I seem to be going through litres of screenwash at the moment. Any recommendations for good stuff?

The supermarket stuff seems to make the windscreen worse. I had some VW/VAG stuff after a service and this seemed to last for ages, although it was in the summer.

(Will be replacing the wiper blades too as I think they are on their way out)

Standard answer is Prestone. It’s yellow and works really well so you use less of it.

Thanks

works really well so you use less of it

I think this is why the VW/VAG stuff lasted so long too

Prestone.

New blades.

Clean the screen properly inside and out with degreaser. Modern dashboards evaporate plasticizer over time which ends up coating the inside of the screen making it look grubby and fog up easier. And the outside gets covered in diesel, tree sap, bugs, and a million other things that window cleaner spray won’t shift, roughing up the wiper blades and smearing everything.

Then rain-x on the outside so nothing sticks to it in the first place.

ECP usually does the 5l Prestone for pretty cheap

Exciting thread!

I use Rain-X Screenwash cos it works good.

No, don’t treat the outside with any repellent, it will be a wax or a silicon and your new blades won’t sweep off the water cleanly but will leave a smear until the stuff wears out. It’s one reason why I stopped using the £3 hand car wash – they finish by spraying the car with a water repellent.

You need new blades every 6-9 months and especially after a summer of rubbing against dry grit and being baked in the sun. Clean off the plasticiser film using a cloth wetted with water and detergent then polish with a dry cloth. It’s amazing how many drivers you see with clouded windscreens, struggling to see through the glare of oncoming headlights.

I’ve been trying to cut down on unnecessary plastic and found these screenwash tablets on ebay.

The 5 tablets are supposed to make 20 litres of eco-friendly screenwash. It seems ok – as good as any supermarket stuff certainly. The only thing is my washer bottle has a mesh to stop bits getting in so you can’t drop the tablet in as the instructions suggest so I had to dissolve it in a bottle of water first.

I was using Prestone for years but everywhere I usually bought from seems to have stopped selling it. The green Halfords stuff seems ok as an alternative though although there hasn’t really been the winter to test it*

*there. I said it – you can blame me when it takes you 18hrs to get home from work and another Scottish transport minister gets fired this time next week

austin

Member
I’ve been trying to cut down on unnecessary plastic and found these screenwash tablets on ebay.

These look good, although no information on how cold it’ll go before they freeze up.

I currently use the Halfords one that smells of Berry. Seems to clean Ok & lasts a decent amount of time…

I go through loads of it, mainly cos my civic has scooshers on the headlights too, which seem to fire out loads of the stuff. Considered making my own, but may try those tabs.

Prestone

Tesco sell it so if I’m running low I just add it to my grocery delivery.

The 2 litre concentrated one can be diluted 20:1 in the summer and it works down to -18 neat

Prestone blue concentrated stuff seems to work well – 5l for not very much money from Costco.

We went skiing in Aviemore once when the temperature dropped to minus 24c. Going up the A9 was comical; every layby was full of people including Police stopped and wiping their windscreens as everything had frozen but the road was still wet so salty spray was covering everybody’s windscreens. We emptied a bottle of spray deicer into the bottle but all that happened was that blue slush came out of the nozzles and froze. Next morning the car only just groaned into life and we got static belts off it as we waded through powder dry snow and touched the handles. That was a proper winter. Must have been 1996 or 97, I guess.

Prestone blue concentrated stuff seems to work well – 5l for not very much money from Costco.

This.

But… make sure when you get the car serviced that it’s topped up and they don’t need to add their own stuff.

If you mix some brands, you end up with a gel-like mush in the bottle which eventually gets in the pump and then it’s new pump time…

No, don’t treat the outside with any repellent, it will be a wax or a silicon and your new blades won’t sweep off the water cleanly but will leave a smear until the stuff wears out. It’s one reason why I stopped using the £3 hand car wash – they finish by spraying the car with a water repellent.

Dunno what’s in rain-x, but it’s nothing like that. The water just hits the screen, beads and gets blow off the top. Comes in a small bottle and you have to polish it on though, not a spray.

Another +1 for Prestone.

Also, a cautionary tale. A few years back, my windscreen washers stopped working. Fired into the garage who came back with “what the hell have you put in it?” Uh, whatever was on offer at the supermarket. They told me that the whole system was clogged up with some sort of gel.

A bit of digging on t’Internet, it turns out that different types of screenwash can interact with each other and turn jelly-like. Who knew? So if you’re switching from whatever you’re currently using to something else, run it dry before you do.

If you mix some brands, you end up with a gel-like mush in the bottle which eventually gets in the pump and then it’s new pump time…

Damn it!

Could be that some brands contain a surfactant (detergent) and others contain salt. Salt is used to thicken surfactants like dishwash liquid and shampoo.

