This affordable hack promises streak-free windows using two very unusual items — here's what happened

Using newspaper and vinegar to clean a window — (Image credit: Future)

Like cleaning my car, cleaning my windows seems like a chore around the house that always sets me up for failure. It doesn't seem to matter how much I scrub and buff, I constantly end up with soapy streaks staring back at me. Sometimes, I wish I'd just left my windows as they were.

While I've tried following advice on how to clean windows and leave them streak-free, at this point I'm inclined to just blame my cleaning products and give up. That's easier than blaming my own cleaning skills, right?

Instead of throwing in the towel though, I find myself constantly on the hunt for hacks that promise a streak-free solution and I'm hoping this expert hack will be the answer. Not only is it affordable, but it uses two unusual household items I already have in my home. Costing nothing to try, I thought I'd give it a go and I was surprised by the results.

How does it work?

Allan Reid, uPVC specialist and founder of Art Windows and Doors knows a lot about windows. He also advocates for a really simple cleaning technique that I'd never heard about before and it uses two items – white vinegar and newspaper.

It sounds like something you'd try out when there weren't any proper cleaning products available, rather than something you'd opt for instead of cleaning products.

But, Reid says it's worth trying: "It does sound a little strange if you've never tried it before. But it works surprisingly well. You don't get those annoying bits of fluff left behind, and it helps leave the glass looking really clear."

It's really cheap and easy to do, following these three simple steps:

Mix equal parts water and white vinegar in a bottle
Spray it on windows
Quickly scrub it with scrunched up newspaper

Reid adds: "Sometimes we convince ourselves we need loads of products for every little job around the house. But this is one of those simple tricks that's stuck around because it genuinely works."

With that bold statement in mind, I thought it was only fair to give it a try and see if I can finally get rid of those streaks that seem to appear as soon as I think I've done a good job.

Here's what happened when I tried it

My windows get so messy, it's almost a bit embarrassing. With two little kids around my house, there's sticky fingerprints and strange streaks that go unaccounted for. And as summer hits, the sunshine is producing a very unforgiving gleam to my windows showing up all the dust and dirt. So, I was more than happy to give this hack a try.

With my white vinegar and water solution in hand, I spritzed the solution across one of my windows just to try it out. Then, I quickly grabbed my crumpled newspaper to give it a good scrub. I was initially worried that the newspaper print would just smear all over the window, but I'm happy to report that wasn't the case.

My initial thoughts were that it looked surprisingly good. But, I needed to give it a bit of time to sit before I gave it my full verdict. As you may have witness yourself, for some reason streaks decide to show up as if by magic after they've dried. I was worried this time that they were just hiding from me. Turns out, they weren't.

When I returned 30 minutes later, my window was clean and streak-free. It didn't cost me a dollar to try out, though if you need to buy the two items, they are pretty cheap. It's definitely something I feel confident enough to try on a few more windows and maybe, finally, I can stop buying cleaning products hoping it'll solve the problem.

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Grace is a freelance journalist working across homes, lifestyle, gaming and entertainment. You'll find her writing for Tom's Guide, TechRadar, Space.com, and other sites. If she's not rearranging her furniture, decluttering her home, or relaxing in front of the latest streaming series, she'll be typing fervently about any of her much-loved hobbies and interests. To aid her writing, she loves to head down internet rabbit holes for an unprecedented amount of time.