I started frosting my front door, then I moved on to the kids’ bathroom door. It made sense to me because they have glass panels in the door that are completely clear! Have I mentioned not liking my unmentionables seen? And I use their bathroom more often than I use my own, but that’s another post for another time…
After finishing both doors, I was ecstatic because they looked professionally done. Well, the front doors looked awesome. The bathroom door was less than perfect! Of course, I wanted all the doors to look pristine and clean all the time, so, the time came, a week later, for me to do my cleaning rounds. I sprayed Windex directly unto the frosting on the front door, wiped and…gasp! The frosting looked…a little…less…frosted in the spot I cleaned.
Now, I know I’ve read everywhere that you can clean frosted glass, and I’m pretty sure I read using Windex as one of my possibilities. Now though, I wasn’t so sure. I set out on a mission to figure out what works and what doesn’t, specifically for sprayed on frosted glass spray.
Can you actually clean sprayed-on frosted glass without damaging it?
Everywhere I searched I came up with these basic ‘truths’ that I would test out:
- Any ammonia based window cleaner like Windex
- Using newspaper to clean and shine the glass
- Baking soda
- Dawn dishwashing detergent
- Vinegar (It cleans everything, right?)
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
- Lemon/Lime Juice
I looked at many different websites; some of them were official glass door manufacturer websites, some were blogs focused on cleaning. Many of them said the same things. The biggest consensus was using Windex or any ammonia based cleaner for the best clean. Not buying it, because I just tried everyone’s #1 and it messed up my doors! I had to do my own experimentation to figure out what would work for me.
Before and after pictures were taken of each panel of the door as I ‘cleaned’ it (remember it wasn’t sprayed on perfectly to begin with; I was going for speed, not perfection). I have listed, explained and ranked each option below.
1. DAWN LIQUID DETERGENT – This was the crème de la crème!
I may just have a passion for Dawn. I clean everything with this. My granite counter tops get wiped down with Dawn and a little water. They sparkle and shine! My son has a dust mite allergy, so I do this to his walls monthly, or whenever the mood strikes me. For this experiment, I put a little Dawn in a bowl of water, dipped a paper towel and cleaned. The Dawn was gentle enough to not take out the frosting but was effective enough as a cleaner. That panel looked clean and perfectly frosted. I don’t know if it’s just my perception, but it looked better than when I first frosted the panel!
2. MR. CLEAN MAGIC ERASER – It works almost as well as Dawn, but…
The Magic Eraser usually does the job with just about anything; I buy them specifically to so the deep cleanings for stove, exhaust, oven and cupboards above the stove. This is usually done once a month or so. If you are looking to not spend a lot every time you clean your doors, I would not invest in this. All I did was get the Magic Eraser wet, squeezed it and started cleaning the glass. At first, it seemed to not do anything, but then I noticed the Magic Eraser getting brown. It was great at taking the grime out, and didn’t damage the frosting at all. I must add however, it did not look as clean as the panel done with Dawn, so to me, it’s not worth it to spend money on this method.
3. WINDEX – It’s cleans the frosting, but is not the greatest option…
Windex as stated before seemed to be the running consensus among everyone as the easiest and best cleaner. It cleans my bathroom mirrors really well, but I already knew from my beautiful front door that spraying the Windex directly on the frosting was a no-no. I sprayed it on a paper towel, then wiped the frosted glass. You know what? It wasn’t bad! It did seem to make the spray frosting just a tiny bit less translucent. The window was clean enough. I would advise however, if you are using this method not to clean it too often. If it took some of the frosting off the first time, how many cleanings would it take to completely destroy the frosting? (think a tootsie roll lollipop!)
4. BAKING SODA – It’s ok, but not a big fan of making a mess to clean a mess!
Baking soda has its uses and I clean lots of things with it. An open box is kept in the fridge to absorb odors. It is thrown into my garbage disposal with some lemon rind from time to time to freshen it up. I use it with vinegar to clean greasy pots and pans. And brass? It’s better than Bar Keepers Friend because it does the job of taking the tarnish out without all the chemicals. So, I’m not knocking baking soda, but I prefer using it in the kitchen. When I put baking soda on a paper towel with some water and started cleaning, I had to get multiple paper towels and rinse the area at least twice to get it out. The frosting was clean, and none seemed to come off, but it was just too much work.
5. LEMON OR LIME – This could work but…
Just like baking soda, I use lemons and limes to clean certain things, but I keep it to the kitchen. I love washing my dishes with a bit of freshly squeezed lemons. They feel extra clean and smell wonderful! A lime was used for this experiment, because that’s what I had at the time. I used water with lime juice squeezed in. I dipped the paper towel in and started cleaning. It smelled great but the acidity was too much for the frosting! Think about this: Windex has more alkalinity in it, and less acidity, and it was taking some of the frosting out! Without even trying the lime, I had this one figured out. Parts of the frosting ended up being less frosted. Don’t use anything that is over acidic to clean frosted glass spray.
6. VINEGAR – Stay away from this one!
I used the same method here. Poured some vinegar and water in a bowl and dipped a paper towel in it. I personally don’t like the smell of vinegar, so I don’t clean very much with it. But I had to try it out because it is always listed as a cleaning giant. Much to the chagrin of my nose, I started cleaning. Before I knew it, the frosting look like there was almost none in the middle and some of it pooled up on the bottom. Double eew. Vinegar is great for getting grease out of frying pans; and it seems to do the same thing to frosting spray.
NEWSPAPER – I could not put a ranking on this one…
I just put it last because the newspaper really didn’t contribute to the cleanliness of the glass. It did help the shine a bit, but the glass had to be cleaned first before the newspaper helped. I think that newspaper is best used on clear glass. I would actually suggest cleaning the other side of a frosted glass window or door with whatever cleaner you choose to use first, then buff it with newspaper.
My experiment didn’t turn out quite as badly as I thought it would; however, it didn’t turn out as well as I thought either. My conclusion is that whatever I had read about cleaning frosted glass applied to either pre-made frosted glass or the frosted glass film. It does not apply to the spray. Unfortunately, even when I looked at the technical sheet for the Rust-Oleum Frosted glass spray, there was no information on maintenance.
If you are the kind of person who likes to do things yourself (like I do) and does not want to see your lovely art go to waste, you need to get into the habit of experimenting with different methods and ways of preserving your hard work. Unfortunately, I experimenting with different methods and ways of preserving your hard work. Unfortunately, I didn’t think when I used Windex right on the door (I read it was great to use!); I paid the price. Fortunately I had another area to experiment on.
Either way, I hope that as I continue to share my ‘wisdom’ with you, in art and life, you will learn to not make the mistakes I have! And remember, art is not permanent anyway; everything fades with time. So just enjoy yourself in your journey and share your adventures with me!