I am convinced that most of us, over time, can learn to do just about anything. Just about. I have several kryptonites, but one comes to mind each morning when I drive to work — washing my car windows. No matter how hard I try, I leave streaks. I try more solution. Less solution. Various cloths. Even newspaper. Doesn’t seem to matter. Streaks. My wife does it once, and it’s perfect. 

I don’t mind washing windows, especially in my car. It’s worth the small effort to have an unobstructed view out of my windows. And I do an OK job on the exterior windows.

For years, I kept a small bucket in my vehicle that had a roll of paper towels, a small scrub brush and a spray bottle of window cleaner. I used to travel a lot for my job, and when I got home each evening, I would wash the exterior windshield by hand. Yes, I would do this when filling up with gas, too, but there was something about having a clean windshield every morning that I truly appreciated. One of my good friends recognized this when we were in college. When I would be driving, and we would stop to fill up for gas, I would see him cleaning the windshield of my car. I thought it was a nice gesture, until I realized he would only clean the passenger side. Jerk. 

Later in life, I discovered the pre-packaged window wipes in flat, resealable packages that fit in the glove box. Those came in handy with my obsession of cleaning my dog’s nose prints off the windows. My kids learned that cleaning the inside windows of my vehicle was a ritual when they rode with me. They even learned to start cleaning before I even asked. Wonderful. 

If you, too, appreciate clean car windows, then you know the struggle in cleaning the inside of the front window. This brings me back to my kryptonite. As much as I try to clean that glass, it ends up looking like I wiped it down with a raw egg. I am reminded of this each morning as I drive to work heading into the sun. 

I once bought one of those cleaning pads on a handle that promised to make washing the inside of the front windshield easy. The handle broke off in my hand the first time I used it. Ugh.

Aside from the initial frustration and the deductible cost, I actually look forward to a cracked windshield on my car, as that means I get a perfectly clean replacement — at least for a few months.

How about you? Do you like clean car windows? Do you have a few tricks of the trade? Send them my way. 

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707