What to fill in the washer fluid reservoir? Winter washer rating

Car windshield – the safety of the driver and passengers depends on its transparency and quality, therefore it is important that at any time you use the car.
Always clean and gives you reliable information about the situation on the road. Otherwise, if you ignore this rule, you risk getting into a traffic accident or at least damage the car when driving on a bad road, which in itself is an unpleasant event.
Today, all cars, without exception, are equipped with windshield washers, and SUVs and station wagons also have a rear window washer in their arsenal. Optionally, many vehicles can be equipped with headlight washers. With a properly selected washer fluid (anti-freeze), this device allows you to quickly remove dirt from the windshield, because in winter and autumn, the driver increasingly has to turn on the wipers due to not very favorable weather conditions for driving a car. That is why the question related to the purchase of a suitable washer fluid, and even on the eve of the autumn-winter period, becomes more relevant, in a daily progression.
What is a washer fluid (anti-freeze) – this is a fluid for washing car windows from road dirt, in winter, however, as part of a winter washer, there are components that are worth paying attention to because of their features, which plays an important role.

Almost all winter windscreen washer fluids consist of two main parts:

● alcohol base – prevents freezing, dissolves oil deposits (oily, gasoline stains);
● Surfactants (surfactants) – remove fatty and organic contaminants.

It is important to pay attention here to the alcohol base, which can be of three types:

● Ethyl (food) alcohol – frost-resistant, relatively safe for the body; but expensive due to the presence of excise taxes (used in the production of alcoholic beverages) – as a result, it is practically not used in the composition of the windshield washer fluid.
● Methyl alcohol (methanol) is the most resistant to frost, is inexpensive, even has some detergency. But at the same time, methanol is a rather strong poison that affects the liver and optic nerves of a person: ingestion of 30-50 ml into the body entails severe food poisoning or even death; a lower dose may cause eye irritation and damage to vision.
● Isopropyl alcohol (isopropyl) – the “closest relative” of acetone, is emitted by an unpleasant odor, which is why such winter washers have a strong smell of lemon or apple (since they have a tonic effect on the body and best of all interrupt the smell of acetone). In addition, isopropyl is the least frost resistant of all three alcohols: for good resistance to severe frosts (up to – 25-30 degrees), you have to use a lot of alcohol – up to 50% of the total volume of the finished windshield washer fluid.
It is important to know: isopropyl alcohol (like acetone) can damage plastic and rubber parts of the car: glass seals, wiper gum, headlight housing (if there is a headlight washer). To remove this risk factor, you have to use special solvents and neutralizers.
As a result, the formula for winter windscreen washer fluid based on isopropyl turns out to be too complicated and expensive: a lot of alcohol base + surfactant + fragrances + neutralizers …
Some companies are trying to save money and reduce the addition of certain substances, which is why the final product suffers: there is an unpleasant odor, danger for plastic. At the same time, it cannot be said that isopropyl is significantly safer than methanol.
For example, the maximum permissible concentration of isopropyl in the air before the appearance of unpleasant sensations is 10 mg / 1 cu. m of air; for ethanol, this figure is 5 mg / 1 cubic meter. m of air – i.e. the difference is only 2 times.
Therefore, you should not be afraid of methanol like fire: if it is used for its intended purpose – for washing glass, then it will not be more dangerous than compositions based on isopropyl alcohol. Which, by the way, turn out to be more expensive and therefore (in pursuit of economy and profit), some manufacturers are trying to save money on production with the consequences discussed above.

In this publication, we have highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of winter washers of the most common brands, such as: Liqui Moly, SONAX, Sheron, etc., and, based on expert opinions and opinions of motorists, selected the best of them.

1.Winter windscreen washer Turtle Wax Winter Screen Wash -20 ° C

Turtle Wax glass washer is an effective product that prevents car windows from freezing. Such a tool contains a special set of additives that have smoothing and cleansing properties. Turtle Wax winter washer perfectly helps to remove snow, dirt, salt and traces of lubricants from the windshield of a car.
Pros:
+ Lightly smell of caramel.
+ Well cleans glass surface
+ Price – quality.
+ Ready-to-use liquid
+ Copes even with ice on glass.
Minuses:
absent

2.Winter concentrate SONAX Antifrost and Klarsicht -70 ° С (332505)

Winter washer concentrate with citrus scent for windows and headlights. Packing for 5 liters, allows you to get a glass washer fluid with a volume of up to 15 liters, depending on the air temperature. It is worth noting that SONAX glass concentrates do not contain harmful chemicals and when you use them, you will not get an unpleasant poisonous smell in the car interior. In addition, SONAX concentrate prevents scratches and does not damage the surface of glass and car paintwork equipment, which it can get from the washer nozzles. Possesses protective properties. Removes grease and dirt from glass.

Pros:
+ Acceptable smell.
+ Possibility to dilute with distilled water to the desired freezing point.
+ Good for cleaning dirt and ice
Minuses:
-Price.

3.Liqui Moly Scheiben-Frostschutz concentrate -80C

Made according to German technology, this liquid does a good job of cleaning both the windshield and headlights. Virtually does not leave streaks and soiled marks after use. Made on the basis of isopropyl alcohol, surfactants and special additives. The manufacturer assures that this non-freezing liquid protects the surfaces of the head optics of the car from wear and cracking.

Pros:
+ Does not leave streaks.
+ Can be diluted with distilled water until the desired temperature.
+ Excellent copes with windshield contamination.

Minuses:
– In severe frosts, the concentrate, diluted according to the table, down to -30 degrees, thickens ..
– Has a fairly high level of counterfeiting.
– Price.

4.Winter windscreen washer Sheron -22 ° C (8594007990133)

A winter wiper that perfectly removes all the dirt typical of winter and does not distort the image after use. Freeze-resistant down to -22 ° C, neutral to plastic and rubber parts of the car and also harmless to car paintwork.
Pros:
+ Minimally perceptible odor.
+ Price – quality.
+ Ready-to-use mixture.
Minuses:
– below -20C it becomes like jelly ..

5.Ditol -25C

Ditol -25C Ready fluid for use in car washer systems at low temperatures. Designed for effective cleaning of glass and headlights from snow, road reagents, salt, soot, dirt and many other contaminants. thanks to special active detergents, it reduces the friction of the wipers on the windshield and guarantees their smooth sliding, reducing wear. Also, Ditol-25C does not interact with the windshield seals, which prevents them from cracking.

Pros:
+ Price
+ Creates a slippery film for wipers (by adding paraffin)
Minuses:
– Perceptible smell.
– at -20 freezes and turns into jelly.

We hope our rating will help you decide on the choice of washer fluid for your car, since the decision of what will be filled into the washer fluid reservoir is entirely up to you. Beware of fakes and be healthy.