Windshield washer fluid smells bad?

[Jimmy9190]

I went to the new Rural King store last weekend with my wife and her mother. They had windshield washer fluid for 99 cents a gallon. That is a pretty good price so I got two gallons. The brand is "Xtreme Blue". I opened one up tonight, it had the typical foil seal under the cap, but the fluid smells very bad. It smells like rotten eggs. The fluid is not discolored, is the normal pale blue color, it is the type for use only down to 32 degrees which is fine for us here in Florida. I was curious so I opened the other bottle, it also has a smell to it but is not quite as bad as the first bottle. I have never seen this before, usually washer fluid just smells like Windex. Does anyone know if this stuff is OK to use or should I dump it down the drain?

 

[HangFire]

Yes, it goes bad. Don't dump it, return it and get another or your money back.

 

[Revving2Redline]

As a side bit of humor why are you smelling the fluid anyways j/k . Yeah if its rank in file send it back.

 

[Wolf359]

Didn't you just basically buy water?

I think you can make your own, just use dish washing liquid or window cleaner.

The only reason I buy it is for the menthol alcohol in it so it doesn't freeze in the winter. In the summer, I usually just mix it with water.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: Marco620
As a side bit of humor why are you smelling the fluid anyways j/k . Yeah if its rank in file send it back.


I smelled it because it nearly knocked me down when I opened the foil seal, it stinks bad like rotten eggs or a bad catalytic convertor..

 

[Kestas]

I agree with Wolf. Summer formula is a waste of money.

Summertime, I use water with soap. I make sure the soap is something other than blue to avoid confusion during winter prep.

 

[chrisri]

I wouldn't use it. Try to get it back or toss if it was really cheap. In my experience cheap windscreen fluids are bit of a gamble. There are some good ones, but some are really nasty. With yours smelling like a rotten eggs there's no telling if and how chemicals inside could react with paint and wiper blades.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks for the info. For $2.00 it really is not worth the hassle of trying to return it. I threw the receipt away too so I will just dump it and never buy Xtreme Blue again. Lesson learned.

 

[HerrStig]

Sounds like it was made locally in FLorida with untreated water. In many neighborhoods in FLorida it smells like sulfur when the sprinklers are on.

 

[paulo57509]

This stuff does go bad.

I had a half-opened jug of Super-Tech washer fluid that actually had black, floating mold growing in it.

The jug was only a few months old.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I threw out the bad fluid and bought 2 gallons at the grocery store, Both are fine and smell like fresh Windex. I have never had any trouble with the blue fluid from Publix and it only costs $1.39 a gallon.