Don’t get me wrong. I love my Method glass cleaner. The mild minty scent, the streak-free shine … It’s all good. But I was almost out, and I’m kind of on a make-your-own-cleaner kick at the moment, because I have no money (what else is new?). So I decided to make my own.
Fortunately the internet already did all the research for me, and Crunchy Betty in particular did all the heavy lifting in determining what the best homemade glass cleaner should be made of.
Her “Alvin Corn” cleaner combines the best of everything: alcohol, vinegar, and cornstarch. Cornstarch. Though if you read the ingredients for the Method stuff you’ll also see that it has corn based ingredients. Seems legit.
Basically, all you gotta do is chuck it all together in a spray bottle and away you go. Grab a funnel if you find that easier and dump 1 tablespoon cornstarch into it. Wash it down into the bottle with 2 cups warm water, 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 cup white vinegar.
Make sure you shake it extremely well before using, as the cornstarch may settle, and you don’t want that clumping up your spray nozzle. I decorated the old Method bottle a bit to pretty it up.
I think the best test of a new glass cleaner is on my ultimate cleaning nightmare: DOG NOSE GOO.
If you have a dog, you know what I mean. It’s that crap they leave behind when they’re looking out the window, because for some reason they can’t do that without actually applying their noses directly to the window itself.
One of the few things that cleans dog nose goo really well, I find, is straight rubbing alcohol, but using it straight tends to take the paint off the window, as well.
So having rubbing alcohol IN the cleaner itself is a plus for me.
And once I pried the dog away from the window, it easy peasy. All that dirt you see that is left is on the OUTSIDE. And it’s too cold for me to attempt that today. The spray does smell strongly of alcohol (I contemplated adding a few drops of lavender essential oil but wasn’t sure if it would leave streaks), but that quickly dissipates as the alcohol evaporates, and overall I’m really pleased with this stuff.
Ali Does It Herself 
I love that you decorated the bottle! Did you find that it left behind little specks of dust (maybe from the paper towel)? That is what I find so frustrating about cleaning glass. Also, why did you opt for this recipe and not one of the many ones out there with ammonia?
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I use a microfibre glass cloth instead of paper towel so as long as the cloth is relatively clean, lint is not a problem. If you’re having dust issues, you should try using newspaper. It’s perfect for glass cleaning. As for ammonia, I have strong reactions to it so I tend to avoid it as much as possible. This stuff, aside from stinking for a few seconds, has little effect on me.
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My local pharmacy sells a mint scented rubbing alcohol. I wonder is that would help with the smell. I am certainly going to try this.
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Ooh, that sounds like an interesting experiment. Let me know how it goes. The alcohol scent doesn’t linger in any case so it’s fine without, but I’m interested to hear what happens when you scent it.
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This is awesome! I’ve been looking for a new glass cleaner recipe. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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You’re welcome! I hope you like it!
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