Streaks on Glass? Don't Let the REAL Culprit Get Away with It!

Streaks on Glass? Yeah, We Hate Them Too.

Streaking on glass and mirrors. It’s irritating to spend valuable time cleaning these surfaces only to have those milky white streaks appear. One of the complaints we occasionally hear about products like H2Orange2 or one of our Multi-Purpose Cleaners is that they leave streaks on glass. Frankly, this usually has us wondering if we’ve fallen into a parallel universe where everything is the opposite of what it’s supposed to be. Yes, every product has pros and cons. But one of the pros of our hydrogen peroxide-based technologies is that we’ve carefully crafted them so they don’t leave behind residue or streak! So, what’s going on here?

What Causes Streaks on Glass and Windows?

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There are a few key reasons your cleaning product might leave streaks on glass. Here are the usual suspects.

• Hard Water: Hard water contains minerals like calcium or magnesium that can dry on glass, leaving streaks.

• Overuse of Product: Using too much cleaning product can leave behind surfactants. Surfactants are compounds, such as soap, that break the surface tension of water. They’re critical to cleaning, but too much residue is left behind.

• The Cleaning Product: If the product is overloaded with surfactants (a common technique with cheap cleaners), it can leave streaks. Our products are carefully balanced to avoid this, and we’ve backed up this claim with testing and decades of customer testimonials!

• Cleaning Process: Poor technique can be a factor. Not eliminating dust and dirt beforehand, over-applying products, vigorous wiping, erratic wiping, and using too much pressure are all factors that can lead to streaking.

• Environment: If you’re cleaning in direct sunlight, the water in your product can dry too quickly, leaving streaks behind.

• Contaminated Tools: If you’ve used cloths or other cleaning tools for something else, you can spread those contaminants on the glass. 

The Hidden Culprit

Whenever someone says H2Orange2 is causing streaks on glass, we investigate all these areas. We ensure that our concentrates are properly diluted and clean cloths and proper techniques are used. But there’s one area we find that’s overlooked more than any of these others, and this is often the issue when we’re approached with this customer issue: Microfiber cloths.

Wait, aren’t micro-fiber cloths the gold standard for cleaning?

Yes! We talked about the advantages of microfiber over cotton in a previous blog. Although, as we said, every product has pros and cons, the cleaning industry generally recognizes micro-fiber cloths as one of the best tools for cleaning. They’re reusable, super-absorbent, lint-free, durable, and can capture fine particles in crevices and pores. Sounds great, right? There’s just one problem: You need to clean microfiber cloths before use.

That’s right. When our product leaves streaks, it’s often because the microfiber cloth hasn’t been cleaned! Cleaning before usage is recommended by most micro-fiber cloth manufacturers. With time and money getting tighter than ever, it’s tempting to skip this step, rip open a fresh package of microfiber cloths, and get started. But you could be costing yourself more time in the long run.

Why Do You Need to Clean Microfiber Cloths Before First Use?

Not all micro-fibers are created equal, and the process used during their manufacturing makes a difference! During manufacturing, microfiber cloth is applied with chemicals to make them flame retardant, antimicrobial, more durable and flexible, UV resistant, to deluster them, and to keep them separated during manufacturing and shipping.

• Chemicals Used in Manufacturing Causes Streaks - if you don’t clean these chemicals out of the micro-fiber, they can leech out during cleaning and leave streaks.
• Improve Cleaning Performance - Beyond removing streaks, cleaning micro-fiber before its first usage removes lint and debris from the manufacturing process. 

 So, if you have a problem with your glass cleaner leaving streaks, switch to one of ours. Then you’ll know the cleaning product isn’t the problem. Then, you can look at other factors, such as your cleaning process. And, of course, always clean those micro-fiber cloths before their first use!

How to Wash Microfiber Cloth:

Be sure to follow manufacturer recommendations. However, at a minimum, the general guidelines for washing microfiber cloths are:

• Wash separately from other laundry. This prevents the microfibers from grabbing lint from the other clothes.
• Use mild detergent with no additives. Special detergents are made for cleaning microfiber, and a tablespoon of white vinegar can help with heavily soiled cloths. Alternatively, consider using no detergent at all! Cleaning product left on the microfiber can help clean them. Cloths may become discolored or fade over time, but that doesn’t mean they’re dirty.
• Never use fabric softener (in liquid for or as sheets). This can clog the microfibers and render them less effective.
• Avoid heat when washing and drying. This can melt and damage the microfibers. They begin to melt around 140°F (60°C). Don’t use hot water to wash, and either air dry or tumble dry low.