaks. Spot clean these and buff.

Congratulations, you now have a spotless and streak-free mirror!

Tips:

  • Depending on how dirty your mirror is, you may need rubbing alcohol to remove stubborn dirt. Spot clean tricky areas with the rubbing alcohol on cotton pads or a cotton cloth.
  • If you have particularly hard water, use distilled water to make up the cleaning solution.
  • If your mirror is prone to steaming up after baths and showers, follow the above steps by covering the mirror in shaving foam, wipe away and shine with the microfibre cloth. Make sure to use foam and not gel!

Why don't you try our other cleaning tips for your bathroom.