A year and a half ago, I tested several homemade glass cleaners.
Some of you may be aware of this. Some of you who saunter over here from Pinterest (bless its internety heart) probably came here just because of that particular pin.
The best homemade glass cleaner ever, which I dubbed Alvin Corn, was my shining glory in the moment. I had dreams of every person in the entire world trying this and oohing and ahhing at their newly crystal clear visage. We’re talking back when Crunchy Betty had 20 dedicated readers. I thought we could take over the world.
It didn’t exactly go like that. We had to wait a year and a half for Alvin Corn to gather up the buzz – and it has. Oh yes, it has.
Here’s what it looks like, in all its cloudy glory:
As it’s coming into its own time, I thought it would be an excellent moment to try my hand at making an instructional video on how to make this winning cleaner. I like to make videos every few months, just to remind myself that writing with my fingers is my forte, not blathering through my mouth.
Also, we will no longer call this, officially, Alvin Corn, because … seriously. Who wants to use something called Alvin Corn? It’s like a chipmunk with a foot ailment.
Can you think of a better name for this glass cleaner than Alvin Corn? Ideas in the comments, please!
In the meantime, I want to refresh your memory on the exact recipe (which I have halved for this particular video, because a full size recipe does not fit into a reused Bragg’s apple cider vinegar bottle).
And then you can laugh at me in the instructional video.
Your Winning Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
Before you get the recipe, here are a couple of points:
- Do try to use filtered or distilled water with this, as tap water is still a bit yucky, and it may leave more residue on your mirrors and windows.
- This should keep for at least a month, with the alcohol and vinegar acting as preservatives, but keep an eye on it for any longer than that.
- I find it works even better with an old cut up pair of jersey-type yoga pants than with paper towels, even.
Recipe time!
The Best Homemade Glass Cleaner Recipe
- 1 c. filtered, very hot water
- 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/8 c. rubbing alcohol (at least 70% isopropyl, if not more)
- 1/8 c. white vinegar
Boil your water and let it cool just a bit. Add cornstarch to your spray bottle, and then the hot water. Shake well to dissolve. Add the rubbing alcohol and vinegar, and shake again. Every time you use this, you’ll want to shake it up to avoid clogging the spray nozzle with undissolved cornstarch. Use liberally and happily. Smile.
For Those of You Who Are Into Videos – I Present … This!
We’re reaching a new audience here – yay!
So if you have tried this and love it, I would REALLY love to see some feedback in the comments. Also? Name? What is the name of this glass cleaner?
When Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil Isn’t So Wholesome
I have been trying for TWO YEARS to get the mirrors in my new house clean. It was like the builder had coated them all with a permanent film that, try as I might, would not clean or buff off. So what the heck, I decided to try Betty’s recipe after reading all her trial-and-error testing. This concoction is the thing that finally… FINALLY… got that dang film off all my mirrors! A hundred thank yous to Betty, for coming up with AMAZING glass cleaner!!
P.S. I used a piece of a “ShamWow” I was given years ago in lieu of paper towels (too linty) or newspaper (too inky). Worked great.
I’ve named mine “Crunchy Betty’s Magic Glass Cleaner! In honor of you! Great recipie!
Have been looking for an all natural glass cleaner for a long time. Tried this and will never use anything else! Even a cloudy antique mirror got its’ old shine back!
Would love to throw out the windex, but DH loves using it to clean off counters.
I have a question….
do you know the purpose of the corn starch in this recipe?
Thanks!
PS It works great if I use an old t-shirt not paper towels.
I hate when the time for cleaning windows comes. It’s so annoying. I need to move furniture often and if I’m alone it’s boring as well. Thanks to you at least I won’t have to worry for the cleaners next time. I’m saving your post to my favourites. Thank you for sharing!
I call it Coral Vine, using the same idea you had of combining parts of the ingredient names.
I think I it could also be called something more descriptive of its amazing results!
Diamond Shine
Magic Mirror
Natural Shine
Shine On
Diamond Glass
Etc
Excellent write-up! There isn’t a great deal of available info on window
vacs so I really found this definitely valuable.
So is this model good when it comes to cleaning up porcelain tiles, were you aware?
Love this glass cleaner, and as a glass artist I clean a lot of glass. I just call it Crunchy Betty glass cleaner. Glad to see you still have the recipe up on your site. This is the best and it is non-toxic to boot.
Keep on inspiring people with your crunchiness. You rock!
