Windex Wipes!

Windex is a glass and hard-surface cleaner. Windex was invented by the Drackett Company in 1933 and has been marketed throughout the intervening decades. Windex was originally sold in glass containers before adding plastic and metal containers over time. Drackett sold Windex to Bristol-Meyers in 1965. S. C. Johnson acquired Windex in 1993 and has been manufacturing it since. The original Windex was colored a light, translucent shade of blue. Today, there are varieties marketed in several colors (ocean fresh blue, sunshine lemon and citrus orange) and fragrances (spring bouquet, ocean mist, lavender and tea tree), with a number of additives such as vinegar, lemon, lime, or orange juice. On August 26, 1969, Melvin E. Stonebraker and Samuel P. Wise received U.S. patent #3,463,735 for a less caustic version, listing example formulae, one of which is 4.0% isopropyl alcohol, 1% ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, 0.1% sodium lauryl sulfate (a surfactant), calcium (Ca) 0.01%, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (a water softener), 0.05% of 28% ammonia, 1% of a dye solution, and 0.01% perfume. This formula was not only less expensive to manufacture but allowed the product to be packaged in glass bottles and dispensed with a plastic sprayer. In 1989, Windex was a 5% ammonia solution. The product was reformulated in 2006. In 2009, S.C. Johnson started publishing ingredients for all of its products, including Windex. The S.C. Johnson website lists Windex's ingredients as water, 2-hexoxyethanol, isopropanolamine, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, lauramine oxide, ammonium hydroxide, fragrance, and Liquitint sky blue dye.