Best Car Glass Cleaner: Clean Your Windshield and Windows, Inside and Out

Washing your car might not be the most fun part of your day, but cleaning a vehicle's windows is still important. Driving around with windshield haze, smudges and streaks from dirt and grime can be seriously annoying and even dangerous. So it's important to properly clean a car window to get a streak-free surface. The first step to dazzlingly clean car windows is a good car-glass cleaner.

We tested several products designed to get car windows cleaner. Below, you'll find the results along with some glass cleaning advice.

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Whoosh

Best for car touchscreens

Not all glass cleaners work well with a vehicle's touchscreen or infotainment unit, but that's OK because Whoosh exists. Not every kind of glass in your new vehicle is the kind of auto glass you find in a car windshield or set of tinted windows, and the stuff in this little spray bottle knows that. The cleaning solution spray does wonders for all sorts of touchscreens, phones, televisions and more, but we found it's also really great for a car's infotainment screen and gauge cluster panel ahead of the driver. Whether you're looking to get up-to-date travel information or you want a clear view of your backup camera, this might be the best auto glass cleaner for that purpose. Quick and convenient, it's the ideal addition to your auto detailing arsenal. The auto glass cleaner even comes with three microfiber towels so you can have dedicated cloths just for this purpose.

$16 at Amazon

Chemical Guys Signature Series Glass Cleaner

Best external and internal glass cleaner

What we like about Chemical Guys Signature Series Glass Cleaner spray is the fact it works really well for inside dirt and outside road grime. It's also a pretty affordable cleaning product, and if you're not one for harsh chemicals, it doesn't include ammonia, making it the best car window cleaner with sensitive hands or poorly ventilated spaces. Bonus: it's totally safe for tinted glass as well, according to the company.

$11 at Chemicalguys

How to clean a windshield properly

• Ideally, make sure the glass is a tepid temperature: You'll have far better success if your car's windshield and windows aren't piping hot or incredibly cold. Hot temperatures can cause product to dry too quickly and smear. Cold temperatures can lead to fogging as you work on the glass surface.
• Use enough glass cleaner spray: This one depends on the auto glass cleaner product, but if you find more of the product works better, do it. If a little goes a long way, go that route for clean car windows.
• Up and down, left and right: Try not to make swirls in the windshield. Instead, sweep the product and your microfiber cloth or paper towel from left and right, or up and down to push the glass cleaning product around.
• If needed, follow up: One pass might not be enough if your windshield is really dirty. You may need to make a second pass with your windshield cleaner to clear up any remaining remnants of dirt or smudges.
• Use a clean towel on each window: If you use paper towels, rip new ones off for each window. If you're using a microfiber towel, try to use a clean side on each separate window when cleaning.

Products and techniques

Keep our tips and tricks in mind while using any of our car glass cleaner products and you'll get a squeaky clean and perfectly see-through windshield in no time. Cleaning windows is a pain, but when you get it right, you'll be super thankful the next time you take your car for a spin.

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