Wow! Just made up a batch today and have done several windows, inside and out. It works great – as good or better than store-bought. I added a few drops each of lavender and peppermint essential oils to maximize my window cleaning enjoyment. My windows were super grimy, since I have a toddler at home with me all day. Sure enough, my fourteen month old was lurking nearby all along and licking the windows before they were barely dry, making me extra glad that I chose to wait on cleaning the windows until I could use something completely nontoxic. Thanks so much!
I pulled this recipe last summer from a google search on cleaning windows. Yes, I searched it. Anyway, this stuff works and it’s the ONLY thing that’s EVER worked on my windows. And my mirrors. And my bathroom fixtures. I even passed it on to my mom and she can’t live without it now. I forgot the recipe so I just googled Alvin Corn and voila, here it is. I hope your name for it doesn’t change – it’s quirky and easy to remember. I LOVE this stuff!!!
The name someone mentioned on the original post really stuck with me. “Alvin Corn Star”
Will this work with a squeegee? I have some really tall windows that I have to use a squeegee on because I can’t reach the tops, even with a ladder.
I needed to make some more glass cleaner today. It will always be Alvin Corn to me because it’s so simple to remember.
I made this 3 times before I actually followed the directions word for word and got it “right.” I think the key is to make sure that water is warm enough to dissolve the cornstarch, but not boiling or super hot. Also don’t add the cornstarch to the water, add the water to the cornstarch in the bottle. If you don’t do that you’ll end up with film over your glass. (I def did the first time!)
After “perfecting” Alvin Corn, I added 2 extra tablespoon of alcohol (totaling 1/4 cup alcohol) to make Alvin Corn dry quicker (for less streaking) & make to it easier for it to pick up gunk.
I prefer club soda to clean glass and mirrors, but it was fun to try this. Thanks for sharing this green cleaning recipe! Clearly, it’s exciting a lot of people. <3
I can’t wait to try this recipe. And am wondering what the cornstarch is doing, can I replace it with arrowroot or tapioca starch? (Which is what I always have in my store cupboard)
I am an obsessive clean freak & my idea of “cleaning” is from just “picking up” a room.i have tried just about every commercially made window cleaner, as well as a handful of homemade cleaners, & using various materials for wiping glass. With that being said, Alvin Corn is by far the absolute best window/glass cleaner. I have a squeegee that has a removable-washable cleaning pad, and with a paper towel to dry the rubber edge, my windows and mirrors all sparkle & look brand new. I also use Alvin on my faucets, granite counter tops, fronts of appliances and car windows. Simply amazing how well this recipe works and the inexpensive cost is just an added bonus!! Thank you to the genius who came up with the recipe!!
I was so geeked to try this, but this left my mirror a streaky mess! Is this because I’ve been using Windex (until today)?? I want this to work so badly, I love every other recipe of yours that I’ve tried so far.
Love this. Two questions though:
1. Why boil the water if it’s all going to settle out anyway?
2. Why would this not last? I would think the alcohol and vinegar would keep it pretty stable. Thanks!!
Not sure it’s possible for you to be any more endearing.
So, have you tried this on coated eyeglass lenses? I want to make my own and I want to be careful not to make/use something that will mess with the anti-glare/reflective coating.
Thoughts?
Thumbs up for Alvin Corn even from my 16yo son!
He isn’t that crunchy and always gets this scared look on his face when I come up with a new recipe but this time he was willing to give it a try.
He’s the window-guy in our household (and my parents’ and our neighbours’ as well) and as he’s so into it (and keen on perfect results in small amounts of time as he is being paid per window, not time) and really honest if it’s not good from his point of view, he is a good tester.
Big smile, both thumbs up, “this is really awesome, mom!”
so, I’m forwarding the kudos to you!!
Marj
I just wanted to add that I just made my second batch of this to take to some filthy windows. This is THE best glass cleaner!!
I love the name Alvin Corn!!!
Alvin corn is so cute and memorable tho! To me it sounds more like a chipmunk in overalls in front of a field. But that could be because i’m a corn farmer’s daughter, so the word corn does not bring to mind any foot ailments for me.
