Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

how to clean INSIDE of windshield?

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I have had this problem with every car, not just the Model S. Though it is now a problem.

Wanted to get suggestions on how to get the INSIDE of the windshield clean? I have never been able to get rid of the streaks and cloudy grime that builds up on the inside of the windshield. Windex leaves streaks. Tried "Invisible Glass" and that didn't work. I saw Rain-X came out with interior anti-fog wipes and thought that would be the panacea.... that doesn't work either. I've tried that plastic arm thing with the flat cloth terry cloth surface... no go. I've tried the newspaper trick with no luck.

any helpful hints? it always looks SO bad. even when the car is a newly washed detailed masterpiece, i'm still looking out a dirty nasty windshield!

thanks
 
Last edited:
Probably not what you want to hear, but I've had great success with the plastic arm thing and Invisible Glass. I'm using this one I bought at amazon. It took about three cleanings and some "aggressive" scrubbing and pressure to finally get the factory grime off (I really was amazed at how much grime there was on the windows after delivery), but now it's sparkly clean and when I wash the car, just using the plastic arm and IG once works.
 
Based on advise from my detailer, I am just using water and a slightly moistened microfiber cloth. No streaks; cleans fine. I had initially used the triangle thingy and Invisible Glass and got a lot of streaking.
 
Use multiple microfiber towels to prevent streaking. I avoid ammonia based cleaners, so no windex or other household cleaners. You can use just plain water or tint-safe window cleaner. Simply spray on windshield, wipe off using 1 MF towel, then immediately buff and dry using a second MF towel. Work in sections, not the whole windshield at once. Using just one microfiber towel leaves streaks for me.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: TaoJones
Ditto - it looks cheap, but it works really, really well, and the arm gets down into the narrow areas that are hard to get to with human hands.

Worth every penny. There are several of these, I got one at Bed Bath and Beyond.
 
For me, doesn't really seem to matter what substance I initially use to clean the interior window with (windex, rain-x, water), while it may look perfectly clean after the initial spray, scrub with one cloth and buff with another, it shortly shows all sorts of fogging in different illumination (such as at night or when the humidity increases)

So I've just gotten in the habit of keeping one of those micro fiber screen cleaner sheets in the dash cubby, and scrubbing like mad when I'm at a stoplight! One round of buffing with that cloth lasts for weeks.

Cloth Addiction Microfiber Screen Cleaning Cloth
 
I've noticed the same problem. After a bit of research (and trial and error) I ended up ordering Meguiars NXT Generation Glass Cleaner. It works great, leaving no streaks, and it's ammonia free as well. I avoided their Perfect Clarity Glass Cleaner because it claims to contain a "dust repellant solution" which I imagine will just look like streaking since it would need to leave something on the glass to repel the dust. IMHO Invisible Glass is terrible in spite of what a lot of folks say. I picked up a bottle and some of the wipes when I first got the car and both leave a cloudy film all over the glass even with thorough wiping afterward. I experienced this again just today when I was feeling lazy and decided to do a quick wipe down of the windshield with the wipes instead of the Meguiars.
 
Second the recommendation on water and microfiber towels.

When I first got the Model S - the new car gassing of the materials inside was causing a lot of cloudiness on the windows - and I tried just about everything to get the windows clear - and water and the microfiber towels finally did the trick. And when the car was new, I had to wash the interior windows frequently to keep them clear.

But after a few weeks, it was no longer a big issue - and it's been a month since I've had to rewash the interior windows to clear the fog and streaks.

The water and microfiber towels also work pretty good on the exterior windows. And (without the water) to remove the fingerprints from the console.
 
I just received the new Lee Valley catalog (there's a lot of overlap in their different catalogs; this one is the "Garden Tools" one). In it on p. 113 (Feb. 2013) is item SA120 "Glass and Surface Cleaner". It appears to be the Eye-Dentical one to that given in the Griot's link higher up in this thread....except that Lee Valley charges $18.95 for it vs. Griot's $22.99.

By the way, I've used Bon Ami many times to great good and no ill effect. It was a great thing to learn in freshman Geology that a compound my Mom always had around was - in its original formulation - finely ground sodium feldspar, initially from the great pegmatite pods of central New Hampshire and Maine....

And we all knew feldspar had a hardness less than that of window glass...

But I digress.

As usual....
 
Probably not what you want to hear, but I've had great success with the plastic arm thing and Invisible Glass. I'm using this one I bought at amazon. It took about three cleanings and some "aggressive" scrubbing and pressure to finally get the factory grime off (I really was amazed at how much grime there was on the windows after delivery), but now it's sparkly clean and when I wash the car, just using the plastic arm and IG once works.

+1. That's exactly what I use and it works great for me. The hand tool gets into the corners, cleanest my windows have ever been :).
 
Probably not what you want to hear, but I've had great success with the plastic arm thing and Invisible Glass. I'm using this one I bought at amazon. It took about three cleanings and some "aggressive" scrubbing and pressure to finally get the factory grime off (I really was amazed at how much grime there was on the windows after delivery), but now it's sparkly clean and when I wash the car, just using the plastic arm and IG once works.

So how many did you and Bonnie buy?:wink:
"Windshield Master Microfiber Reach & Clean
by Windshield Master
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock"
 
Second the recommendation on water and microfiber towels.

When I first got the Model S - the new car gassing of the materials inside was causing a lot of cloudiness on the windows - and I tried just about everything to get the windows clear - and water and the microfiber towels finally did the trick. And when the car was new, I had to wash the interior windows frequently to keep them clear.

But after a few weeks, it was no longer a big issue - and it's been a month since I've had to rewash the interior windows to clear the fog and streaks.

The water and microfiber towels also work pretty good on the exterior windows. And (without the water) to remove the fingerprints from the console.

Well, who knew that a little window cleaning would improve my Model S range? Thanks for everyone's input, I hadn't thought the car had a film on the inside from the manufacturer. Downside of not having a dealer. In their defense, the website said I would have to buy my own squeegee.
 
If you have tinted windows beware of any cleaners that contain ammonia - some versions of Windex do.

I've always used the ammonia versions, and never had any problems at all. Mine have all been factory tint (rear windows on a Dodge Caravan and GMC Envoy) and the lighter "tint" on the front windows. I windex them at least once a month in the summer, but less frequently in the winter. Perhaps the after-market film tint would not agree with ammonia, and that is good to keep in mind. I bought a big 1 liter jug of Windex refill for the cars and have used about half of it up over the past couple of years. Next time I will look for the non-ammonia version just to be safe.