How to Clean Drinking Glasses

There are several ways to effectively cleandrinking glasses with everyday household products. Wash glasses regularly withwarm water and a minimal amount of dish soap, and allow the glasses to air dry.If you use a dishwasher, opt for a gentle cycle and space out the glasses toavoid damage. Use a vinegar solution to clean cloudy residue or streaks. Fordark stains, try a bleach and water soak, or use plain toothpaste to gentlyscrub your glasses.

Method 1

Giving Drinking Glasses a BasicClean

Clean glasses by hand. Fill your kitchensink approximately one third to halfway full with warm water and add a fewdrops of dish washing liquid. Using a clean sponge, gently wash your glassesinside and out. Rinse thoroughly.

Avoid using more than a few drops of dish soap, as excess soap can lead tostreaks and residue.

2.Air dry the glasses. Placeclean glasses on a dish mat or clean towel to dry. Position glasses downwards,with the rim on the bottom. Avoid drying your glasses with a cloth, as this canleave residue. 

Using a dishwasher. Using a dishwasheris a less effective way to get glasses clean and cloud-free than hand washing.If you prefer using a dishwasher anyway, there are ways to improve the results.For more fragile glasses (e.g. wine glasses), choose a delicate cycle. Leave asmuch room as possible between glasses to prevent clinking or scraping. ^[3]

To prevent residue that sometimes remains on glasses after being runthrough the dishwasher, add one quarter cup of white vinegar to the machine’srinse cup^.

Method2

Getting Rid of CloudyResidue

1 Make a vinegarsolution. If your glasses are cloudy or havewhite streaks, clean them with vinegar. Fill a medium-sized bowl with whitevinegar and warm water. Use two tablespoons of vinegar for every cup of water.

2 Wipe down theglasses. Dip a clean cloth into the vinegarsolution. Gently wipe down the glasses with the cloth, both inside and out.Re-moisten the cloth as needed to ensure that your glasses get clean.

3 Rinse the glasses. While the smell of vinegar is strong,it will eventually dissipate after drying. To speed up the process, rinse theglasses in cold water to wash away the vinegar solution. Rinsing the glasses,or washing them as you normally would with dish soap, will ensure that thevinegar smell disappears faster.

4 Soak glasses. If you have numerous glasses toclean, or if the cloudy deposits on your glasses are difficult to remove, soakthem in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and warm water. Fill a basinwith the vinegar and water, place your glasses in the basin, and let them sitfor twenty minutes. After soaking, rinse the glasses with cold water and letthem air dry.

Method 3

1Make a bleach soak. If your drinking glasses have darkstains (e.g. coffee, lipstick), soak them in a bleach solution. Add onetablespoon of chlorine bleach to a gallon of warm water. Use rubber gloves andprotect your clothing from contact with the bleach while cleaning.

2 Soak your glasses. Gently place your drinking glasses inthe bleach solution. Allow them to soak for approximately thirty minutes.Remove and rinse the glasses in cold water.

3 Scrub glasses withbaking soda. If any stains removeafter soaking, sprinkle the glasses with baking soda. Wet a clean sponge andgently scrub the glasses. Rinse them thoroughly and let them air dry.

4 Use toothpaste. As an alternative method of removingdark stains, use basic white toothpaste (i.e. toothpaste that does not containgels, breath freshening ingredients, or other additives). Use a clean,soft-bristle toothbrush to gently  spreadthe toothpaste all over the inside and outside of the glasses. Rinse thoroughlywith warm water and air dry.