Are your auto headlights cloudy? A couple of years ago, I talked with an auto repair owner and he told me Toyota would charge me around $400 per headlight, to replace the plastic covers. Um, I don’t think so! So, I learned to live with cloudy headlights.
Then, I read somewhere about using a paste of baking soda and water to clean the plastic. The right headlight was a tad cloudier than the left but you can still see a huge difference. It’s a lot clearer than it looks; the sun was shining at an angle and made for a difficult photo.
The recipe: a cup of baking soda (I buy 3 pounds at Sam’s Club for less than $3) mixed with enough water to make a paste.
Using a soft cloth, rub the paste onto the headlight and scrub softly until the cloudiness is gone. Rinse with warm water, making sure the paste doesn’t remain on the headlight or car body – you don’t want to stain either. The left headlight shows the major difference and is almost as clear as the day we bought the car. Don’t you think that’s an incredible difference? Are you going to try this solution? If so, let me know how it works for you.
Wow! A few pennies vs $400…I have to say I like it. I like it a lot!
Blessings ~ inexpensive solutions ~ clear headlights ~ another great use for baking soda ~
Thanks for the tip. I'm a very thrifty person and I appreciate the fact that you posted that, so all of us can try it out. I've had troubles with foggy headlights for a long time now and I think I'm going to try that one out right this minute. Haha! I'll let you know how it goes. Again, thank you very much!
Shaun Stille @ Global Parts, Inc.
Thanks for the tip! I have a foggy headlight cover and I can't wait to give this a try.
Thanks for the tip!
Awesome tip! I think our truck may get the soda treatment this week!
I love this tip! I am going to save it for my husband. Thanks!
What a cool trick : ) ! Love that huge picture of rolling hills at the top. Amazing!
Baking soda is great for so many little jobs around the home. I buy mine in bulk too. Sue
I want to try it too!
Thank you for the great tip Sandra! Will definitely be trying this one! Appreciating the person who mentioned LemiShine, too…my dishwasher clouds up my glassware also.
I have a product that we bought that worked quite well, too…but this is really an easy alternative. I will give it a try next time my son's headlights cloud up- xo Diana
What a great idea. It's not safe to drive around with cloudy lenses. We always just buy the buffing compound and go from there. I'll be sure to save the receipe. ~:)
Go, Sandra.
Fondly,
Glenda
I'm going to definitely try this!I know baking soda works great for cleaning my ceramic stove top so hopefully it will do the same for the car headlights. 🙂
I'm going to definitely try this!I know baking soda works great for cleaning my ceramic stove top so hopefully it will do the same for the car headlights. 🙂
Oh yes I'll be giving this a try very soon!
Way to go, smart Sandra!
I like it! Mister sent away for something to do the trick, but my frugal mind prefers your solution.
Thanks for your kind comments. We see many things the same way.
Me again, back with an update! Did it, blogged it, love it! Thanks, Sandra 🙂
http://comptonia.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-clean-headlight-club.html
Wow that does work well I was told to use peanut butter it worked but I had dogs coming up to lick my headlights it was so funny. I think your recipe is much smarter. B
Perfect timing because I just noticed my Jeep's headlights are getting cloudy! Hopefully it will work for me! 🙂
What timing! Yesterday I was driving home from an appointment and passed a garage that advertised a service to clearify (okay, I made that word up) foggy headlights. I have very foggy headlights, but instead of pullling into the garage I started thinking about whether or not toothpaste would do a decent job, or maybe a paste made of citric acid or baking soda. Now I have the answer! I buy bicarb in bulk at the feed store (not often, since I have goats, not cows – a sack lasts years!) and this experiment is going to be so economical it will almost be free 🙂
Thanks!!
I'll have to remember this! I haven't looked to see if my headlight glass is cloudy or not but with the car approaching 7 yrs old, probably is! @Sue McPeak, have you tried LemiShine? It's available at Walmart for a little over $3.50. I hadn't used my dishwasher except as a drying rack for over 2 years because everything looked dirtier coming out than going in. I absolutely LOVE this product – I used it one time and was absolutely sold on it. With the 2nd usage, it cleaned out all the crusty mineral build-up in the bottom of the dishwasher as well. It's citric acid based so keep that in mind though for vintage and/or crystal.
Yes, I like the savings, too. I'm wondering if that same formula will take cloudy film off of glass. I have some glasses that get that way in the dishwasher. Another reason not to use the dishwasher on vintage glassware.
Sue CollectInTexasGal~Today's Post~
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Cheaper than buying the buffing compound at the auto parts store even. I should do this to DH's headlights and maybe even my van.
I'm going to try this right this minute! I got Mom's car repaired after a hit and run and now she has one new headlight and one cloudy one. Thank you for the tip!!