screen washer solution

Hi,

I notice my screen wash is running a little low and wanted to know can I top it up with regular water and washing up liquid or do I need to buy one of the screen wash solutions ?

thanks

Reply to
mocha
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Washing up liquid uses salt as a thickening agent this is not good.

Reply to
Depresion

ohh I see. Not a good idea if it gets onto the paint work either I guess.

Had a quick google around says to use water or a windscreen washer fluid and in winter use 50% water and 50% windoscreen washer fluid and not to use any anti-freeze in there.

Reply to
mocha

Washing up liquid is not much of an antifreeze at dilute concentrations and you won't want a very high concentration. Proper solution will stop the jets freezing.

Rob Graham

Reply to
Rob graham

The message from "Rob graham" contains these words:

Never has here, no matter what the concentration. One of the things I hate most about driving on motorways when it's really really cold is the nozzle freezing up. I suspect the methanol diffuses through the last few millimeters of fluid and evaporates from the exposed surface at the nozzle. I've tried it neat and it still happens.

Not a problem now as I've got heated jets! Now all it does is freeze all over the wiper arms till they jam solid and no longer wipe the glass.

Reply to
Guy King

Screwfix is your friend here. A gallon of concentrate for £4.46

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Dilute it 1:10 and store the dilute stuff somewhere handy otherwise you'll be guessing how much to put in the bottle.

Reply to
Malc

Same price as asda roughly.

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

£2 in Netto, same capacity. To be fair, Halfords (already diluted; ready for use straight from the plastic container) had a BOGOF for a long time (November and December).
Reply to
Lin Chung

Rather OT, but I went into a local filling station to get some AAA batteries tonight and noticed they were selling Halfords screen wash. A pallet of the 5 litre ones by the door. There's a Halfords about a 1/4 mile away. Must check up on the prices...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

sounds good. Been looking at the halfords stuff.

didnt know screw fix sold this kind stuff.

Sorry to sound thick here whats the 1:10 mean?

Reply to
mocha

Talking about garages - so many of them are replacing the water dispenser now with a premixed water / screenwash - 2 quid for 5 litres or something stupid

Reply to
Tim S Kemp

In other words, you are paying for water which you would otherwise get for free.

Reply to
SimonJ

Diluted 10 times: Put 100ml in then fill the bottle up to 1L. :)

Reply to
Lin Chung

The dilution ratio of course. One part SW to 10 parts water.

Reply to
Malc

Technically that'd be 1:9 -- 100ml screenwash : 900ml water.

Reply to
David Taylor

Might be of some merit in a hard water area? Do jets block less with soft water?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

You can look at it like that if you like.

What you're actually doing, is paying for someone else to mix it for you. IMO that's probably worth it unless you actually enjoy mixing screenwash of course.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

The message from Colin Stamp contains these words:

Except at last sight it was about for times the price for premixed per squirt achieved. And the waste of all those plastic containers. And the shipping costs.

Reply to
Guy King

Its really not that difficult to pour a little screenwash into the car, then pour some water in after. I certainly wouldn't pay someone else to do it for me!

Reply to
SimonJ

And it takes ten times as much of my precious spare time to prepare for those squirts if I have to mix the stuff myself.

Ah, Environmental worries are another matter altogether.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

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