I’m often asked by clients how how to clean mirrors without streaks, or how to clean benches to have them looking pristine. Most discussion is shortly followed by their own tone of defeat and frustration at the fact they can’t achieve the same result on their own. I get it, because that was once me, but let's help!
The two questions we most commonly get asked when discussing this are:
1) What cloth should I use?
2) What spray should I use?
Valid questions indeed - they’re kind of key, right? Right! But if you're asking how to clean mirrors or glass, what’s just as important yet always overlooked is the method you're using relative to the surface type and clean type needed. Just spraying the outside windows and wiping might not get the results you want (probably why you’re here!)
I’ll give you the three ways I achieve this:
Option 1 - Light Clean:
Damp wipe, dry buff.
Option 2 - Medium Clean:
Medium spray, dry wipe, dry buff.
Option 3 - Deep Clean:
Heavy spray, wet scrub, squeegee, dry buff.
Before we begin: when asking how to clean benches, let me say that dry microfibres, cloths or glass-specific cloths will always do the trick. The most important thing is to not use a tea towel or your towel after having a shower! Tea towels are rarely (if ever) the right texture to get the little bits off, let alone to absorb residue without leaving streaks. Damp towels are just as useless! Now that we're on the same page, let’s get started ^_^
Option 1 - Light Clean:
This is for the day to day cleaning, clearing away the breakfast remnants or wiping down the marble benches after cooking. Depending on your benchtop or glass/mirror surface, the streaks tend to be either water marks from your cloth, which means it’s too wet, or residue that you're just moving about over and over.
If the surface doesn’t have much build up and you’re just giving it a basic touch up: damp wipe with one cloth and then dry buff with another cloth; rubbing in a circular motion will do the trick.
Make sure you wring out your cloth, the word ‘damp’ is key. A sopping wet cloth is pointless. Once you’ve wiped down your surface. Finish with a dry buff using a dry cloth/microfibre. This removes any water marks and will also pick up any little bits you may have missed.
Option 2 - Medium Clean:
Spray that surface! You don’t need to unload the bottle, just a decent light to medium coat over the surface area to help break down and loosen the dirt. This one's particularly good if you're wondering how to clean glass top stoves. Make sure you’re not missing the spots where the toothpaste, makeup and mysterious little black dots are.
On to the dry wipe; you may need two cloths here for the dry wipe, scrubbing down the areas with the most muck. Dry wipe is best at this stage as the surface will already be wet from your spray.
Once you’ve got the bulk of the build up off, with another fresh, dry cloth use a circular motion to absorb whatever spray/moisture is left.
If any little streaks are left, then one last dry cloth to dry buff and finish off!
Option 3 - Deep Clean:
This takes a bit more effort than the previously outlined methods, but the results are worth it! This is your go-to if wondering how to clean glass shower doors and leave them streakless and spotless. It will also show you how much dust, crumbs, build up and bits settle on your bench, mirrors and glass, but still brings them up without having to add vacuuming and mopping to the list.
The initial heavy spray should be left for at least a few minutes, be liberal here with covering the surface. If you have a decent quality non-toxic product, it will work to loosen, soften and break down any stuck on grime.
While it’s doing its thing: For inside surfaces:
Fill a third of a bucket with hot water (not boiling! A decent temperature that your hands can safely handle), small squirt of dishwashing liquid and 2-3 caps of vinegar.
For outside windows:
Double the amount.
The purpose of the heat, vinegar and suds are to continue to help break down any build up, any residues from products you may have used in the past and will also remove the compounded layers of dust (for a more comprehensive dusting tutorial, click here).
Now onto the wet scrub. Unlike ‘damp wipe’, ‘wet scrub’ means you’re not overly wringing out the cloth or sponge, you want it to have a reasonable amount of moisture. Dip it into your bucket mixture, wring gently and use it to remove everything you can from the surface you are cleaning.
Then with your squeegee, treat your surfaces (benches, counter tops, shower screens) like horizontal windows, if they aren’t already windows to begin with! Of course, you’re not going to want to put all that water directly on the floor, so just get it all to one area and mop it up with your cloth -or, even better, directly into the sink if you can! As mentioned, this is a great way to get all the bits without it going on the floor.
Hot tip: Wipe the rubber blade after each swipe so you don’t get droplets flying back onto the freshly done surface. This will also minimise streaks!
Lastly, circular dry buff any streaks or residue to finish. The difference will be instantaneous and go you for going that extra step because it was worth it!
And that's that! We'll next write a comprehensive guide to making your own eco-friendly cleaning products. DIY is certainly the best route if you have time, but we'll include some very quick options with ingredients you already have at home too. Stay tuned!