Which windshield washer fluid for below freezing?

[garlicbreadman]

the water in my windshield reservoir froze last year when i went snowboarding and it was the worse driving experience ever because i desperately needed to clean my windows but couldnt

recommend any windshield water fluid? or additive i can add with water?

 

[Rand]

The prestone yellow stuff is good.
they should also have a concentrate but good luck finding it.

the cheap blue stuff is usually not so good but its better than water.

 

[Bluestream]

How did water get in your fluid reservoir?

I use the -40C blue washer fluid, its 99 cents for 4L at Walmart in the fall. No need to spend money for high end washer fluid, its like pi-ss-ing in the toilet...

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I use any of the blue stuff, but make sure it is good for -20 or -25, mostly Peak brand. Never had any issues when we were in Colorado, in the cold of winter. Some places, like Walmart sell summer versions that will freeze without a doubt. Depending on where you live in CA, the odds of getting the summer stuff could be higher, so make sure you know what you are purchasing.

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
How did water get in your fluid reservoir?

I use the -40C blue washer fluid, its 99 cents for 4L at Walmart in the fall. No need to spend money for high end washer fluid, its like [censored]-ing in the toilet...


i always refill my resevior with just plain water...i live in california and never gets below 40f where i'm at.

yeah im not going to spend a pretty dime on windshield washer fluid, i just need something cheap and wont freeze until 0 F

 

[oggb]

Never, EVER use the Rain-X brand orange fluid in the winter. When it gets on the windshield and mixes with a little moisture it seems as though most cars wipers WILL NOT wipe it off of the windshield - it'll leave an annoying haze until it dries.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
How did water get in your fluid reservoir?

I use the -40C blue washer fluid, its 99 cents for 4L at Walmart in the fall. No need to spend money for high end washer fluid, its like pi-ss-ing in the toilet...


completely agree, although there was that one year my car at the time sat for a week or two broke down in one of the coldest winters i can remember, I had to jump the car with a only 6 month old battery that was under the hood. It was so cold that i think i was using the -32 blue stuff when i hit the button nothing came out, i opened the hood and looked and it wasnt frozen solid but it was "slushly".. After the car was started and warmed for around 45 min, the heat from the motor thawed the fluid out, but i still had nothing comming out of the nozzle.. after closer inspection the nozzles were froze from the ice.. after a couple quick shots from a can of windshield de-ice on the nozzles i was back in buisness..

 

[Errtt]

Last year I used some winter fluid but it froze just as it was hitting the windshield, building a lot of ice on the wipers too.
Someone here on BITOG says that truckers sometimes add "Heat" to the fluid for extra protection.
Yeah I had a couple bottles of heat (yellow bottles) - back in my garage.
Will try to remember it next time I head over the hills when the weather calls for it.

 

[tom slick]

I don't think real low temp. washer fluid meets Calif. VOC limits. I think you'd better off adding some alcohol to regular antifreeze.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: JRed
Never, EVER use the Rain-X brand orange fluid in the winter. When it gets on the windshield and mixes with a little moisture it seems as though most cars wipers WILL NOT wipe it off of the windshield - it'll leave an annoying haze until it dries.

ummm... been using the rain x orange stuff for yrs, on several diff. cars....
never had a haze problem. only time it even froze on the windshield , was after i went to the local valvoline oil change place, and they "topped off" my washer tank with their el-cheapo bulk tank stuff.

this year, as an experiment, i'm adding a bottle of
Prestone "booster" to the reservoir.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
I don't think real low temp. washer fluid meets Calif. VOC limits. I think you'd better off adding some alcohol to regular antifreeze.


the Booster i linked above, does state on the back, that Texas residents should only mix it with water to meet VOC compliance...

don't know how similar Texas/Cali VOC regs are...

 

[Stu_Rock]

Add methanol to get to the appropriate concentration. It's available at the hardware store or OSH. Ford supplies a table for the concentration you need for a given temperature:
http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/Main/quickref/windshield.pdf
I think the usual concentration for going up to the Sierras is 1 part methanol to 3 parts aqueous washer fluid.

If your tank is more than 25% empty, you can just add the methanol to it. While you drive up to the mountains, use the washer a couple times to make sure the mixture gets through the tubes.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Bluestream
How did water get in your fluid reservoir?

I use the -40C blue washer fluid, its 99 cents for 4L at Walmart in the fall. No need to spend money for high end washer fluid, its like pi-ss-ing in the toilet...


The cheap blue fluid will not cut oil. If you ever had a truch coming the other way splash a puddle or pot-hole filled with water and that water has some oil in it like from tar or something you end up with a brown windshield that you can not see through. And the blue stuff will not cut through it.

There are a couple of other times when oily films can get on your windshield. Such events are rare, but when they happen you are blind if your windshield fluid is not up to the job.

If you are going to use the low cost blue stuff, you would be wise to get some regular 409 cleaner and add enough of that to the jug so it foams up when you shake it. It will have a slight smell when you use it, but it will cut oil film on your windshield.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: Errtt
Last year I used some winter fluid but it froze just as it was hitting the windshield, building a lot of ice on the wipers too.
Someone here on BITOG says that truckers sometimes add "Heat" to the fluid for extra protection.
Yeah I had a couple bottles of heat (yellow bottles) - back in my garage.
Will try to remember it next time I head over the hills when the weather calls for it.


"HEET" is just methanol, which is the ingredient in winter washes that makes it handle the cold better. You are better off just buying winter wash.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: JRed
Never, EVER use the Rain-X brand orange fluid in the winter. When it gets on the windshield and mixes with a little moisture it seems as though most cars wipers WILL NOT wipe it off of the windshield - it'll leave an annoying haze until it dries.


OH, I KNOW!
I put some in my wife washer resivior and I thought she was goint to hand me my...

 

[Stu_Rock]

I should mention that it's illegal to sell methanol windshield washer fluid in the non-mountainous counties of California.

One problem I've noticed in a lot of cars around here is that algae grows in the tanks and clogs the tubes. Methanol prevents that from happening.

I don't like paying big bucks for blue water, so I mix up my own washer fluid. All I need is water, methanol, and a small amount of a surfactant.

 

[garlicbreadman]

^ maybe thats why i couldnt find any washer fluids that didnt freeze below 32º f

 

[MrRPM]

i use orange rain-x on a jeep wrangler and a pontiac vibe. i love it in both cars.

that haze for me dries in 1-2 seconds. for me that slight inconvenience is worth the water repelling action the fluid offers.

 

[Hollow]

Prestone yellow here. Good to -25F I think.

Generally about half the price of the Rain-X fluid in my experience, and it works, so I have yet to try the Rain-X.

 

[Bamaro]

Never had problems with the blue stuff freezing in the bottle but when sprayed on a cold windshield in freezing weather while moving it tends to freeze on the windshield from evaporation.