How to Make Your Own Non-Toxic Glass Cleaner

So why would someone want to make their own glass cleaner? It won't really save you money, I'm guessing it costs almost exactly the same to buy new versus mixing your own. A local grocery store has new bottles for sale at $0.99. You can buy the needed ingredients for roughly $2.00 and it's enough to make about 2 bottles. You do the math.

There are a few reasons I can think of why it's still worth your time to do this. By knowing all the ingredients, you can assure that you're not disposing of dangerous chemicals into your trash. Re-using the bottle will also mean less trash to dispose of, and even if you recycle, it's still a waste of resources to make it usable again. All "Save the Earth" motives aside, it can be a fun little conversation piece with your friends. And finally, if you have pets or little tykes, I consider this to be a "less-dangerous" cleaner than what you may buy commercially. Knowing the four commonly available ingredients (three of which are consumable) could be resolved easier than trying to pronounce the five-syllable ingredients to a poison-control center employee. To be fair, I haven't tested the effects of drinking this concoction or that of the store bought variety.

This is my first instructable- just don't be an idiot because neither this website or myself are responsible.

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

There are several different "recipes" for creating glass cleaners, this is for a medium strength cleaner. A quick google search will get you an ingredient list for weaker and stronger cleaners. Many of those other cleaners will contain ammonia, and a quick word of caution- it shouldn't be stored near bleach as even the vapors can create a mixture that can kill you. Of course, most of you will know this already. To summarize this thought, if you don't have some basic idea of what you're doing (say, a passing high school chemistry credit) you probably shouldn't be playing around with chemicals anyway. Some other points of caution- if you use stronger chemicals than what I have, you might consider household cleaning gloves and a paper mask.

Okay, here's what you need:

1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 liter water
Capful of lemon juice
(optional) few drops food coloring

Comments

[Murphys_Lawyer]

To be precise, bleach and ammonia do NOT make tear gas, or even mustard gas, it makes CHLORINE gas.

[lil jon168]

chlorine gas is mustard gas

[i do crazy stuff]

heh heh well mustard is an oily, volatile liquid, (ClCH2CH2)2S, that is corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes and causes severe, sometimes fatal respiratory damage. It was introduced in World War I as a chemical warfare agent and chlorine is chlorine is a halogen element, a heavy, greenish-yellow, incombustible, water-soluble, poisonous gas that is highly irritating to the respiratory organs both act in the same way 2 differrent chemicals mustard blisters the skin so bad and chlorine chokes chloring is less effective on its own they mixed it with mustard and then its work better because the soldier would take off his mask and seek treatment but chlorine would kill them then the developement of diphenylcyanoarsine came into play as a vomiting agent chlorine and mustard were tosed out and they began to use phosogene and then mixed it with diphenylcyanoarsine (dc) and chemical warfare gas/gasmask dreadlock was broken again

[endotoxin]

Bog, but do I love organic chemists! Thanks mate, you've provided me with recreational research for the afternoon!

[beehard44]

i never thought what you put in salads is THAT dangerous
hehehe lol

[Rotten194]

Ever heard of punctuation?

[nature223]

Ammonium chloride gas to be precise,and it'll sting your eyes,kill your sense of smell for a few hours and KILL YOU IF YOU BREATHE IT ENOUGH.
DONT MIX ACIDS AND BASES...JUST DONT

[Derin]

the only safe combo is vinegar and baking soda

[cowscankill]

Not a lot in a small container... with shrapnel...

[everyones a chump]

This is very important, ammonia and bleach do not create tear gas! Tear gas is a powder dispersed in an arisol form, bleach and ammonia creates mustard gas, which will KILL you if you inhale it, it will burn your eyes and your lungs it is very dangerous, in fact they used it in WWI. Never mix bleach and ammonia or any product containing either chemical.

[i do crazy stuff]

mustard gas is not produced by it it makes hydrozaine

[sawdust13]

About 15-20 years ago Consumer Reports rated glass cleaners and diy cleaners like vinegar. They also gave a recipe of their own which I have used ever since. I don't know if they still recommend it or not. It is very economical even considering the cost of rubbing alcohol these days. Recipe: 1 person with common sense (my addition). 1/2 cup sudsy ammonia (NEVER USE WITH BLEACH!!!!) 1 pint rubbing alcohol 1 tsp dishwashing liquid enough water to make a gallon. Again DO NOT MIX WITH BLEACH - makes chlorine gas.

