To some people, cleaning a mirror might sound like it is the easiest task on Earth to do, and everybody should be able to do it to perfection on their first try. The thing is, however, it is true that everybody can clean a mirror perfectly but not everybody knows exactly how unless they receive proper instructions somewhere. It’s not just a matter of soap and water and deeming the job done. If you don’t properly clean your mirror using the right technique, then there will be smudges or dirt left behind, and a mirror like this is no good to the user.
This is what leaves a lot of people who have tried to clean mirrors frustrated with their efforts. You may clean as well as you know how but still be left with streaks and specks all over. For example, if you use the wrong chemicals there will be fog left behind on the mirror, and sometimes this can be worse than the dirt that was originally there.
When cleaning a mirror, for most people, the streaks left behind are the tricky part of the whole process. However, there are several methods that you can use to clean your mirror and successfully leave it streak-free and sparkling until the next use. So how exactly should one go about cleaning the mirror in the right way to finish successfully with a streak-free and sparkly mirror? Below are some common easy steps that you can follow.
1. The first thing that you have to do is get the mentality of buying window cleaners out of your head. A majority of commercial window cleaners are a hoax. If you have any under your kitchen counter, you can go ahead and throw them out right now. They are a waste of time or otherwise you would not be reading this article right now. They are often just vinegar mixed with a lot of water and chemicals that will leave a fog behind when you are done cleaning the mirror.
2. The next thing to do is make your own window cleaner. Don’t worry, this is very simple. Get some white or distilled vinegar and combine it with a quart of warm water. That will be a window cleaner better than anything you can buy at the store.
3. A lot of people go wrong when it comes to cleaning their mirrors simply because of choice of materials. They may use cleaning cloths that are rough and abrasive that will scratch the surface of their mirror. The best way to go about this is to use a newspaper. Just take a page from the newspaper and crumple it in your hand into fitting sizes that you will use as a ‘cleaning cloth’. Hopefully the newspaper that you picked up was not one that was printed with soy-based ink.
4. First clean the mirror with plain water. This is a pre-cleaning to remove any heavy dirt or smudges. A woven cloth is a good option to use for this pre-cleaning as it is soft and non-abrasive so it will not scratch your mirror.
5. Using the vinegar water solution you made, clean the mirror by rubbing the newspaper dipped in the solution in slow circles across the mirror. Be careful to do the whole mirror.
6. Go over the mirror with a dry newspaper to keep any drip marks from drying on the surface of the mirror. If you let any of these drip marks dry on the surface then all your work will have been in vain. There will be streaks all across the mirror.