I so want to feel the love for this glass cleaner, but I’m not. The first batch I made I poured out because I ended up with a hazy crusty mess on my windows. Then I decided to give one more try…and the same thing is happening. My husband thinks I’m crazy because I’ve been spending hours using this homemade glass cleaner just hoping it will work. All our mirrors look like I took a soap rag over them and did not rinse. I haven’t thrown out this batch yet in hopes it will begin to work. I too live in Colorado, Castle Rock to be exact…the water cannot be that different here than it is in Manitou. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I love your blog btw…
Depends upon your water source, but unless you’re filtering it via a 10-step, most water has too much sediment/fine particles to make this work effectively. Try it with distilled water!
Why do you put cornstarch in it? I’ve been making my own glass/surface cleaner with tap water, white vinegar and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol for quite a long time, and it works great. The first time my husband took it out to use on the outsides of the upstairs windows, he came in raving about it. I would think the addition of cornstarch would make it streaky.
The stuff I use doesn’t smell good. I tried adding sweet orange essential oil, and the vinegar completely overpowered it anyway, so that was a waste. But the smell doesn’t last long, and anyway, it is a clean smell, if not a soothing or sweet one.
i love this stuff i clean everything with it
I love it… And I second the recommendation to use newsprint to wipe it off. It works really well. Rename it if you must but I’m sticking with Alvin Corn. 🙂
You should use old newspaper (or newspaper type adds and such that come in the mail) as your “cloth” when you wash windows. Trust me, it’s amazing!
Yesterday I was telling my mom & sister about this glass cleaner (which I have not tried yet, but intend to) and the name ALVIN CORN helped me remember the ingredients as I was telling them, which is a definate benefit of the name since it’s a homemade potion and people could be like, “oh no! I’m out of glass cleaner, I need to make some… do I have the ingredients on hand? Let’s see… ALVIN CORN… AL-cohol, yes. Rubbing alcohol, yes, that too… VIN-egar, white, yes, on hand… CORN-starch, yes. Okay, then, good to go.” (Except for the additional distilled water and I can’t figure out how to get that into the name. But since you left it out of ALVIN CORN, I assume that’s not a problem.)
If you don’t like the “corn” – and some of the comments indicated that some readers don’t – then it could be CALVIN glass cleaner. Or, CALVIN’S BEST glass cleaner, which has a much better ring.
Anywho, that’s my 2 cents on the name question.
YES! I found this post a few months ago and gave it a whirl. It is by far the best glass cleaner I have ever used. Highly recommended. I ran around for days cleaning glass over and over and demonstrating to my no-so-interested husband about how AWESOME it was. Then one day he cleaned our car and asked for some glass cleaner. When he finished he came in and said “oh my god, do you know how great this glass cleaner is!”….. *sigh*
Thanks for such a great recipe! I also want to toss my vote in for awesomesauce…primarily because i laugh out loud every time I say it.
I was going to suggest Cloudy Clear Glass Cleaner, but Me in NB got there first.
although i take everything you say as pure wonderment and fact, as soon as you said “we’re going next door to see my neighbor adam” i was hooked. you know i fancy him, yes? thanks again for making my day bright!
So i already wrote Alvin Corn in permanent marker on my spray bottle from months ago when I first found the post and sprayed everything in my house with it (almost), which obviously means it can’t be changed. 😉 I love it! But if you must, I vote for Superstarsauce.
I found Crunchy Betty as a result of the post. I thought, cornstarch, that is nuts. But castile soap in water wasn’t working, so I tried it. I LOVE THIS GLASS CLEANER! I actually went a cleaning frenzy and cleaned every mirror in the house. It even cleans after a gruby 5yo boy. I stopped after one window, because, in theory, it will rain again soon. How about “Beats the Pants off Windex” glass cleaner? No catchy, but descriptive…
I’ve been using mine for a couple of weeks now and it works pretty welll! I like it and will make it again when i run out. But i love calling it my Alvin Corn cleaner! I still want to make the all purpose cleaner. Just haven’t had time. soon though!
Would love to know if this works well with arrowroot powder? We don’t have any corn products in our house… Not even fresh corn in the summer which I am missing…
I have to admit that I couldn’t bring myself to type out (or say out loud!) your original name for this glass cleaner. But I love it. I thought I would never see clearly in my bathroom mirror again. I don’t have a ventilator/fan installed in my crappy apartment bathroom, and the water is so hard that even the steam leaves hard water stains.
