![]() It can be caused by a limescale build from prolonged tap water use. The last problem that can occur is a blockage, so the wiper spray jets will not spray. In the winter, all the road dirt and grime that gets flung onto the windshield from the car in front doesn’t clean off properly, and that’s if the water will spray because it is probably frozen anyway. In the summer, bugs and oil will smear on the windscreen, failing to clean out to a point it may obstruct your ability to see through the windshield. Secondly, water on its own will struggle to clean the windshield properly. ![]() Now this isn’t so bad if you have a heated windshield, but that takes a minute or so to start working, which you can’t wait for if you’re driving. So when you spray the windshield, the water freezes on it and instantly ruins your visibility. The other issue with the water freezing point is when you’re driving in cold temperatures, even above freezing, the wind chill makes the windshield colder. The problem is that it freezes inside all the water lines to feed the spray jets and causes a blockage, or it can take a long time to thaw. At night for at least six months of the year, in some climates, temperatures can drop enough for the water in the tank to freeze. There are a few problems with using water instead of windshield wiper fluid.įirst, the problem is water freezing at 0 degrees Celsius. Depending on their intended use, some windshield washer fluids contain additives such as anti-freeze, insect repellents, and lubricants. The water is used as a base for the liquid, while alcohol is used to lower the freezing point of the fluid, and the detergent helps break down dirt, dust, and oil on the windshield. Windshield washer fluid is a combination of water, detergent, and alcohol. What should you use if you can’t get wiper fluid?.Circumstances in which water can be used.Better washer fluid will solve the problem, Dave, because there's really no other way for water to get in there. ![]() If it doesn't freeze, then you can try lower concentrations. Buy a bottle of that and try it at a stronger concentration than even they recommend-that is, add less water than they suggest-just to test the theory. TOM: The best washer antifreeze you can get is the concentrated stuff they sell at auto parts stores. To warn the guests at your next cocktail party that it's NOT water, in case you forget. RAY: And that's why the stuff is blue, by the way. Come back 12 hours later, and I bet you'll find thin, little ice cubes. Put a very thin layer of this stuff in the bottom of an ice cube tray and put it in your freezer. But when a thin stream of this washer fluid sits overnight in the rubber tube that feeds the washer, it freezes and plugs it up. TOM: It doesn't freeze in the reservoir bottle til 25? below, because there's too much of it there (for the same reason a lake doesn't freeze as quickly as a puddle on your driveway). The fact that it was $1.99 for a case of six should have been a dead giveaway, Dave. RAY: The reason the stuff is freezing is because the washer fluid you're buying IS cheap junk. TOM: Well, of all the questions you asked, David, the only one we feel confident in answering is "why is the stuff blue." But we'll get to that in a minute. Is water getting in the system from some other path? Is the washer fluid I buy a rip off? Does the water I use in the summer somehow hide out, and then jump back into the hose when it gets cold? Why am I too cheap to take it to a dealer? Thanks for any insight. At first I thought some precipitation had frozen just in the nozzle, but when I disconnected the hose from the nozzle, nothing comes out of the hose either. BUT, then a good freeze comes-say, a couple of days in the low twenties-and the washer won't work again until a thaw. In October, I switch from water to "guaranteed to 25? below" washer fluid, so that by the time we have hard freezes, I have gone through two full tanks of this blue stuff (why is it always blue, anyway?). This may seem trivial, but it really frosts my gizzard: My windshield washers don't work in sub-freezing weather.
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