I've been a convert to the microfiber cloth system. No chemicals, no soap, just WATER, and they clean like a dream, without streaking. Norwex and e-cloth are the best.

I find that the window panes are a problem to clean. But the grooves and nooks and crannies of the window frame are a different story. My windows are double hung and I swear the concept must have come from a male designer who did not give a single thought of how they would be cleaned. (No offense to the menfolk on AT).
There is a ton of dust that gets collected in all the above-mentioned places and I use q-tips and disposable wooden chopsticks wrapped in cotton wool to get the dirt out. Compared to that, toilet cleaning is a breeze.

I will stick with my solution of water and white vinegar. This sounds silly.

I love old toothbrushes for some of those hard to clean areas. Also found some really cheap little brushes at the dollar store that were skinny and had bristles on the end as well as the side. Will definitely have to try the tea solution.

I'm willing to give it a try... how does it work on wood? I too have a child with perpetually sticky fingers and wonder how it would work on our kitchen table.

Can you keep the tea in a bottle for future uses, or do you need to brew fresh tea each time? I mean, would storing it make it less effective?

Wouldn't this be expensive? Vinegar is so cheap why would I spend more on tea just to clean windows. I'll stick to vinegar, thanks anyways.

Vinegar works so well, I have no need to look for a replacement. Tea, for me, will remain a beverage.

I'll stick with vinegar and water. This sounds like too much effort and probably would be more expensive in the long run.

Vinegar will always be my first choice (unbeatable combination of cheap+effective+ready to pour), but this might be a viable alternative to windows behind planted outdoor areas and window boxes, where you try and avoid leaf damage from the vinegar spray.

Water and newspaper.

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a homeowner in possession of dirty windows but no vinegar must be in want of a Googled alternative cleaner.

It's funny to me that anyone would feel the need to research window cleaning solutions. I once asked a window cleaner hired by a relative what he used in his bucket-and-squeegee approach. A couple drops of Palmolive to each bucket was all. The windows gleamed.

BTW, there is no reason you'd need to use fresh tea bags or leaves for this. You could save your discards and rebrew. The problem I see with tea is the propensity to stain all porous surfaces.

@Ruralandruelful: Yes, I'll admit that I'm afflicted with this thing called "curiosity". It causes me to research all kinds of "funny" topics.
@KN14606: I've read that black tea is known to be great for cleaning wood and hardwood floors, but I haven't tried it so I can't verify.
And yep, vinegar is still #1, I just thought it was cool to know there are other non-toxic DIY options out there that work well. Cheers.

I agree with the plain water and newspaper trick. Always worked for me. But now I don't subscribe to a newspaper!

@Zsherrybinnh...to paraphrase Homer Simpson, is there anything tea can't do?

Really? Is it any better than water? I think the effort put into cleaning the window could greatly affect the outcome. I looked at the before/after and am unconvinced. I'm not a scientist, but that does not look like a double-blind study to me:)

My problem with this: It's more expensive than vinegar, it takes more time to make the solution, and seeing how I've left a tea accidentally for three days in a cup, it can certainly go bad.

Rural,
I wash my windows with a bucket of hot water with a few drops of whatever dish soap is in the kitchen (to get the grime off) and then I get rid of the streaks with vinegar and newspaper.

The black tea idea just sounds messy as hell, especially if you don't catch all the drips right away.

I'm voting for the dish cleaner in water routine. Possibly followed by the vinegar and newspaper (though a two-step cleaning process is admittedly only half as attractive to me as a single-step process).

Water. Plain and simple. And I don't bother with the newspapers (usually the ink comes off on my fingers, then I have to wash my hands & use a towel to dry them... too much work!). I use the microfiber towels that I use for dusting. And if they are not available, an old tee shirt does the trick as well. Cleaning windows does not need to be so complicated! Besides, dirt on the windows acts like a natural curtain blocking the neighbor's view of my unmade bed & the dishes piled in the sink! LOL!

@ECUADORIANA1 haha.'natural curtain'..I'm going to try to let my windows fill up with grime to use as a sun barrier:heat in summer and keep the cold out i winter.......but I bet the tea cleaner smelled nice!

@ keeks - it works for me! Also discovered, especially here in The Land of Enchantment- (New Mexico), that if I wash my car not only does my car look like it belongs to a tourist- as it screams: "Break in and rob me, please!", but it only gets dusty & dirty again the next day anyway (because who in their right mind would wash their car or truck in NM anyway?! It's a desert!). So, I've taken to the idea the dirt & grime are nature's furniture and car protection. Because, hey, those Petroglyphs have been around for thousands of years so the dust must be working big time!!!

Chiming in with the other posters who use a bucket of water (with a tiny bit of dishsoap) and a squeegee. Was taught to do this at one of my very first jobs, working for a drycleaner with very large, shiny windows. :)

I use rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle.Works fine.No need to brew tea and doesn't stink like vinegar.

@ECUADORIANA1 after your informative dust and dirt protection plan....I am never, ever taking a shower or bath again..If I had only stopped about ten or years ago..haha..

would it work for bathtube as well?

@ Evo Cleaning - the "stinky of vinegar" disipates after a little while. Most people don't use straight vinegar for cleaning. In a spray bottle mix ha;f water/half vinegar. For people who live in places with hard water use bottled purified water to avoid any build up on mirrors & glass. The vinegar smell does go away quickly AND acts as a natural deodorizer- absorbing bad smells from the room, like cooking smells, rather than masking the odors like chemical "air fresheners" do. I use vinegar & baking soda for almost all my cleaning needs My house always smells fresh with no chemical odor residue. Usually after people clean their houses I can detect the smells of all the cleaning products. The mixture of windex, comet cleanser, clorox cleanser, febreeze, glade air freshener, pledge, tilex, soft scrub, etc can be not only overwhelmingly stinky, but toxic as well. .

I have been using the tea method on windows and mirrors for ages and it is he best thing I have found yet. No streaks ever.

That was an interesting article. I have tried many recipes for window cleaning solutions but never black tea which I will be trying just for the novelty of the pleasant smell.- and if it works what a bonus. I am about to buy some pure water cleaning equipment as I am convinced this may ultimately be the way to go - no chemicals at all. Research suggests that it takes a couple of washes to see the results. Thanks.