How to Make Your Own Car Windscreen Cleaner

Car windscreens can be notoriously difficult to clean. Dust, dirt, and dried insects can quickly build up to make an altogether stubborn build up of grease and grime!

Whilst a clear, gleaming windscreen will help to make your car look well loved, there’s also good reason to keep your screen clean and clear. A build up of grime on the windscreen can actually be a safety hazard; leave it too long and a quick wash with your windscreen wipers will prove completely ineffective!

Luckily, we’re bringing you a number of simple, home-made windscreen cleaner recipes. You can easily make your own car windscreen cleaner with a few simple and readily available ingredients.

Keeping It Simple

One of the most basic ingredients you can use to make your own car windscreen cleaner is vinegar. Vinegar is actually acetic acid, a natural and simple grease-removing cleaner. It makes a great simple cleaner for regular use, provided that you don’t have huge amounts of grease and grime build up on your screen.

If you want to try a vinegar recipe, it’s best to go for a white wine vinegar to reduce that ‘chip shop’ odour! You can use the vinegar ‘straight’, or dilute a few capfuls in a litre of so of warm water. Using a microfibre cloth with the vinegar solution will help to tackle the hard-to-remove dirty patches, leaving your windscreen streak-free and gleaming.

If your car windscreen requires something altogether tougher and grease-busting, the good news is that you can make your own alternative recipe. This ‘make your own’ recipe is not only quick and easy to make, but is also better suited to removing those stubborn streaks and smears left by insects on your windscreen!

To make your own windscreen cleaner, you’ll need:

• 8 tbsps powdered chalk (available from sports stores as gym chalk, or climbing outlets)
• 16 tbsps Fuller’s Earth (calcium montmorillonite)
• 4 tbsps baking powder
• Water

You’ll also need:

• a small container to stir and store your ingredients in
• a sponge
• a polishing cloth.

Method

To make your windscreen cleaner, simply measure out the ingredients above and tip into your container. Using a spoon or fork, combine the ingredients with a little water to make a paste-like consistency. Make sure that you stir the mixture slowly and carefully to avoid making the paste lumpy.

Once you’ve made up the windscreen cleaner paste, you’ll need to apply it directly onto your windscreen. Rub the paste over the dirty areas in a circular motion to help release the grit, grease and dirt. You’ll then to need wash off the paste, making sure not to wash it directly towards the car’s engine.

Once the windscreen has been rinsed, you can give the screen a wipe-over with a microfibre cloth to buff away any streaks or smears. It’s best to do this on a cloudy day, as the sun will cause any moisture to quickly evaporate and leave streak marks. Once this has been done you’ll need to use a dry, lint-fee polishing cloth to ensure that the windscreen glass stays ultra-shiny!

And that’s all you need to do – apply regularly as required to enjoy a spotless car windscreen all year round.