I do have to buff it dry with a dry cloth (maybe just because I’m really impatient and I can’t wait for it to dry by itself) but this cleaner makes my mirror look like it was just installed yesterday. It also works on shiny chrome by the way, I use it to shine the hard water stains off my bath tub, bathroom sink, and kitchen sink faucets as well as my chrome mixing bowl and french press (i’ve always been too lazy to wipe dry instead of air dry…)
My husband is working in a different state right now but when I call him to geek out about how SHINEY I’m finally getting things, I call the cleaner Happy Shine. That may be more ridiculous than the original name but it seems to work for us :]
to clarify my first sentence, lol – i have a major hate-hate relationship with corn. it was really really REALLY hard for me to bring myself to accept that anything good could come into my life that had a basis in corn. thanks for giving me a new perspective!
Try using newspaper instead of cloth or paper towels! That’s the true secret of a spotless mirror.
Anxious to try out your recipe for “Alvin Corn”….what about “Squeaky Clean”??? I like the sound of that but I’m new to this sector:)
Love it as well as the video! Care to consider (Kick Dirt In Its) Glass Cleaner?
“Chipmunk with a foot ailment”… too funny! I wasn’t fond of the Alvin Corn name in the beginning, but it’s grown on me since (and I can’t think of a better one)…
Alcovin… a little too “happy hour”.
Corvinal… faux-leather upholstery for your hot rod.
Cornex… back to the foot ailments.
Crunchex… breakfast cereal.
Crunchy Glass Cleaner… edgy but painful (and boring).
… looks like you may just have to stick with Alvin-Corn! 🙂
ps… Adam, you are such a sport!
Will have to give it a go, sounds like it would be great to clean the shower enclosure walls also. I also think Alvin Corn is a great name (now that I know how it was derived after watching the vid) but if you are intent on changing it, how about Cloudy Clear? Cloud N’Clear? Cloud2Clear? you get the drift…..
I made this on Saturday and it rocks! I will never ever buy Windex again. Thank you xx
How do you know when it goes “bad”. Does it smell off, get moldy?
Adam and Marcus both look great in that nice sparkly mirror! Alvin Corn is the best! 🙂
My homemade cleaner leaves nasty streaks in my mirror. I will try this one out.
LOVE this. Can’t wait to try it. But unfortunately that means I’d have to clean my house. Meh. I love my dirty house as it is. =o)
Alvin Corn. I like it. I say leave it the way it is. (are you noticing a pattern here?) Alvin Corn is unique and original. Memorable. Thanks for the recipe!
Corny alchy uncle Vinny looking polished like glass cleaner.
I threw out all my cornstarch and switched to arrowroot powder. Could I use that instead?
I use arrowroot powder for all recipes calling for cornstarch so ya! You can use arrowroot powder!!!
I was just raving to my mom YESTERDAY about this! I gave her a couple of CB homemade gifts for the holidays and this recipe card was part of the package. She is in the process of making all new cleaning products since my dad’s return from the Gerson Clinic (he is doing GREAT, by the way!) and I told her that this was the best glass cleaner I’ve ever used – chemical or natural. And, of course, it’s WAY better since it’s natural. Thanks for another amazing recipe! =)
I have been making this glass cleaner since you first posted it. I didn’t even bother trying the other recipes because hey you declared this one the best. My cleaner has lasted as long as 4 months without any problems. It also works well to remove the grime from my car windows. Word of caution though, if you use it inside you car make sure you wipe your dashboard AFTER as the cornstarch will dry and leave white spots. Sadly I am not creative at all and have no idea what to call it.
That’s so weird.. I just looked up your original post for glass cleaner and I just was thinking I need to get rubbing alcohol.. and then you post this today! I think it should be called.. awesomesauce window cleaner.. or maybe crunchy windex?
Awesomesauce – i love it.
I also made mine a couple of months ago and still seems perfectly fine. I don’t like the smell of vinegar, though, so I added some peppermint, lemon and lavendar essential oils 🙂
Melissa: Did you have any issues with the oils in the mixture? Did it streak? I thought about adding essential oils but was concerned about reactions and streaks.
No, I never noticed streaks. Sometimes in the bathrooms if there was a lot of toothpaste or something on the mirror I would have to go over it two or three times, but I think those streaks were more from the original mess getting more schmeared than wiped away.
I made mine several months ago and it seems fine. My sprayer stopped working but that is what I get for using a cheap spray bottle. I’m sure it’s not the corn starch. I still like the name Alvin Corn though. . .
I agree with Jenlynngermain – you’re adorable. 🙂
I made this months ago, and it seems to be keeping very well. No mold or anything I can see, still smells a lot like alcohol and vinegar, and still works like a charm!
You are so adorable!