Is there a good product for cleaning the inside of the windshield? When I try to clean it with glass cleaner it smears and doesn’t want to come clean.
Vinegar and water in a spray bottle (roughly 10:1 water to vinegar). Use decent paper towel, or even better, a copy of your local newspaper.
There’s a company called Invisible Glass that makes pre-soaked wipes that come in a plastic can.
I’ve not found anything better for the inside windshield and rear glass.
Found mine at Wal-mart, but I’m sure they’re everywhere.
Benzman
Invisible Glass is a product made by a company called Stoner, Inc. It’s my favorite glass cleaner, but vinegar and water will work well, too. Sometimes the film on the inside of a windshield is difficult to remove, but keep trying.
I have learned that if you use one of those modern aerosol glass cleaners, and wipe with paper towels, the binders in the paper dissolve out and deposit on your window. They are nearly impossible to get off. What will work with them is wiping off with a clean rag–an old tshirt is ideal.
Another time-tested method is newspapers and vinegar. But nothing will take that glue off very fast.
are you having a problem with the inside getting hazed over? are you loosing antifreeze from the radiator expansion tank also?
this could indicate a leaking heater core under the dash.
after you get the window cleaned, check the level of antifreeze in the radiator expansion tank, and monitor it for a while.
after you use your heater does the film reappear?
Mu favorite glass cleaner is ordinary isopropyl alcohol. Alcohol is very good at cutting the haze that is deposited on the inside of the glass by the “outgassing” of the plastic components, such as the padded dashboard.
My only caveat is that you have to be careful that you don’t overload the rag with the alcohol. You want enough on the rag in order to clean the glass, but not enough to drip onto the padded dash area, as the alcohol may damage the plastic on the dash. I have been doing this for many years and since I have been very careful, I have wound up with a really clean windshield and no damage to the dash.
Hate to admit it but I bought one of those ‘Glass Wizard’ contraptions I saw advertised on TV a few years back. I must admit–used with water…it is one of the best window cleaners I’ve ever used.
The best I have found is the original BonAmi in the YELLOW can. It is a little hard to find. You may need to look in a good independent hardware store.
Note: Don’t use the stuff in the Gold can. That can damage your windows.
If you use isopropanol with gloves, don’t use vinyl gloves. The IPA will extract the plasticizer from the vinyl and leave it on the window. latex gloves are better. BTW, alcohol will also extract oil from your hands. Probably not enough to fog your windows, but it will dry your hands out.
fyi. If the heater core is ok there is an explination for a constantly dirty windshield. Hazing on the glass from the inside is normal. It is chemicals in the instrument panel breaking down and covering the glass. Cracking a window open helps a little to cut this down.
I used dry crumbled up newspaper and just scrub it. Seems to get off the haze just fine. Just one page of newspaper, crumble it into a ball, and rub the inside clean. Works for me. If you are a smoker then you are putting that goo on there yourself, and if its annoying on the glass imagine what it’s doing to your lungs.
I keep a spray bottle filled with windshield washer fluid. I spray it on the windows and wipe it off with crumbled up newspaper. I do this on both exterior and interior windows. Also the rear view mirrors.