I have had very hard water spots on my windows from the irrigation system for a year. I just tried Colgate Toothpaste as suggested by Chris on ThriftyFun. My windows are now perfectly clear and it was so easy! I put a little Colgate Toothpaste on a damp paper towel, rubbed it on the glass in circular motions, then I rinsed with vinegar water (anything that would clean the paste off should work). and dried thoroughly. The glass is sparkling!
By Mary
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When direct sunlight hits a water on a window, it doesn't just dry it, it bakes the residue into the window, penetrating the glass. But it doesn't end there. Every time the sun hits the window, the residue continues to bond with the glass until it is nearly impossible to remove. During the early 1990s, I tried everything from various grades of bleach to steel wool, toothpaste, kerosine, gasoline, paint thinner, you name it, I tried it. Someone even suggested burning it off and all that did was to highlight the stain. I should also add that when I was able to scrub out the stain, there was a film that formed on the glass that could be seen at a side angle.
Then I tried a solution I bought online, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) used to remove nail polish. All I did was to wipe it on and wipe it off. The stains were gone! No effort whatsoever! A professional window cleaner had been working next door and when he saw my windows, he really believed I had replaced the glass. He could not believe there was any product that could be so effective until I demonstrated how fast and easy it worked.
Today, GBL is only available by mail order from outside the U.S. It is used to clean chrome wheels and it really does get the toughest stains out of metal surfaces.
Slice a cucumber into thin slices and rub them over the glass. It is not instant, and needs to be rinsed afterward, but it does dissolve the hard water residue. Works fine too on chrome faucets that have a slight leak and grow a stone.
Have FUN!
DearWebby
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This solution did nothing to my windows. Water spots didn't even fade.
This solution did nothing to my windows. Water spots didn't even fade.
OMG I tired this and the toothpaste scratch my windows so badly I had to replace one of them. Can't imagine what it would do to your teeth.
I had extremely spotted windows from years of sprinkler over reach in a hot dry climate (Albuquerque). I used 100% vinegar though and 0000 steel wool (with a vinegar rinse) for finishing off the harder spots.
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