Windex All-in-One: Does it Really Work?

Reported by: John Matarese

If you're like me, you'd rather go to the dentist than clean your windows. At least at the dentist, you can read a magazine.

Thats why a lot of home and condo owners are talking a look at a new product from Windex, that claims it'll take the work out of window washing.

It Sounds so Promising

Kathleen Stutler of Northern Kentucky hates scrubbing windows. So she loved the idea of Windex Ouotdoor All-in-One, after seeing ads for it on TV.

It looks like a Swiffer for windows, with a pad at the end of a long wand, and promises to make cleaning easier, in just half the time.

Kathleen says she read the instructions, and "it said just hook up the hose, and spray the window, which I did."

Kathleen says she followed directions carefully.  She wet down all the windows with her garden hose, then rubbed them with the special Windex pad on a stick, and finally rinsed it all off. No need to dry with towels.

Where's the Spot-Free Shine?

But she tells me when the windows began to dry, the spot-free shine she had been expecting turned out to be anything but spot-free.

Kathleen says "after they dried, they streaked and were filled with spots, water spots, that were very noticeable!"

We checked with the manufacturer, SC Johnson, which directed us right to the FAQ'S' (Frequently Asked Questions) on its webite.

There it explained that if you have hard water, the result "is likely to be diminished" and may be unacceptable to you because hard water -- unwiped -- will spot.

It's similar to spraying your car with a garden hose and letting it dry. You'll find spots on the paint and windshield, unless you use a "spot free rinse" at the carwash (which takes out minerals).

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