Windex, soap, water, cloths and rags, sure, they get the job done. But is it the best way to clean your glass? Well, that’s debatable.
Believe it or not, newspapers may be one of the most effective ways to clean your glass to remove smudges, stains or smears.
Crazy, right? Newspapers are made up of dense fibers containing no solid, scratching materials like silica or calcium carbonate. In comparison to paper towels, newspaper fibers are much more rigid and do not separate when being rubbed against glass, so there will be no lint or residue like you’d see using paper towels.
Although it seems a little odd, it truly works. Go try for yourself! First, look for your local newspaper and search for the official Soy Ink Seal. This will tell you whether or not the ink is petroleum-based or soy-based. Or, you can test this by holding the paper between your thumb and index finger for just over a minute. If you find that your finger is stained, then that particular paper will be no good for cleaning glass because that means it uses a petroleum-based ink. However, if your fingers are stain-free, just mix in equal parts of vinegar and water for as your home-remedy cleaning solution and wipe away with the newspaper!
Using newspaper has other benefits, of course. It’s cheap, readily available and recyclable so there’s no guilt about landfill contributions nor any burden of having to run it through the laundry like your other towels.