There are fewer things as frustrating as trying to scrub your mirrors clean only to realize that you smeared the marks and stains instead of removing them. If you’re tired of streaky and smudged mirrors, rest easy—you came to the right place. In this article, we’ll teach you how to clean mirror stains and marks.
Ready to finally see a clear reflection in your mirrors again? Read on and learn about our three expert strategies.
Strategy 1: Clean Mirrors With Rubbing Alcohol
Let’s face it—bathroom mirrors tend to get the brunt of abuse when it comes to watermarks and stains. You’ve probably spent countless time scrubbing away at toothpaste and pesky dots of grime on your mirrors only to find that when you go to give your mirror a final rubdown, the streaks return.
The reason for this is that if you leave even a tiny amount of residue from toothpaste, fingerprints, or cooking oil, if you have an arched mirror near your stove, it’ll spread across the glass. There’s no doubt about it; mirror cleaning can feel like a thankless job.
Luckily, you might have the solution in your medicine cabinet, as rubbing alcohol can cut through the toughest of mirror grime. We recommend dousing a cotton pad with this solution instead of a towel. That way, you’ll know for sure that you’re rubbing your mirror with something clean.
To start, we recommend gently dabbing the marks on your mirror with the rubbing alcohol and cotton pad. Let the alcohol sit for a minute or two, and then try rubbing it off. You can also return to using your towel and a standard mirror cleaner at this point, for the rubbing alcohol should’ve already deteriorated the oils that caused the unwanted streaking.
Even though household rubbing alcohol varieties typically come in 40% and 70% isopropyl alcohol, you don’t have to worry about the specific type of rubbing alcohol you use. The 70% rubbing alcohol option has more antimicrobial properties than the 40% one. Nevertheless, both work fantastic for getting pesky smears off mirrors.
Strategy 2: Vinegar For Mirrors Cleaning
If you’re wondering how to clean bathroom mirrors the natural way and you don’t have rubbing alcohol laying around, head to your kitchen. Vinegar is a powerful tool for ridding streaks from round mirrors to floor mirrors.
Before you get excited and start dowsing all that streaky glass in vinegar, though, it’s important to water it down—vinegar on its own is a potent substance. We recommend using a 1:1 ratio. For example, you could mix 1⁄2 cup of vinegar with ½ cup of distilled water. Either mix these liquids in a bowl and then pour them into a spray bottle or mix them straight from the spray bottle.
You can start using your vinegar solution right away. It’s a good idea to use a microfiber cloth, as it’ll work in conjunction with the vinegar to pull up oil and smudges. You can either spray the vinegar mixture directly onto your mirrors or spray it onto the towel first.
It won’t take long for you to get a system down that works for you, but we recommend starting by spraying the mixture onto your microfiber cloth to wipe mirrors. Unlike window cleaning products you can buy in a store, vinegar doesn’t foam up or have any other thickening properties. Therefore, it’ll run down the glass and into the cracks of the frame of your mirror before you have time to catch it if you spray too much onto the glass.
As a final word of advice to achieve clean mirrors, any vinegar will work for removing smears from your mirrors. However, if you have white distilled vinegar, it’s best to opt for that. The reason being is that darker vinegar has coloring agents that may stain your mirror’s glass.
Strategy 3: Wipe Beautifully Clean Mirror With Microfiber Cloth
We already mentioned using a microfiber cloth as a way to clean mirrors in strategy two, but since it’s such a powerful resource for people wanting to know how to clean mirror splashback that it deserves its own section. Not so long ago, people used newspapers or paper towels to clean and wipe glass surfaces. If you have firsthand experience of this, you know how streaky it can leave the glass.
However, not only do such materials leave streaks, but they can also leave dust and lint residues. In fact, for the relatively few people who receive newspaper door deliveries, your 21st-century newspaper is worse for your glass than your grandparents’ newspapers—modern-day newspapers contain soy that’s less hardy, so they break down quickly when wet.
Luckily, microfiber cloths are a far more efficient way to wash your mirrors and should be in your cleaning checklist, whether they be oval mirrors or rectangle mirrors. We suggest buying a couple of thin microfiber cloths; if you purchase thick cloth, it increases the chance that they’ll contain and distribute lint on your window (although even so, this isn’t too common).
Microfiber cloths aren’t costly to purchase, but you’ll likely drop a few extra dollars on them than rubbing alcohol or vinegar. Nevertheless, they’re an environmentally friendly choice, as you can wash and reuse them. Since these cloths are delicate, it’s best to wash them by hand. While you could use a drop of detergent if it makes you feel better, many microfiber diehards recommend letting the cloth soak in warm water without soap before hanging them up to air dry.
Feeling Confident to Buy a Mirror?
We hope the above guide provides useful insights and tips on how to clean mirrors at your home. At RJ Living, we’re Australia’s trusted homewares and home decor store. We carry many different style mirrors to suit different tastes and spaces, large or small. For your convenience, you can order your mirror online. If you’re not happy with the way it looks once you hang it, send it back to us within seven days, and we’ll return your money, no questions asked.
We understand that furnishing a new space can add to your living expenses. Therefore, we offer a buy now, pay later option. In fact, we’ll provide you with up to $5,000 of an interest-free loan on your purchases with us.
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