I usually use rain x on the sides and rear window of my saloon (no rear wiper). I have only once used it on my windscreen after a plastic washer snapped and rendered the wipers in-active – The AA wiped it down with the rainx to get me another 40 miles to my destination. It worked.

You do need to re-apply it often, and I usually forget, so don’t bother. It needs to be more regular on the windscreen than sides for it to work properly.

Dunno what’s in rain-x, but it’s nothing like that. The water just hits the screen, beads and gets blow off the top. Comes in a small bottle and you have to polish it on though, not a spray.

They do a screenwash too. Which is kind-of a spray.
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/rain-x-windscreen-washer-additive-500ml

Haven’t tried this one though, which was the first search result…
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/rain-x-5l-ready-to-use-screen-wash

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/screenwash-de-icer/halfords–10-concentrate-screenwash-5l-berry?

Standard answer is Prestone.

There’s a Standard Answer?

What a time to be alive!

Clean the screen properly inside and out with degreaser. Modern dashboards evaporate plasticizer over time which ends up coating the inside of the screen making it look grubby and fog up easier.

Really? That explains a lot!

Prestone here too. The concentrated yellow stuff in 2 litres from Tesco. Was £3.50 last time I think.
This time of year I dilute it 50:50 so that I can be smug on icy morning with working washers. Only problem is that when it’s not freezing cold and there’s that wet spray everywhere that dries as soon as it hits your screen. I wince everytime I have to waste my posh screenwash when all I need is the water element of it. I could do with a second set of washers linked up to very dilute stuff for the long motorway trips.

anyone got any experience with these ‘wipe on products’ and the various safety systems that now rely on a sensor inside the windscreen?

Which screen wash for my lane assist system?

I have my right hand wiper blade set to “Exotic Chemicals” and the left on “Tap Water”.

The plasticisers used in car interiors are of extremely low volatility to resist heat but I’d imagine that, if they can settle on the insides of the windows, they will also accumulate in your lungs unless you keep the car well ventilated. Something else for drivers to worry about.

The plasticisers used in car interiors are of extremely low volatility to resist heat but I’d imagine that, if they can settle on the insides of the windows, they will also accumulate in your lungs unless you keep the car well ventilated. Something else for drivers to worry about.

I presume it’s more likely to happen when the car’s an 80C greenhouse in a car park than when you’re driving along with the AC on/windows open.

Prestone in the Winter, Sonax Xtreme 250ml Nano Pro Screenwash in the Summer- both work very well, the Sonax is diluted 100:1.

What triggers the change of fluid – strict calendar? Weather?

What if there’s a sudden cold snap after you’ve switched?

Is anyone else annoyed when they see pre-mixed screenwash? Carting pallets full of mostly water around seems a tragic waste of resources. Any retailer selling concentrate should have to supply tap water just in case too.

What triggers the change of fluid

weather once spring is definitely here you don’t need the anti-freeze function of winter screenwash.

Is anyone else annoyed when they see pre-mixed screenwash

Yup, mostly water, which is a waste, and also designed to rip people off as you are getting very little for your money.

Last time I got a new car, I waited for the stuff already in the car to run out, then ran a litre of water through it to flush it out before filling up with the Halford Berry screen wash.
Have used Rain X in the past and there was a level of smearing after wiping before the screen was crystal clear again, ok during the day, but a little distracting at night. Ok for the side windows though.

@Tinas @globalti or when you’re driving around in a 10 year old greenhouse on wheels decked out in the cheapest French plastics available.

I’ve yet to find a better explanation of why my windows are filthy from doing sod all. Properly water repelling filthy too.

anyone got any experience with these ‘wipe on products’ and the various safety systems that now rely on a sensor inside the windscreen?

Can’t imagine that there would be any effect, the coatings are transparent after all. The various sensors are just small cameras* that have to be able to function when all kinds of crap is being sprayed onto the screen by other vehicles, so an invisible coating will have zero effect.
*There can be as many as four on some cars. Replacing a screen can take two hours or more, because the system needs recalibrating.

Blimey. Some serious thinking going into this. I just put a squirt of Fairy liquid in my bottle.

It literally works fine. Can’t say that seeing through it is ever a problem.

Any fantastically effective product or way to get the inside clean?

I’ve tried all sorts of cleaning products and methods and none seem particularly good.

Have you tried….glass cleaner? 😉

kayak23

Blimey. Some serious thinking going into this. I just put a squirt of Fairy liquid in my bottle.

It literally works fine. Can’t say that seeing through it is ever a problem.

It works fine until the temperature drops a bit and you are on a motorway being sprayed with murky sludge that hits your windscreen & dries, but you can’t clear it because your dilute washing-up liquid mix has frozen….