Mixing Antifreeze with Windshield Washer?

I recently bought 2010 windshield concentrate and the instruction said to mix it with water during summer and antifreeze in the winter. I'm taking my truck to Utah for a ski trip so I mixed in a little anti-freeze with the washer fluid concentrate... which right after I did it, seemed odd. Wouldn't antifreeze make the windshield a little streaky? And is antifreeze bad for the paint? Anyway, I figured I'd post here and ask if those that live in colder areas routinely put a little antifreeze in the windshield washer reservoir. Clueless in LA.

 

Buy a jug,

 

Pink RainX is the only windshield washer fluid worth buying.

 

You mixed in engine anti-freeze?

Yeah, it's gonna streak, fuck up paint, oh and it's also a sickly sweet attractive poison so you're spooging it all over the road.

I've never heard of that 2010 product but I googled it and read the spec sheet. Wow. 11 pages of warnings. Saw nothing about mixing it with anything other than water.

Mixing compounds and having an MSDS sheet, good lord...

You can use some of those trendy square bottles of Evian-Perrier Smart Fiji Water if you want your windshield to be free of anabolic steroids and be organically sustainable.

Although living in a warm climate if I were you I'd use water. Plain water. From the tap.

Going to Utah and it's gonna be cold? Buy a jug of the blue shit for $2.19 at literally any gas station you pass.

-Midwest Mark

 

yup. a long time ago the GF bought engine coolant mistaking it for the pink windshield washer fluid. what a friggin' mess that crap made. the windshield was nothing but one massive streak. you couldn't really see out of it at all. and of course, she had put an entire jug into the reservoir. i don't recall it causing any paint issues, but i couldn't wait to get that crap out of the system. in hindsight i should have pumped it out.

just pony up a few extra bucks and buy washer fluid that can handle lower temperatures.

 

0 degree/all season Rain X

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rain-X-128-fl-oz-0-All-Season-Windshield-Washer-Fluid-113625/205685266?

 

Most of us here may not be tree huggers, but we dont pour our motor oil on the ground because the smell gives us a hard.

And we also dont want to spread antifreeze around killing dogs, cats, deer, bears, El Chapo and other animals in nature. Seriously whoever told you this anti-freeze BS needs a Tabasco enema devoid of lubrication.

Oh and pretty sure anti-freeze for windshield washer fluid is illegal.

 

Most LA water is mineralized ("hard") and will streak/spot. Better to use cheap bottled water, distilled or RO water.

 

Just pick up a jug of the hard freeze stuff on the way over to Utard.

Most antifreeze these days by the way is not toxic to critters.

 

That's good to know, you wonder if chemists sit on their laurels sometimes or if they search for improvements.

 

I'd say pump that 2010 concoction down your favorite gopher hole, it's going to end up in the ocean anyway.
And just go to your favorite store and get the middle of the road, washer juice.

It works just as good as the pricey stuff and your wallet won't miss the extra 99 cents because you didn't buy the cheap stuff.
Garden hose water will freeze when you need it the most and will not properly clear a windshield when you're trying to overtake a semi with 30 or more tires spraying road grime at you.

I've driven through Utah in the dead of winter and when you're following a semi and getting ready to pass it, you'll need all the help a decent washer fluid will give you.
I'm taking a drive to SoCal. in a week and fully expect to use and refill the washer juice at least once on the trip. The drive back up will be the same.

 

It's not uncommon for an SDS to be 11 pages. They are required to have 16 sections and much of the content of an SDS isn't conveying how incredibly dangerous the product is. I would suggest comparing it to the SDSs for other concentrated chemicals that you may use regularly.

Not commenting on whether this product is good or bad, but just trying to point out that having an SDS for a chemical mixture that is 11 pages is not a reflection of how harmful the product is.

The jist of the 2010 SDS is that it's very corrosive, which is not uncommon for concentrated cleaning chemicals, so you shouldn't get it on your skin or eyes, and you also shouldn't drink it.

For comparison, here is a RainX SDS: https://www.rainx.com/wp-content/up...in-X-Original-Glass-Treatment-10022018-EN.pdf

 

Damn... I just bought it cuz it was $3.99 and I figured since its a concentrate it's even cheaper than the blue stuff they sell in gas stations. Anyway, I think at most I added 10ml of anti-freeze, so I think it should be pretty diluted with the fluid in the reservoir. Didn't hit much bugs in winter driving so, didn't have to use the fluid...and too be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted to risk streaks. lol. Oh well, live and learn.

 

It's cheap enough to just buy pre-mix good to -40. I never use Rain-X for anything though. IMO, that stuff sucks. Leaves a film.
This is a no brainer. Why even take the time to mix??

 

I’ve seen some gas stations in the high desert sell jugs with instructions on them on how you’re supposed to mix it based on what temperatures you’re going to be running it at.

You run it straight up if you want the maximum protection.

My thing is, who is going to be diluting their washer fluid at a fucking gas station literally in the middle of nowhere?

 

Just buy the Toyota concentrate. And dilute it per instructions on the back of the bottle. Contains methyl alcohol.
Genuine Toyota Fluid 00475-00WWF Windshield Washer Fluid Concentrate - 32 oz.

$22 Genuine Toyota Fluid 00475-00WWF Windshield Washer Fluid Concentrate - 32 oz.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AKYP14Q

 

That stuff poisons the countryside near the roads. Like long-term, genetic, bio-accumulator damage. It is generally illegal in California, because it really is that bad, but you can buy it above a certain altitude. I get mine in Colfax.

 

Here’s a link to interesting discussions on making you’re own windshield anti freeze.

https://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/98718/Alcohol-as-Windshield-Washer-Fluid-Anti-Freeze

“The current effective formulas for windshield washer fluids consist of:

Methanol (Methyl Alcohol, wood alcohol, carbinol, wood naphtha, or wood spirits among other names). 45-50% methanol, 45-50% water and 5% Iso-propyl alcohol will stay fluid till about -50oF.

Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol; Alcohol anhydrous; Algrain; Anhydrol; Denatured ethanol; Ethyl hydrate; Grain Alcohol; Ethyl hydroxide, among others) 100% will protect down to -173oF. A 50% solution with water protects down to -25oF. 100 proof Vodka will protect down to the same temperature.

Isopropyl Alcohol (Isopropanol, 2-Propanol, rubbing alcohol, etc,) 100% will protect down to -128oF. A 50% with water will protect down to -5oF. A popular concentration of 70% will protect down to -20oF. 90% will protect down to -70oF.

The streaking you see after using it and it evaporates is most likely a combination of the dirt and the detergent, usually up to 5%, that is in the formula to make it so that it cleans the windshield some. Problem is that your car doesn't have a soapless rinse solution so the soap streaks.

The choice is yours. Get the one you think will meet the properties you want. The best way to see what each product uses for the active component, some people will shout not to, is to gently smell the odor of each. Methyl Alcohol has the sweetest odor of all three. The other two can be done by comparison. If it smells like vodka it is Ethanol based. If it smells like rubbing alcohol it is Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol).

Neither will harm plastic. That is what they are bottled in. These three formulas have been used for many years, especially methanol, and have not harmed the pumps, rubber hoses, plastic, etc. The ethanol used is denatured with other products in order to eliminate liquor taxes.”

 

Clearly, you've never lived in the middle of no where and had nothing but self reliance as your teacher. #fuckingkids lol