Try Comet or Soft Scrub....Follow up with a coat of Wax as You dry by Eagle One. Works Great. Works for house windows too!

Once you get the window clean, use Rain X. It is the most marvelous product! My DH started us using it and now I won't be without it. Rub on, let dry to a haze and rub off. BUT I've found out that I can just rub it on and after a few days the haze goes away on it's own. Love it, love it, love it. You will see the difference when you are driving over 45 mph. Unbelievable, you don't need to use your wipers!!!!!
Kathy G in MI

This is true about the RainX. It does need to be applied every so often.
But, with it, its weird, the rain drops are blown off the windshield - vision during rain is better without using the wipers !

RainX is good I used to use it. I now prefer Stoner's Invisible Glass (Walmart carries it). It removes everything, for the cleanest windshield I have ever had. You get almost as much beading/sheating but the window is clean and you can use your wipers without smearing that I often had with RainX.

Just be careful what you scrub with... some years ago my husband thought he was being helpful and he cleaned my windshield with Bon Ami and a green scrubbing sponge. The entire thing was covered in little scratches. I'm guessing it was the sponge that did it, since Bon Ami is pretty mild. You'd think you can't scratch glass, but windshields have laminate coverings because they're safety glass, and he apparently had no trouble scratching that!

I decided not to use the Comet or Soft Scrub because I didn't know what long range effect it might have, but I did use Stoner's Invisible Glass. The real test was the monsoon rains we had here over the last couple of days. Success!!! Thanks for the helpful hint----I've never seen Stoner's Invisible Glass before and had to look carefully at "Wally World" before I found it. Thanks again----a great improvement!!

Use micro cloths. First, use a wet one (wrung out well) and go over it. Then dry it with a dry one. You'll think there's no glass there! And it doesn't take any chemicals or soap. It's a "miracle"! Wish I would have invented them. They are great for dusting the inside of the car also - and for the house, of course. Throw out that Windex!!

I tried the microcloth first without much success. It just did not remove the film on the window. I did use the microcloth to apply Stoner's Invisible Glass and rubbed on a couple of applications before I got the results that I needed.
Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Glad the Stoner's worked out well for you. I have used the microfiber clothes but found them best for polishing the paint. I use newspaper (as recommended on the can) for the Invisible glass and it works just fantastic. Make sure you wipe down your wiper blades too with the wet newspaper as they get pretty dirty.

what about cleaning the inside? My brother has a mercury sable. not only is it nearly impossible to clean because of the angle of the windshield, but everything we've tried makes it worse. Will Stoners Invisible Glass work for the inside, too?

I am a fan of rain-X. It makes the rain collect in beads that blow off as you drive. But you asked about getting it clean first? I'd wash inside and out using windex and a microfibre cloth.

I agree with prntrfxr. You'd be amazed how much better everything will look after you clean the INSIDE, too. I use Stoner's Invisible Glass on both sides, then finished with RainX on the outside. For many cars, you practically need to be a contortionist to clean the inside windshield, but it's worth it.

I use white vinegar and newspaper to wipe it off. Newspaper is my "rag".

Yes, your hands get black from newsprint but there are absolutely no streaks on the windows. Plus this is very inexpensive!

What does everyone use to clean their windows at home? I have trouble keeping our storm door clean - will either of these products work for that?

Lori

We use white vinegar to clean all glass - windows, mirrors, you name it.

I was driving home into direct sun every day for a while.. dad was in hospital for a couple months...
The setting sun in my eyes is bad enough. Add a days woth of parking lot dust on the windshield, and it makes for a terrible and dangerious glare.

I started keeping a dampened washcloth sized microfiber in zip lock baggie in the car along with a dry kitchen towel sized microfiber. Would clean the exterior window dust every day before heading home... occasionly do the insides, worked great!
Rinse out the smaller microfiber every night and rebag it.
Spoiled me,, now I hate driving with anything but perfectly clean car windows.

milkie, I love this idea! I am a big fan of microfiber cloths. Keeping a damp one in a ziploc bag sounds like a great idea to me! Keeping a dry one in the side of my door is easy. I hate dirty windshields, inside & out. Also, I would add my opinion that RainX, on the outside is really amazing.

I'm kind of glad this thread was pulled up because I was just wondering about cleaning the windshield. It seems that I always have this hazy film on the inside. ACK! I just started cleaning it with a microfiber cloth and windex and it's great! I don't know what that darned film is!?

I've got to get me some of that Stoner's stuff from Walmart but I hope it's not discontinued yet! Seems anything that's any good is always discontinued!

I beleive the film on the inside of the windshield can be caused by emissions from some of the plastics used in the dashboard. Some cars are much more apt to have this problem than others. I've found that rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth is good for cutting the film.

I'm a smoker and the inside of my windshield gets hazy. Windex never worked very well for me, so I recently filled a bowl with warm water to which I added a couple of drops of liquid dishwashing detergent and a few drops of white vinegar. I dunked a microfiber cloth in the bowl and wrung it out well, then went over the window and the dash, which was very dusty. I used a dry microfiber cloth to dry the window. For the first time it sparkled!

I use a Clean-it Cloth to clean my windshield inside and out with water and no other cleaning products are ever needed. I then go on and clean the whole car. They are re-useable over and over so I am able to clean and dust just about everything in my house.

They even work great on cleaning screens and I am green cleaning all the time now.

Wow, lots of ideas to try! I HATE the fine film left when I wash the windshields & nothing seems to get rid of all of it- I get rid of one area & then it seems it goes to just another ... not bad but I can see it! Now when Octopus Car Wash does it it is great... just what I want> Will have to ask them what they use next time I'm lazy & take the car to them to wash!

...I had stopped to get a can of a carnuba cleaner wax spray on for my car...they were doing a demo on it and of course my mom said oh i dont believe that stuff works... well one guy sprays it on the head lights... cleans really good... to get the bug guts off... well before i could say anything the other guy sprays it on my window.... while saying it does those too.... what in the world can anyone suggest to get that stuff off with??? winshield is not a big smeared mess i have tried everything and havent found anything to cut thru that crap...any suggestions... already folloed most of the postings on here...nothing.... water just beads up

To clean off road film, grease and other goo off your windshield, use a micro sponge, aka melamine sponge. Very effective. The generic products are inexpensive and do work wonders around the house.

Reading this prompted me to go clean my windshield. I started with the SPONGE and was surprised how much more dirt came off with step 2: vinegar. It is really cold out so I will give it a while before cleaning with alcohol then Rain X. Anyway, it made me think of another solution. A year ago I got car wax on the black plastic/rubber parts of my car and and was told to try peanut butter. Wipe on, wipe off. It worked but I wondered how it would look long term. I am happy to report that no white streaks returned, nor does it look "oily". Doesn't even smell like peanuts!