How To Remove white Sugar Soap Stains From Windows
How do I remove white Selleys Sugar Soap marks from glass windows?
Use Hillmark Cerapol Ceramic Glass Cleaner, which is specially formulated for cleaning and polishing glass. Apply it and rub vigorously with a clean, soft cloth or paper towel, then wipe over with a soft cloth or paper towel.
For ongoing maintenance afterwards, Selleys recommends Selleys Complete Clean Glass & Mirror Spray, which removes dirt, spots and fingerprints from the glass and leaves a brilliant streak-free shine.
What the white marks are
Selleys Sugar Soap is a salts-based cleaner, and it can leave marks or streaks on glass — especially if the dilution rate is quite high.
The mechanism is simple. The working solution is cleaning salts dissolved in water. On glass, which absorbs nothing, the water evaporates and the salts are left behind on the surface. The stronger the mix, the more salts there were in the water, and the heavier the film you are left looking at.
Recognising it matters because it changes what you reach for. This is not grease, not dirt and not hard-water scale — it is a dried cleaner deposit, which is why ordinary household detergent tends to smear it around rather than remove it.
Clearing it, step by step
- Start with a dry, cool pane. Working on glass in full sun makes any cleaner flash off before you have finished with it.
- Apply Cerapol to the affected area.
- Rub vigorously with a clean, soft cloth or paper towel. The instruction says vigorously for a reason — the deposit is hard and this stage is mechanical work as much as chemical.
- Wipe over with a soft cloth or paper towel to finish and polish.
- Check in raking light. Stand so the sun crosses the glass rather than shining through it. A salts film is nearly invisible looking straight through a window and obvious at an angle, and this is where you find the patches you missed.
- Repeat on anything remaining. A heavy deposit from a strong mix may need a second pass.
Use clean cloths throughout. A cloth already loaded with removed deposit puts it back on the next pane.
Keeping the glass clear afterwards
Once the marks are gone, Selleys Complete Clean Glass & Mirror Cleaner is the product for routine cleaning. It comes in a 750 mL spray bottle and is suitable for glass, mirrors, stainless steel, ceramic and porcelain. Rotate the nozzle to ON, spray directly onto the surface and wipe.
It is not suitable for tinted windows, acrylic surfaces, fibreglass, or painted, lacquered or varnished surfaces, and its directions say to test suitability in a small inconspicuous area first and not to mix it with detergents or other chemicals. Check whether any of your windows carry film before you spray them.
Preventing it happening again
Two things cause this, and both are within your control.
Dilution. Selleys' recommendation for most cleaning tasks is half a cup of Sugar Soap into 5 litres of water — a ratio of about 40:1. That is also what the product's own directions specify. Mixing it stronger does not clean better; it just leaves more salts behind wherever the solution dries.
Rinsing. Sugar Soap's data sheet carries the instruction to rinse well from glass before the product dries. If you are washing a wall above a window, work in sections small enough that you can rinse the glass before the sun or wind dries it.
It is also worth knowing that Selleys does not recommend Sugar Soap for cleaning windows in the first place — a standard glass cleaner is the right product for glass. See can I use Sugar Soap to clean my windows.
While you are working around windows
- Wipe Sugar Soap off aluminium and brass immediately. Window frames, sills and flyscreen surrounds are usually aluminium, and bare metal can tarnish or discolour — see what Sugar Soap does to brass and aluminium.
- Never mix Sugar Soap with another cleaner. Selleys does not recommend adding any other product to it.
- Mind your eyes. Sugar Soap causes serious eye irritation; avoid contact with skin and eyes and wear gloves if your skin is sensitive.
Common questions
What are the white marks on my windows?
A deposit of cleaning salts. Sugar Soap is a salts-based cleaner and can leave marks or streaks on glass, especially at a high dilution rate.
What removes them?
Hillmark Cerapol Ceramic Glass Cleaner, applied and rubbed vigorously with a clean soft cloth or paper towel, then wiped over.
Will ordinary window cleaner take them off?
Selleys nominates Cerapol for removing the deposit, and Complete Clean Glass & Mirror Spray for ongoing maintenance once the glass is clear.
Why did it happen?
The solution dried on the glass instead of being rinsed off. A strong dilution makes it worse, because there are more salts in the water.
What dilution should I have used?
Half a cup of Sugar Soap into 5 litres of water for most cleaning tasks.
Should I have used Sugar Soap on the windows at all?
No. Selleys does not recommend it for windows and points to a standard glass cleaner instead.
Can I use Glass & Mirror Spray on tinted windows?
No. It is not suitable for tinted windows, acrylic surfaces, fibreglass, or painted, lacquered or varnished surfaces.
How do I avoid it when washing the house before painting?
Use the recommended dilution, work in sections, rinse glass before the product dries, and clean the windows separately with a glass cleaner at the end. See streaking on windows after using Sugar Soap.
Where do I find Selleys' glass cleaning products?
In the glass cleaning range, and for exterior glass, the outdoor cleaning range.
Why does Selleys Sugar Soap leave white marks or streaks on windows?
Selleys Sugar Soap is a salts-based cleaner containing sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium carbonate. When the solution dries on hard glass surfaces, particularly if the dilution rate is too high, it leaves behind a hard deposit of cleaning salts that becomes very difficult to remove.
What product is recommended for removing sugar soap stains from windows?
Hillmark Cerapol Ceramic Glass Cleaner is recommended, as it is specially formulated for cleaning and polishing glass and effectively removes these salt deposit marks.
How do I use Hillmark Cerapol Ceramic Glass Cleaner to remove the stains?
Apply the Cerapol cleaner to the affected glass surface, rub vigorously with a clean, soft cloth or paper towel, then wipe over with a soft cloth or paper towel to complete the cleaning.
What should I use to maintain the glass and prevent future streaking after removing sugar soap stains?
Use Selleys Complete Clean Glass & Mirror Spray for ongoing maintenance, as it removes dirt, spots, and fingerprints from glass and leaves a brilliant streak-free shine.
What is the correct dilution ratio for Selleys Sugar Soap to help prevent this staining problem?
The recommended dilution for most cleaning tasks is 40:1, meaning 5 litres of water to half a cup of Selleys Sugar Soap, rather than using stronger concentrations which have a very high solids (cleaning salts) content.
Why does using too strong a sugar soap concentration make the streaking worse?
Stronger concentrations of Selleys Sugar Soap have a very high solids (cleaning salts) content, which increases the likelihood of leaving hard, difficult-to-remove deposits on glass surfaces when the solution dries.