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Streak-Free Cleaning

A Simple Trick Will Make Your Shower Shine Again

Streaks and water stains in the shower? There's a trick to make them disappear.
Streaks and water stains in the shower? There's a trick to make them disappear. Photo: Getty Images

February 14, 2025, 8:55 pm | Read time: 2 minutes

Just cleaned – and the shower is full of water stains again. The window also looks streaky again. That doesn’t have to be the case! myHOMEBOOK reveals a simple trick for streak-free cleaning of windows, shower cubicles, and mirrors.

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If you look at the prices for glass cleaners in drugstores and supermarkets, you will find many products – from cheap to very expensive. If you really want to clean your shower or windows without streaks, you’ll probably want to go for a slightly more expensive product; as the saying goes: “Buy cheap, buy twice.” However, there is a simple trick for a streak-free shower that doesn’t require you to dig deep into your pockets.

How to Make the Shower Streak-Free

You don’t need an expensive glass cleaner to make your shower streak-free and keep it that way. Two products that most people already have in the cupboard are enough: rinse aid and dishwashing liquid. If you want to make your own cleaning agent, simply add a small splash of washing-up liquid and a small splash of rinse aid. The surfaces to be cleaned can be sprayed with a spray bottle.

The secret lies in the properties of both agents. The washing-up liquid removes dirt and other deposits. The rinse aid has an impregnating effect and ensures that dirt simply rolls off in the near future. The homemade window cleaner can be used on all glass surfaces. To maintain the impregnation for longer and keep the surfaces streak-free, you can occasionally spread a little rinse aid with a cloth in the shower or on other surfaces.

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Why Does Rinse Aid Have a Beading Effect?

Essentially, rinse aid consists of non-ionic surfactants, acids, and water, Bernd Glassl from the German Personal Care Industry Association explains. “The non-ionic surfactants should only foam very, very little, as they are sprayed in the dishwasher with the rinse water,” explains the cleaning expert. “Highly foaming surfactants would cause the inside of the dishwasher to be full of foam.”

Compared to all-purpose cleaners, which are designed to remove dirt, rinse aid has a lower cleaning performance. “Rinse aid is used to ensure that water runs off the surfaces of dishes and cutlery so that no drops remain on the surfaces, which would then leave stains behind when drying,” says the expert. This property can be applied not only to dishes and cutlery but also to the shower cubicle – leaving it streak-free.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@myhomebook.de.

Topics Cleaning
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