DO NOT:
- Use heavy-duty, harsh commercial “clean-up” solutions on mirrors. Most of them contain abrasives, alkali, or acids or all three. Remember, the three “A’s” (abrasives, alkali and acids) are all harmful to mirrors
- Use dirty or gritty rags, knives, scrapers, emery cloth or other abrasive materials for cleaning
- Abuse the critical edges—most mirror failures are at the edges where “spillover” solutions attack the backing at its most vulnerable point
DO:
- Use any of these three types of recommended mirror cleaning solutions:
- Weak (5–10%) methyl, ethyl, or rubbing alcohol water solutions, such as Windex, Solox and other household glass cleaners are examples
- Weak household ammonia water solutions (provided they DO NOT contain any alkali… many do)
- Weak (5%) household vinegar solutions (provided odor is not an issue)
- Use a clean, soft rag or paper towel when cleaning mirrors
- Protect the edges from “spillover“ by applying cleaner to the cloth, rather then directly on the mirror. Also, it’s a good final cleanup practice to wipe the edges clean and dry off any “spillover.”