Plexiglass shows up all over commercial spaces, from customer barriers and partitions to signage, display cases, and machine guards. It’s also easy to scratch and cloud if you clean it the wrong way. Here’s the method we use to get plexiglass clean and clear without damaging it.
Start by checking what you’re actually dealing with. A lot of the time it’s just a light film of surface dust that wipes right off with a good microfiber towel. Plenty of microfiber cloths work, though some leave more lint than others; for large plexiglass surfaces I like a textured microfiber glass towel. The one hard rule: nothing abrasive, which will scratch plexiglass in a heartbeat.
If there’s more than dust and it needs a wet clean, start with a little water, not cleaner. Fold your microfiber cloth into quarters and spray a small amount of water onto one quarter of it, then gently wipe. You’d be surprised how much a little warm water and a quality cloth can do, on plexiglass or any glass.
Switch to a fresh, unused side of the cloth as you go, so you’re not dragging grit from one spot to another. And spray the cloth, not the surface. People tend to jump straight to soaking the panel in spray or water when the basics do most of the work.
Sometimes you need a little more help. The most important rule: never use an ammonia-based cleaner on plexiglass. Plexiglass reacts badly to ammonia, high-pH products, and quaternary ammonium (quat) disinfectants, all of which can cloud or fog the surface over time. Always check the label before it touches plexiglass.
For a mild cleaner, plain dish soap works wonders. I’ve always liked Dawn, but most will do; it’s mild, non-abrasive, and cleans well. You don’t need much, either. A little soap in water goes a long way.
When you do need that mild dish-soap solution, soak the microfiber cloth in the soapy water, wring it out, fold it in quarters, and wipe. Again, the goal is to lift dirt, not grind it around, so use all sides of the cloth and rinse it before dipping back into the soapy water.
With a second clean cloth soaked in plain water and wrung out, wipe off any leftover soap. From there you can let it air dry or lightly buff it dry with a clean microfiber towel. Check for smudges, and you’re done.
Plexiglass scratches easily, so sooner or later you’ll find one. For light surface scratches, a tiny bit of car wax can help; it temporarily fills them in and makes them less noticeable. (For deeper scratches, a dedicated plastic polish does more.)
That’s it. Keep plexiglass clean, scratch-free, and clear, and it’ll do its job for years.
If keeping the plexiglass, glass, and everything else in your building clean isn’t how you want to spend your time, that’s what we’re here for. As a commercial cleaning company in Sioux Falls, we handle the details so you don’t have to. Request a quote and we’ll take it from there.
