Thrifty windshield cleaner
May 17, 2008 by kellys
Filed under automotive, cleaning
We are at my mom’s house this weekend. I have enjoyed myself tremendously. Family can be very nice to visit. I wish we lived closer. Today, my mom and dad’s friends came over and eat with us. He is a mechanic and we got to talking. He told me about a great little secret in car care. COKE. Turns out, that road film you get on your window that is hard to get off your car after a long trip isn’t so hard to remove after all. Take a bottle of coke and shake it all up. Then when you open it CAREFULLY make sure you aim for the windshield. Then rinse the car well. Otherwise your car will be really dirty and sticky. But the acid in the Coke will break down and remove that awful road film on your windshield.
Good luck and talk soon,
I have done that for years! I grew up watching my Daddy do that on trips.
It absolutely must be Coke though. We have found that no other brands of cola work nearly as well!
(You don’t have to shake it up though. You can just pour it over the windshield, it foams up automatically.)
I was also told by a mechanic guy that you can use coke on build up on your battery, although, I think baking soda works even better. Even more thrifty!
I use our (soy based) Tub and Tile Cleaner, but I think basically any enzyme based cleaner would work. The enzymes break up the “hold” the grime has on your windshield (just as it does on grime on tiles). Let it sit several minutes and wipe away. Plus no risk of acidic based “accidents” on your paint as with the Coke.
Jay, I don’t use it when I am at home. I use other things that I have on hand.
If I’m driving though, I will stop and get a coke. Sometimes it only takes half a can/bottle. It is usually during a rainstorm too…so I don’t worry about it eating the paint.
Ron, the mechanic, said that baking soda works much better on the battery. And, Richelle, you are correct. Baking soda is much cheaper.