Free window cleaning calculator. Enter windows to find the water and vinegar you need for a homemade window cleaning solution batch.
Your results will appear here.
Enter your values and press Calculate.
Enter how many windows you will clean. This calculator plans 250 ml of water and 50 ml of vinegar per window, a 5 to 1 water to vinegar ratio, so 10 windows need 2500 ml of water and 500 ml of vinegar, or 3 litres of solution in total. Mix in a spray bottle, spray lightly, wipe and buff dry, and use the recipe variations below for coated glass, greasy glass and exterior glass.
Window cleaner per window in this calculator is 300 ml of solution: 250 ml of water plus 50 ml of vinegar. That 5 to 1 water to vinegar ratio is a light, everyday mix. For 10 windows the maths gives 2500 ml of water and 500 ml of vinegar, and for 4 windows it gives 1000 ml of water and 200 ml of vinegar. Large windows need more than small windows, so treat the per window figure as an average and mix a little extra for big panes.
Competitor recipes vary, and each suits a different job. The everyday streak free blend is 1 cup of distilled water, 1 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol and 1 drop of dish soap. A vinegar only blend is 1 cup of vinegar to 1 cup of water. A rubbing alcohol blend for mirrors uses 1 cup of water, a quarter cup of vinegar and a quarter cup of alcohol. For grimy exterior glass, a bucket of warm water with a few drops of dish soap works first, followed by a vinegar wipe for shine.
Distilled water versus tap water is the easiest upgrade in window cleaning. Tap water carries dissolved minerals that stay on the glass as hard water spots when the water dries, and hard water areas suffer most. Distilled water has no minerals, so it dries clear. If you must use tap water, finish with a distilled water wipe or a dry buff, and expect more streaks in hard water homes.
Squeegee technique matters more than product choice. Clean in shade or on a cloudy day, since sunlight dries solution before you can wipe it and bakes streaks in. Do frames and tracks first so grit does not drag across clean glass, wet the glass, then pull the squeegee top to bottom in overlapping strokes, wiping the blade dry after every pass. Buff edges with a dry microfiber cloth, use less product rather than more, and work in sections so no area dries unwiped.
Coated glass needs a gentler mix. Window makers Pella and Andersen both warn against ammonia and abrasives near Low-E coating, and Pella points owners to 1 part white vinegar to 10 parts water for delicate glass. Andersen recommends mild soapy water or a vinegar solution with nothing abrasive. For tinted or coated glass, skip alcohol heavy blends and essential oils, which can leave a film that is hard to remove from coated surfaces.
Never mix window cleaner with bleach. Bleach plus ammonia makes chloramine gas, bleach plus vinegar makes chlorine gas, and bleach plus rubbing alcohol can make chloroform, all of which can cause severe lung damage. Keep vinegar cleaner away from natural stone like marble and granite, since acid damages those surfaces. Store solution in a labelled bottle in a cool, dark spot, away from children and pets, with the date and contents on the label.
Take 10 windows. Water is 10 times 250 ml, which is 2500 ml, and vinegar is 10 times 50 ml, which is 500 ml, giving 3000 ml, or 3 litres, of solution. For hard water spots already on the glass, dab undiluted vinegar on a cloth onto the spots, then rinse with distilled water right away so no new mineral deposits form. If a first homemade pass looks worse than before, it is usually old commercial cleaner residue lifting off, and it clears after one or two wipes.
This calculator plans 300 ml per average window: 250 ml of water and 50 ml of vinegar. Large windows need more.
A 5 to 1 water to vinegar ratio is this calculator planning mix. A 1 to 1 mix is a common everyday recipe, and a 1 to 10 mix suits coated glass.
Distilled water, since tap water minerals dry into hard water spots. If you use tap water, finish with a distilled wipe or a dry buff.
Alcohol speeds drying and cuts oily film, while a drop or two of dish soap cuts greasy dirt. Use only a drop or two of soap, since more soap causes streaks.
The usual causes are too much product, tap water minerals, old cleaner residue, or cleaning in direct sunlight. Use less solution, distilled water, and shade.
Use a gentle vinegar and water mix, such as 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water, and avoid ammonia, bleach and abrasives on coated or tinted glass.
Yes for mirrors and car glass, with the same streak free technique. For aftermarket car tint, use the gentle coated glass mix instead of an alcohol heavy blend.
Vinegar and alcohol blends keep for months in a sealed, labelled bottle. Dish soap and cornstarch mixes are best made in small batches and used within a couple of weeks.