Living and driving in a cold-weather zone impacts a lot on our cars daily and could cause catastrophic damages. It could cause blurred vision, and freeze essential liquid in your car like your windshield wiper fluid.
Windshield wiper fluid wipes your windshield clean for good visibility when it’s been sprayed. Now imagine your windshield fluid freezes and you attempt to press the spray button, and your wiper fluid will not come out. It could create complicated problems in your car, maybe leading to accidents due to a blur windscreen view.
Therefore, in this article, we’ll unveil “how to keep windshield washer fluid from freezing”. If you have never experienced frozen windshield wiper fluid, then this write-up is also for you. Read through and learn how to ensure it never happens. In case yours has already frozen, don’t panic, because we’ve provided a solution for you below.
“How to keep windshield washer fluid from freezing”
Iced windshield wiper fluid can result in serious visibility problems while driving in the winter period. Driving in that kind of condition is unsafe because it might lead to an accident and it could be fatal. It is almost impossible to clean the windshield without the windshield wiper fluid. Therefore, how do you ensure that your windshield wiper fluid does not freeze?
The most efficient way to prevent your windshield wiper fluid from freezing is to use a windshield wiper fluid specified as freeze resistant. To ensure that your liquid windshield wiper is free from freezing, the few techniques below will guide you on how to stop windshield washer freezing:
The vehicle should be parked in a warm place:
Parking your car in a warm place is an effective means of keeping your windshield wiper fluid from freezing. Parking your car in a garage is a perfect example of a warm place to park your car when you are not driving it. If you reside in an area that constantly has extremely cold weather during the winter period, then you should ensure that your garage door is insulated.
A garage with an insulated door has the capability of keeping your car warm when it’s parked.
Use your engine heater.
In case your garage is not equipped with insulators, capable of keeping your car warm, then you should think of installing a heat source besides the reservoir. If your vehicle has an engine block heater, then you can adapt it to your windshield wiper reservoir to avoid freezing.
Heaters for engine blocks are largely adopted in cold weather areas, and they are commonly installed on diesel-powered engines. They are used to heat engine block before starting the engine, due to difficulty in starting engines once it’s cold. Engine heaters also prevent motor engine oil from freezing, and other vehicle fluids, like the windshield wiper fluid from freezing.
Therefore, ensure that you heat your engine and other engine compartment fluid first before attempting to start your vehicle. It will assist in unfreezing fluids in engine compartments.
Install A Windshield wiper fluid Heater
Some vehicles are not built with an engine block heater, especially non-diesel engines. Depending on your type of car, you may have the space to plant a heater for the windshield wiper fluid. Some vehicle comes with a pre-installed windshield washer heater, depending on your location and your vehicle specifications.
Providing a heater to your vehicle will keep your windshield wiper fluid from freezing. In case you are not in possession of any proper heating element, you could also use a substitute to warm. Maybe consider fixing a lamp holder with a radiant light bulb close to the fluid reservoir.
These heaters are useful both when cars are parked and also when they are in use. When the fluid is heated, it will assist clear blocked hoses or lines and melt tough ice and grimes on your windshield. Also, if you are eager to know how to keep windshield washer nozzles from freezing, then keeping your windshield wiper fluid heated always will surely be your best bet.
Use freeze-resistant washer fluid
Another painless way to prevent your windshield wiper fluid from caking is to adopt the use of freeze-resistant washer fluid. Observe your car washer fluid reservoir label, and if it doesn’t have any writing that says freeze-resistant then it is not.
Do not attempt to mix wiper fluids that are freeze resistant and non-freeze resistant in the same reservoir. It will cause the temperature to rise and freeze at a higher temperature, and it might damage the spray mechanism. If you are not certain about the type of windshield wiper fluid you have, then consider complete drain out.
You can then proceed with pouring in your freeze-resistant washer fluid. If you don’t know how to drain windshield washer fluid from the container, consult your owner’s manual or a certified mechanic.
Produce your windshield wiper fluid from home materials
You can produce your homemade windshield washer fluid that won’t freeze using rubbing alcohol, distilled water, and lather soap. To start; get a big container that can contain more than four liters of water. Your windshield washer fluid alcohol percentage should be 8oz, 99% rubbing alcohol for 3.8 liters of water, and a tablespoon of your lather soap.
Mix all properly to form washer solvent and cleaner, then proceed to drain your windshield wiper fluid container; then refill it with the windshield wiper fluid you prepared at home. Test the wiper fluid to ensure it cleans your windshield effectively. If you observe that your homemade fluid is freezing, add a little quantity of alcohol to it to boost its freeze-resistance strength.
FAQs:
Q: What can you put in your windshield washer fluid to keep it from freezing?
If your windshield wiper fluid freezes, find an effective means to unfreeze it as soon as possible to prevent cracking of reservoir, blocking of hoses and nozzles. Adding an unfreezing liquid to your windshield wiper fluid can keep it from freezing.
Alcohol can be used as an anti-freezing agent because it freezes at a lower temperature than normal water. Mixing a cup of alcohol with warm windshield wiper fluid can reduce the fluid freezing point. Also, there are other anti-freezing agents made of alcohol, available in the market.
Q: How do you winterize windshield washer fluid?
Driving under winter conditions is hazardous, due to some factors like snow, ice and also freezing of engine fluids and windshield wiper fluid. You must get prepared for the condition early to protect your car and its fluids.
Winterizing fluid will require you to prepare a warm garage, install a heating element near the fluid reservoir, and getting a freeze-resistance windshield wiper fluid before winter.
Q: How do you stop windscreen fluid from freezing?
There are many techniques you can apply to stop your windshield from freezing due to cold weather. You can stop your windshield fluid from freezing, either by heating the fluid from a heat source or adding an anti-freezing agent like alcohol to it.
Q: How does the alcohol keep the water in the cleaning fluid from freezing on the windshield?
The natural freezing point of water is much higher compared to alcohol and windshield fluid contains some quantity of water. Therefore, adding alcohol to it drops the freezing temperature furthermore and increasing the fluid anti-freeze properties. If you understood this, then you have learned how to lower the freezing point of windshield washer fluid
Q: Can you mix rubbing alcohol with windshield washer fluid?
Yes, rubbing alcohol can be mixed with windshield wiper fluid because the fluid already contains some quantity of alcohol. Also, alcohol has a much lower freezing point therefore, adding the rubbing alcohol to the windshield fluid will reduce the freezing point temperature.
Q: Can I put antifreeze in my windshield washer fluid?
Antifreeze is a freeze-resistance agent that prevents windshield fluid from freezing. It is produced by adding water with either propylene glycol or ethylene glycol. Adding your antifreeze to your windshield wiper fluid will reduce its freezing temperature but may be a little corrosive. Therefore, you are advised to use freeze resistance windshield wiper fluid. Also, ensure you use an antifreeze tester to test the fluid before pouring it in.
Q: What temperature does windshield washer fluid freeze?
Windshield wiper fluid is made of a natural solvent, which is water, and normally the freezing point is supposed to be 320F. Because of added materials, the freezing will alter and the freezing point now falls to -200F or -500
Final Words:
Using a freeze-resistant washer fluid proves to be very effective to prevent your windscreen wiper fluid from freezing. Also, applying heat to the fluid reservoir is effective but may be time-consuming depending on your heat source.
You can increase your fluid antifreeze properties by adding alcohol or antifreeze to it. And if you are planning on parking your car for a long, then you should park your vehicle in a garage that is properly insulated. Reading through this write-up properly will help you understand “how to keep windshield washer fluid from freezing”.
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