Screenwash

Im looking for quality rather than quantity but it must be a fair price seeing as im north of the border and wee get loads of dirty roads.

I purchased on the basis of this:

Screenwash test

Not tried it yet though, still on something or other that I was using for the summer.

Erm….the blue stuff?

I buy 25 ltrs of concentrate off ebay last one was £20ish lasted whole winter between 3 cars

Don’t mix it.

You’ll end up having to clean a gross, gel-like substance out of the filter on your washer pump. Which may or may not require taking your wheel and other parts off the car to access it…

I bought 4x5lts of Comma Xtream from Ebay in the summer for £30.

Umm, water and washing up lipsquid?

Costco stuff. Neat or 50% dilute depending on time of year.

Erm….the blue stuff?

The yellow stuff.

Don’t mix it.

You’ll end up having to clean a gross, gel-like substance out of the filter on your washer pump.

Heh, I’ve been meaning to ask about this on here for months. The washer packed in on my previous motor, took it back to the dealer and they said the screenwash had turned to jelly. Their advice was to not use the cheap crap, I was going to question that as it’s never happened to me before in 25 years of using whatever was on offer at the time. Handy to know the cause, thanks.

Umm, water and washing up lipsquid?

Perfect if you only drive in summer and don’t like glossy paintwork.

Right, seeing as someone’s mentioned screenwash…

Halfords sell a ready mixed “-20c” screenwash at £7 for a 5 litre bottle
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/halfords–20-ready-mixed-screenwash-5l-citrus

They also sell “-20c concentrate” screenwash that can be diluted at £7.50 for a 5 litre bottle.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/halfords–20-concentrated-screenwash-5l-citrus

But the concentrate only works to -20c when it’s undiluted….just like the ready-mixed. So are they really the same thing?

Wake up sheeple, big screenwash are conning us!

There used to be powder which was handy as I have loads of water on tap so to speak, thus avoiding the need to lug great plastic containers of the stuff about.
Can’t find it anywhere now, progress I suppose.

Eurocarparts or Carparts direct. Decent strength stuff comes up at £2 for 5 litres delivered every so often. Set up a notification on hotukdeals to five you a nudge. 😆

The stuff from Lidl goes to -50. Awesome stuff when it’s available and only about 7 for 5l.

Halfords sell a ready mixed “-20c” screenwash at £7 for a 5 litre bottle

Which gets a bit expensive when your car’s washer bottle holds five litres…

I use the Prestone stuff they sell at Costco. 50:50 during winter and down to a third in the summer.

I use the Prestone wash too, 50:50 for winter. Usually get it from Tesco.

Just got 20ltrs of four seasons screen wash from GSF for £7 delivered. Just wait for their mid or weekend discount code that knocks ~56% off list price

The purple halfords ready to use winter screen wash is very good, look out for it when its on offer as it often is during the year, way better than standard ‘blue’ screenwash.

Must try the Prestone one from Tesco, did see Michelin made up stuff not concentrated squash at a poundy shop for £5 purple fruity flavour
Nothing worse than driving with the sun in the eyes pouring Volvic over the screen as you drive

Last lot came from eurocarparts – 5l concentrate. Just finishing it.

This one was recommended by the car detailing obsessives 8) available from the cleanmycar website, will give it a try

https://www.sonax.com/Products/Winter/(location)/12829-SONAX-XTREME-Antifreeze-clear-view-concentrate

I’ve pretty much just bought the purple Halfords stuff, tend to find it on offer £5 for 5ltrs and can honestly say I’ve never bothered noting how “good” it is.. it kinda just hits the screen and the wipers do the rest.
I too have heard tales of screenwash turning to gel and clogging washer bottles up, probably subliminally why I just continue to buy the purple stuff.
-20c ? Yeah, like I live on the south coast.. if it’s -5c the world stops turning here, so no need for screenwash… more need to stock pile beans and bread and milk.

Wouldn’t beans get stuck in the little nozzles?

I’ve been using the yellow Prestone stuff for the past few years, works really well. Stopped using the normal blue stuff as would often be streaky

Use the Yellow Prestone stuff in my car and for the works vans now too, great stuff.

We did used to use the Comma/CarPlan/Generic stuff on the works vans but we were getting through so much of it as they required you to use lots of it to clean the screens, they also tended to freeze on really cold mornings. Took some of my Prestone stuff in for my van and it was so much better at not freezing and actually doing it’s job with little waste. My transport manager ordered in a small batch as a trial last winter and, despite it being a fair bit more expensive from out supplier, it worked out cheaper as we use a lot less of it. We waste less time in the mornings too as it doesn’t freeze in the pipes and does a pretty good job of deicing the screens too, saving on scraping times.

Ah, one of my favourite rant topics.
Halfords, Supermarkets etc all sell ready mixed screenwash that freezes at only slightly below freezing. Some claim to have a better rating, but if they do in reality its marginal.
My sister had a 5L bottle freeze into a giant blue ice cube in her boot a couple of years ago.
I used to use Holts as my go to, but they seem to have joined the supermarket quality offerings.

The daddy of all screenwash is official VW Group one:

fifeandy

Agreed!

I used prestone before and found it was awful. Left smear marks all over the window when you wiped it.

Winter is here now. Any more recommendations?

My wife bought some Unipart stuff that’s good to -16c but also has a rain repellent in it. It’s bloody good.

The Rain-X stuff is great for keeping the windscreen clear – water just runs off, hardly need to use the wipers.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/rain-x-windscreen-washer-additive-500ml

Neat Prestone hear for my Scottish central belt and beyond forays.
I tried the rain x, but it caused wiper chatter. Was fine on Mrs OTS’s though 😡

Agree with the RainX recommendation, also when it’s frosty the ice doesn’t seem to stick the same to the treated windscreen.
Best part about RainX for me, is when it’s chucking it down and other drivers have the wipers on at max and I’m driving along with mine switched off!

I tried the rain x, but it caused wiper chatter. Was fine on Mrs OTS’s though

You need to clean the wiper and apply a little to the wiper blade.

Rain X is pretty good, but AngelWax H2GO is a lot better and lasts a lot longer.

Umm, water and washing up lipsquid?

Better not, I believe it contains salt.

@jambalaya – how did the SONAX stuff work out?