View source for Windex

{{needs more sources|date=October 2024}}
{{Short description|American brand of glass and surface cleaners}}
{{infobox brand
| name           = Windex
| logo           = [[File:Windex Logo.png]]
| image          = [[File:Windex (48089717956).jpg|200px]]
| caption        = Current iteration of Windex
| type           = Window cleaner
| currentowner   = [[S. C. Johnson & Son]]
| origin         = United States
| introduced     = 1933
| markets        = [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Germany]], [[Australia]], [[Sweden]]
| previousowners = [[Drackett]]<br />[[Bristol-Meyers]]
| trademarkregistrations =
| website        = [http://www.windex.com/ www.windex.com]
}}
'''Windex''' is an American brand of glass and [[hard-surface cleaner]]s<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horstman|first1=Barry|title=Philip W. Drackett: Earned profits, plaudits|url=http://www.cincypost.com/living/1999/drack052199.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20051205202014/http://www.cincypost.com/living/1999/drack052199.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2005|access-date=15 June 2017|work=The Cincinnati Post|date=May 21, 1999}}</ref>—originally in glass containers, later in plastic ones.
The name "Windex" (from "[[window]]" + "-ex") is a [[registered trademark]]. [[Drackett]] sold the Windex brand to [[Bristol-Meyers]] in 1965.<ref>{{cite news|title=COMPANY NEWS; HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS UNIT FOR SALE AT BRISTOL-MYERS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/30/business/company-news-household-products-unit-for-sale-at-bristol-myers.html|access-date=15 June 2017|work=New York Times|date=July 30, 1992}}</ref> [[S. C. Johnson & Son|S. C. Johnson]] acquired it in 1993 and has been manufacturing it since.<ref>{{cite news|title=S. C. JOHNSON & SON WINS APPROVAL FOR DOW PURCHASE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/24/business/company-news-s-c-johnson-son-wins-approval-for-dow-purchase.html|access-date=15 June 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 24, 1998}}</ref>
The original Windex was yellow. Today, it is commonly blue. Varieties are 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 (fruit)|lime]] or [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] juice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.windex.com/en-us|title=Windex.com|access-date= February 10, 2019}}</ref>
==Ingredients==
On August 26, 1969, Melvin E. Stonebraker and Samuel P. Wise received U.S. patent #3,463,735<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3463735A/en|title=Glass cleaning composition|publisher=Google Patents}}</ref> for a glass cleaning composition, listing example formulae, one of which is 4.0% [[isopropyl alcohol]], 1% [[2-Butoxyethanol|ethylene glycol monobutyl ether]], 0.1% [[Sodium dodecyl sulfate|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 inexpensive to manufacture but allowed the product to be packaged in glass bottles and dispensed with a [[spray bottle|plastic sprayer]].{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
In 1989, Windex was a 5% [[ammonia]] solution.<ref name="Lewis">{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Peter H. |title=PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Cleaning Screens Safely|work=[[The New York Times]] |page=9|date=August 8, 1989 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/08/science/personal-computers-cleaning-screens-safely.html}}</ref> The product was reformulated in 2006.<ref>{{cite press release |author=S.C. Johnson & Son |title=SC Johnson Honored With Presidential Award for Corporate Leadership in Ceremony at the White House |date=January 5, 2006 |publisher=S.C. Johnson & Son |url=http://www.scjohnson.com/family/fam_pre_pre_news.asp?art_id=225 |access-date=July 19, 2013}}</ref> In 2009, S.C. Johnson started publishing ingredients for all of its products, including Windex.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Scelfo|first1=Julie|title=Good Chemistry for some Household Sprays|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/garden/11clean.html|access-date=15 June 2017|work=The New York Times|date=February 10, 2010}}</ref> The S.C. Johnson website lists Windex's ingredients as water, [[2-Hexoxyethanol|2-hexoxyethanol]], [[1-Amino-2-propanol|isopropanolamine]], [[Alkylbenzene sulfonates|sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate]], [[Lauryldimethylamine_oxide|lauramine oxide]], [[Ammonia_solution|ammonium hydroxide]], fragrance and Liquitint sky blue dye.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us/en/brands/windex/windex-original-glass-cleaner|title=SC Johnson|first=SC|last=Johnson|website=SC Johnson - What's Inside}}</ref> An alternative variant also for household use cites water, hexoxyethanol, isopropanolamine, [[ammonium hydroxide]], sodium C10-C16 alkylbenzenesulfonate, [[lauramine oxide]], sodium xylene sulfonate, colorants and fragrances.{{cn|date=October 2024}}<!--this is directly from a 1.37 gal Windex Cleaner jug intended for refilling spray bottles, as obtained in November 2021-->
==Competition==
Windex's main competitor in the window cleaning market is [[Glass Plus]]{{cn|date=September 2020}}, a glass cleaning product produced by [[Reckitt Benckiser]], which Windex's current owner [[S. C. Johnson & Son]] was required to divest to gain the approval of the [[Federal Trade Commission]] to acquire [[Dow Chemical Company]]'s DowBrands consumer products division (the original owner of the Glass Plus brand).<ref>{{Cite news |title=S.C. Johnson Agrees to Sell Assets to Settle FTC Charges |url=https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/1998/01/sc-johnson-agrees-sell-assets-settle-ftc-charges |website=[[Federal Trade Commission]] |date=January 23, 1998 |access-date=October 15, 2021}}</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.scjohnson.com/en/press-room/press-releases/01-17-2008/Don’t-Let-The-Blue-Fool-You.aspx "Don’t Let the Blue Fool You: New Logo on Windex® Bottle to Highlight Company's Greenlist™ Process"], S.C. Johnson press release, Racine, Wisconsin, Thursday, January 17, 2008
* "Philip W. Drackett: Earned profits, plaudits" by Barry M. Horstman, ''[[Cincinnati Post]]'', May 21, 1999.
==External links==
* [http://www.windex.com/ Windex's official website]
* [http://www.herc.org/library/msds.htm Common Household Product Material Safety and Data Sheets]
{{SCJohnson}}
[[Category:Products introduced in 1933]]
[[Category:Cleaning product brands]]
[[Category:Household chemicals]]
[[Category:S. C. Johnson & Son brands]]
[[Category:Windows]]
[[Category:1993 mergers and acquisitions]]