How to Clean Inside Car Windows

Follow these steps to clean glass on the inside and get rid of fingerprints, smudges and the dust generated by your dashboard and upholstery.

What you’ll need to clean inside car windows:

The inside of a car’s windshields and windows are just as worthy of a good cleaning as the outside, especially if your windshield fogs up regularly. Fortunately a good cleaning is pretty simple to achieve, in just a few steps.

• Two or more microfibre cloths or a reversible cleaning cloth, with a thick cleaning side and a fine drying side.
• A reaching tool with a curved head (optional), such as the Xindell extendable windshield reaching/cleaning tool with a 14-1/2-in. reach.
• Interior glass cleaner. Choose a cleaner that specifies it’s safe for interior use, such as Meguiar’s Perfect Glass, to avoid exposure to chemicals like ammonia while inside your car.
• Or make your own glass cleaner with equal parts distilled water and isopropyl alcohol, plus a capful of white vinegar. (Find out more genius uses for vinegar you’ll wish you’d known sooner.)

Step 1: Dry wipe

Wipe the inside car windows with a dry microfibre cloth, working from top to bottom in an up-and-down motion. (Paper towels also work, but microfibre cloths won’t leave pesky fibres behind on the glass.) This prep step removes that nearly invisible filmy layer of dirt and dust particles that stem from the plastic, vinyl and rubber inside the car.

Psst—here’s why car windows have those little black dots.

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Step 2: Add cleaner

Spray the cleaning solution directly onto another microfibre cloth. Just a few spritzes at a time should do the trick. Avoid spraying the cleaner directly onto the glass. Too much cleaner can make the glass hazy.

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Step 3: Wipe on cleaner

Rub the cleaner-dampened microfibre cloth in a circulation motion, again working from top to bottom.

Can you guess where the dirtiest part of your car is?

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Where a reaching tool comes in handy

The lower corners of the windshields can be tricky and nearly impossible to reach, so a reaching tool may prevent some awkward gymnastics on your part.

Giving your whole cabin a deep clean? Follow our handy car interior cleaning guide.

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Step 4: Dry glass

Wipe the glass dry with the other side of your dry microfibre cloth, or a fresh one, for a streak-free finish. Repeat steps 2 through 4 until sparkling. Next, find out 13 cleaning tricks car washers won’t tell you.