(Per request from last forum, where I unsuccessfully tried to post this over and over seconds after Jason archived the thing). I posted this quite a while back. It's an old "Consumer Reports" recipe from a test on glass cleaners. Basically, this does an equal or better job cheaper than commercial ones like Windex. I can't vouch for its appropriateness for washer fluid, paint safety, etc. It would be the equivalent of putting Windex in there. But if you're looking for something that smells strong (from the ammonia, mostly) this is it. I just use if for the insides and outsides of the glass by hand, and overspray on paint has never been a problem. I've even accidentally used it instead of water to spot clean the paint, with no adverse effect. (Does house windows too).<p>1/2 cup Sudsy Ammonia (from grocery store, it will say "sudsy" on the jug, you can buy it 1/2 gallon at a time and it doesn't cost much)<br>16 ounces rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol, 70%). Very common and cheap, maybe 50 cents.<br>1 teaspoon dishwashing detergent (Ivory, Dawn, or whatever)<br>add Distilled water to make 1 gallon. You can store it in a 1 gal. milk jug, and use an old sprayer to spray with.

Ammonia is the ingredient in many glass cleaners that will cause window tint film to turn purple. You can use it on the outside of the glass, but if you have your windows tinted, don't use it on the inside.<br>Instead use some glass cleaner without ammonia. Most professional glass shops or windshield shops sell glass cleaner that comes out of a can - it's kind of like a foam that sprays out. That's what I usually use and it's actually pretty cheap.<p>JohnS<br>

A while back a friend warned me to never use Windex on european cars since it breaks down the rubber seals around the window glass. Supposedly our German cars contain a higher percentage of natural rubber compounds in the seals than American and Japanese cars. The cloudy haze that builds up on the inside of your windshield is supposedly a by-product of this breakdown. He also warned against using the pink colored washer fluid. <p>Has anybody else heard of this? What do you use to clean your windows?<p>I've had good results with a very dilute solution of Simple Green (20:1 Water/SG, or higher). <p>Kosta

Like I said in my post, I haven't had any problems with it. Also never had problems with any car with Windex or similar products. I wouldn't actually use it to wash the paint intentionally, however. Personally, I don't plan on using it in the washer reservoir either. Nearly all of the contents of the mixture will evaporate. The "chemicals" in it (alcohol and ammonia) will evaporate fairly quickly. There might be some soap residue left over. And it wouldn't do your wax job any good.

The haze on windows typically seen in the hot summer months comes mostly from plasticizers in plastics. Some from the dash, vinyl seats if you have them, and other usually soft plastic parts. Maybe even the carpeting to some extent. Eventually, the result is hard, cracked plastics. It's also possible that products like Armor All, Meguiars protectant and/or others have some volatile components that end up on the glass in the summer. But I think glass cleaner is innocent.