tough stains on window glass

[Karen Reck]

Hello,

I am having a hard time scrubbing off the hard water stains from my window glass. This resulted out of a misplaced lawn sprinkler. Tried some DIY solutions, but nothing seemed to work. Please suggest me a "really working tip" for this. Thanks for any suggestion in advance

[Omegaman 3.0]

Just so you know, sometimes those stains are not stains, they are mineral deposits that can be  removed with mild acids, like vinegar. Vinegar, and other acids, can actually over time, etch glass itself, but that is rarely the case for week acids. Some of these kinds of things, are not removable with chemical, but have to be polished out mechanically, to the point that some decide that it is not worth it, and either live with it, or replace the glass, but I wish you luck.

I suggest  Youtube search.

[Karen Reck]

3 hours ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Just so you know, sometimes those stains are not stains, they are mineral deposits that can be  removed with mild acids, like vinegar. Vinegar, and other acids, can actually over time, etch glass itself, but that is rarely the case for week acids. Some of these kinds of things, are not removable with chemical, but have to be polished out mechanically, to the point that some decide that it is not worth it, and either live with it, or replace the glass, but I wish you luck.

I suggest  Youtube search.

Thank you  Omegaman 3.0  But I haven't heard of any mechanical methods yet. What is it actually?

[Omegaman 3.0]

Well, basically, it typically involves polishing the glass, I believe the compound involved, is call cerium oxide, but that is coming from very old and sketchy memories. It is similar to how car finishes are polished with car buffing compounds, abrasives in a paste, in several stages, with finer and finer grits.

I suppose it it possible, that one could do it with those same sort of compounds, if it is just mineral deposits on the glass, and there is a good chance that this is all it is. There used to be (probably still are) chemicals for removing deposits from glass and tile, that focused on rust, lime and calcium deposits.

The polishing compounds for car finishes might work, the cerium oxide is for if you have to polish the glass itself, not just remove mineral deposits. One thing that occurs to me as I write this, is perhaps a trick used to restore car headlights would work, using tooth polish or a polishing tooth paste. The abrasives in that might be hard enough to remove mineral deposits, and fine enough to get a good, clear result. I think that might be my approach, polishing tooth paste with some vinegar to help cut the lime/calcium on the glass, with the abrasive action of the polish. I would use (I think) a micro-fiber polishing cloth, as the application tool.

Mind you, I do not know if this works, it is just an idea in my mind based on what I believe to be sound concepts. Good luck!

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Karen Reck said:

Hello,

I am having a hard time scrubbing off the hard water stains from my window glass. This resulted out of a misplaced lawn sprinkler. Tried some DIY solutions, but nothing seemed to work. Please suggest me a "really working tip" for this. Thanks for any suggestion in advance

I have your remedy and its natural! Make a paste out of vinegar and baking soda. Apply with a rag or sponge and rub in circular motions. If needed, add more baking soda for more "grit" when cleaning. I find this helps get everything off. Depending on how long the water spots accumulated, you may want to start in small area and really lean into it when you are rubbing. Rinse off with clean water. There you go! I use vinegar and baking soda for a whole lot of things around the house.  Works great on my stainless pots and pans. They stay looking new and they are 30 yrs old. I soak my faucet filters in vinegar and all the mineral deposits just melt right off in 24-48 hrs.  Works great on my teeth too!  Im all for natural products. Healthier for everyone involved if I can help it. 100s of uses and cheap as dirt(almost)! I can get you the link to all the many uses of baking soda and vinegar if you are interested. 

 

Blessings  

[Omegaman 3.0]

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Hard-Water-Stains-From-Glass

[Omegaman 3.0]

Noticing BEJs suggesting, I can see merit there too. Baking soda is a fine abrasive, dentists use it to "sandblast" teeth. I am not too sure about the vinegar part of it though. Not saying that vinegar and baking soda will not do the things it is cracked up to do, but baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will neutralize the the acid (acetic acid) that is in the vinegar, making it mostly equivalent to mixing baking soda with water, just stinkier. 

I have used baking soda on stove tops, with and without vinegar (as a test). There is some help, but in that case, it works better, if you use the vinegar and the baking soda separably, but it is mostly the baking soda, that does the work on the hard deposits (burnt food) along with elbow grease. In that particular case, I find that detergents (like Dawn) do more to clean the top than vinegar does. Vinegar's main claim to fame, is it's acid content, and baking soda destroys that.

Davida pointed out the potential for vinegar to cloud the glass, I alluded to that in my first post were I said that acids can etch glass, however, I know also, that some professional window cleaners use vinegar to clean windows, so go figure.

Do your windows clear up while they are wet? If that is the case, maybe even some car wax will help the appearance, of class wax made specifically for cars. The reason I say for cars, is that some waxes are not intended for outdoor use, due to U.V. exposure. I think I would clean the windows as best I could, with whatever methods seem to work, then consider waxing the windows afterwards, thinking that they wax will not only clarify the window some, but will cause the water to sheet of the glass, and prevent some of the deposits from reforming. Would probably need to be reapplied from time to time.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Davida said:

Beware of using straight vinegar or too strong a mixture of vinegar as it can cause clouding of glass also.  Lol! whatever you do don't accidentally grab fantastic for glass cleaner mistaking the spray bottle, as it is only for certain surfaces & damages glass on windows & mirrors.

Vinegar removes cloudiness on windows. lol  

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Omegaman 3.0 said:

Noticing BEJs suggesting, I can see merit there too. Baking soda is a fine abrasive, dentists use it to "sandblast" teeth. I am not too sure about the vinegar part of it though. Not saying that vinegar and baking soda will not do the things it is cracked up to do, but baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will neutralize the the acid (acetic acid) that is in the vinegar, making it mostly equivalent to mixing baking soda with water, just stinkier. 

I have used baking soda on stove tops, with and without vinegar (as a test). There is some help, but in that case, it works better, if you use the vinegar and the baking soda separably, but it is mostly the baking soda, that does the work on the hard deposits (burnt food) along with elbow grease. In that particular case, I find that detergents (like Dawn) do more to clean the top than vinegar does. Vinegar's main claim to fame, is it's acid content, and baking soda destroys that.

Have you used vinegar to soak your faucet filters in before? Vinegar melts my well water high mineral content. Its a wonderful natural product to have around. I buy it by the gallons. Vinegar is great for ants and weeds too.  

 

The water spots on her windows is mineral buildup.  Vinegar and baking soda work fantastico! 

 

[Omegaman 3.0]

Just now, Blueyedjewel said:

Have you used vinegar to soak your faucet filters in before? Vinegar melts my well water high mineral content. Its a wonderful natural product to have around. I buy it by the gallons. Vinegar is great for ants and weeds too.  

I have used vinegar to clear clogs in faucet spray nozzles and shower head, and it is helpful there. I do not use it on ants (unless they are inside the house)  but then only as a repellent. If they don't take the hint, I use diatomaceous earth. On weeds, yes, have done that, but . . .  it is also harmful to "good" plants. That tends to recommend it for things like driveway cracks, but . . . 

As a concrete artisan, it also spoils the concrete as a canvas. I do acid staining, and vinegar and other acids, and make the concrete incapable of accepting artistic concrete staining.

I do not want to do what I too often do though, turn this into a vinegar thread, instead of a glass cleaning thread.