It’s really not that hard to get squeaky clean, non-streaky windows, and you can do it with a few household items. Here are a few tips from Marvin Windows and Doors to help.

• Try to time your window washing for a cloudy day—bright sunlight causes the windows to dry too quickly, which may cause streaks.
• Wash each window individually—streaks increase as you try to tackle more than one surface.

Step 1: Gather your supplies
You’ll need two spray bottles (avoid buckets since dirt from the water gets spread around instead of removed), organic dish detergent, water, vinegar and reusable flour sack cloths.

Step 2: Prepare your solutions
Combine 32 ounces of water with four to five drops of organic dish detergent in a spray bottle. Also prepare a mixture of three parts vinegar to one part water for the second spray bottle.

Step 3: Mist the window with this dish detergent mixture
This mixture breaks down the grease that has accumulated on the windows.

Step 4: Immediately follow this by spraying the vinegar mixture on the window
Vinegar is a solvent and it will break down the soap from the first step so you’re not leaving a soap residue. However, on its own, it won’t break down the grease.

Step 5: Buff the window dry using a flour sack cloth
Follow the same process for the outdoor side of ground-level windows. When dealing with second- or third-level windows, use extreme caution. Each year, there are more than 164,000 emergency room visits in the U.S. related to ladders.