re=antifreeze in screenwash?

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Hi, My wife has just filled her windscreen washer up with ordinary screenwash, not with anti-freeze in.Can I add ordinary car antifreeze to it, to mix in ,instead of trying to syphon other out.Or doesordinary car anti-freeze cause damage to washer system?
 
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No, it can damage your paintwork. Screenwash shouldn't freeze anyway if used at the recommended ratio for winter.
 
Don't use washing up liquid in there either. Sick to the the screenwash products that you can buy, or add some methylated spirits.
 
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A suprising number of screenwashes will only stay liquid to -6 degrees and we've been seeing up to -20 in Scotland this year.

It may be smelly, but you can add Ammonia which on it's own freezes at -80, so you can dilute it down to about 1 part ammonia to 4 parts water and it'll be good for -20. Add some distilled white vinager and some lemon juice and you'll get sparkly clean windscreen which does not freeze as it hits the screen or stits around the nozzles. The alternative is Isopropyl alcohol, again, very low freezing point. Think about how you can store Vodka in the freezer without it freezing.
 
Vodka, thats a good idea, I am allergic to vodka so I could put the stuff I have to good use..... Trouble is I would have to ensure its fumes do not migrate into the car..... :D
 
Buy some decent screenwash, you may need to put it in neat for this very cold weather. Should happily go down to -15.
 
Buy some decent screenwash, you may need to put it in neat for this very cold weather. Should happily go down to -15.

Check before you buy!!! Many big brand names don't go down that far or do not list the freezing point. Halfords, I understand, have been repackaging their popular 3 for 2 5 litre ones. They used to say -15 or -17, but now say -6 because that is where they start to freeze. I found this out the other week when it was -8 and it all froze in the pipes. It seems, as is such with life, the cheaper it is, the less likely it will cope with the conditions we are beginning to see.
 
I went to top mine up today. I picked up the bottle of screenwash and guess what, it had turned to slush in the bottle. When I read it, it said it was good for -5. I had another bottle, exactly the same but unopened, and it was still liquid.
 
I should clarify my ammonia solution. It needs to be pure ammonia. Many supermarkets sell a diluted form so if you then dilute it further, the freezing point will be little over that of water and you will be in a worse state than many high street screen washes.
 
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