The One Mirror Cleaning Trick You Need To Know

If you find yourself frustrated by streaks while cleaning your bathroom mirror, sorry but you're probably doing it wrong. It may seem like a basic chore — a simple spray and wipe dry — but getting a crystal clear mirror takes a little more effort than that. There's an art to it, if you will.

According to cleaning expert and Clean My Space author Melissa Maker, unsuccessful glass buffing attempts are likely caused by two factors: cleaning cloth of choice and technique. We know what you're thinking — can the way you move a cloth across a mirror really change the end result all that much? Turns out, it can, and Maker explained how.

She calls her approach the "S pattern" where, after spraying the mirror down with glass cleaner, she takes a microfiber cloth to the top right corner of the mirror, drags it to the left, down, and back to the right, sort of in an S-like shape. As opposed to circular motions, this strategy works best because it doesn't redeposit dirt and dust onto the already polished areas.

Paper towels may seem like a convenient option, but they're not your friends for mirror cleaning. Not only do they leave lint and fuzz behind, they become useless once saturated with product — which doesn't take much — and they're wasteful. That's why Maker recommends using a microfiber cloth instead. "Microfiber cloths are life changing for cleaning," she said on The Rachael Ray Show in 2017. "They remove streaks and lint." Plus, they offer much more buffing time for extra shine, and they're reusable.

One last mirror cleaning tip: don't overdo the mirror with cleaner — spraying too much will just create more work for you in the long run. To keep from overusing product, per RealSimple, spray it onto your microfiber cloth instead of the surface, and gradually add more as needed. This will also prevent liquid from sneaking beneath the mirror and creating unwanted tarnish spots.