The vinegar mix has advantages over Windex on versatility and affordability, but we wondered if Windex contained something special that could give it a particular edge. In an email statement, a Windex representative acknowledged that soap, water, and vinegar “can and do help clean glass.” They added that Windex contains “cleaning agents such as hexoxyethanol, isopropanolamine and lauramine oxide.” The company says that these ingredients “loosen dirt particles and deposits and dissolve residue.” The chemicals indeed perform those purposes, according to PubChem, a chemical database published by the National Institutes of Health. But they also come with their own baggage: Hexoxyethanol is marked as corrosive and an irritant, isopropanolamine is corrosive and an irritant, and lauramine oxide comes with the warning it’s corrosive, an irritant, and an environmental hazard. That said, the Windex safety data sheet (PDF) notes nothing in the cleaner is hazardous, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and there are no special classifications for inhalation or other exposure risks. And acetic acid—vinegar—is technically corrosive too, according to PubChem.