[angelofdeathtu]

I mixed bleach....am I going to die?

[i do crazy stuff]

depends did you brethe it and i cant remember if it makes chlorine,hydrogen cyanide,hydrazaine,or pure hydrogen gas but all of them are poisionous

[sideways]

I've been using a recipe like yours with similar proportions for 5-6 years now. With this and a squeegee, the windows are easy to clean. I also use it as a general-purpose cleaner for many things.

[sawdust13]

Yes, I keep a spray bottle of it by the sink. A quick way to wash up the coffee pot, cup and spoon when I forget them and the dishwasher has been started. I never liked the residue of bathroom cleaners on the floor, so I lay down a heavy layer of "consumerdex" and wipe my way out of the bathroom.

[Eiji]

Did you know ammonia doesn't make us cleaner-it makes us sicker! It's an extremely dangerous toxin that irritates the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory passages; repeated or high-level exposure to ammonia can lead to pneumonia, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema. The EPA lists ammonia-which has also been linked to chemical burns, cataracts, corneal damage, even skin cancer- as a toxic chemical on its Community Right-to-Know list!

[bassclarinet23]

I think this is pretty good.

[albert07]

I've used plain lemon juice to clean the worst of artist brushes. I put them in a small glass without the brush part touch the bottom of the glass and they come out looking pretty good. I was amazed when I tried this...Vinegar is just great, too.

[Browncoat]

I use about half-and-half rubbing alcohol & water and it works FAB! Always great when you find something that works for you, is enviro-friendly, is cheaper, & isn't such a pain to make that it keeps you from making it. :)

[BillyHalf]

Hey hey Well done fantastic idea and it works well. i just tried a small batch (about 1/8th of the mixture) and it all went swimmingly : ) IM ALWAYS UP FOR GREEN-RELATED IDEAS! cant wait to see your next instructable Billy1/2

[Whatnot]

Be very careful if you plan to design your own mixtures, many cleaning substances when mixed create very dangerous materials, and gases, I read stories about housewives accidentally mixing toiletcleaner and some other stuff and creating a chlorine gas that damn near killed them. Not to mention that suicide bombers use household stuff mixed in unwholesome ways, and although they do that in quantities you'd not normally do by accident you can still create self-combusting stuff that gives of noxious fumes too. My comment might seem obvious, but when I read people using gasoline.. well I think it might be worth mentioning.

[four_eyes954]

also if you mix ammonia and bleach you'll get tear gas so be careful ;)

[yokozuna]

Yeah, this is kind of my thought process as well. I have only used gasoline by itself, outside where it is well-ventilated, and in very limited quantities for removing grease. Writing this Instructable for a simple cleaner was kind of a juggling act between warning people of dangers and over-stating the obvious. As the Instructable says- if you don't know what you're doing, you probably shouldn't be. :)

[rholland45]

seems usefull just yesterday we had to buy a bottle of target brand windex an its waslike 2.89 or soo so this is prolly a good idea ill have to try this out thanks :)

[Thornburg]

Perfect, I am too cheap to buy real glass cleaner :) Thanks

[yokozuna]

Gasoline can be a quite effective cleaner, but it kind of goes against the whole non-toxic and environmentally friendly nature of the instructable. That, plus the fact that you may need to open a line of credit with your local bank in order to get a gallon of gasoline if trends continue.

[Dungeonbrownies]

Rimar is right,ive used gasoline to clean before, just beware inflammability, price, smell, and carcinogens.

[rimar2000]

When I was a boy (many many years ago) I had a scooter with acrylic windshield, and I maintained it clean with humid toilet paper in white vinegar. It was incredible how the vinegar removed all the filth of the surface, and left it brilliant. Your recipe seems very effective. Depending on the dirty in the glass, may be convenient to add a little of gasoline (pardon my "automatic translator English").