windshield wiper fluid.

[ErichZ26]

After 25+ years of filling windshield wiper bottles I am confused.

I purchased Blue fluid from a Wisconsin owned store made by a company from Minnesota. I bought it for $.74 a gallon on sale last year. I know fluid comes in different variations, colors and temperature ratings. What i am scratching my head is after reading the label it is rated for 32 degrees F or above. Now i do not live in the coldest part of the world, but many of the months in Chicago it is below freezing. Seriously, why dye it blue....the crap is useless.

I just assumed it would be good to at least 15 degree's..and hoping 0. I already had it in my bottle and it did freeze nice and solid for me. I thawed it by dumping Denatured Alcohol into the tank..topping it off a bit. I bought more of said fluid from the same company rated for 0 degree's today. The bottles are basically the same, labels, color.

I wish there could be some standards to wiper fluid. With some bottles in the hundreds of dollars that could split open with ridiculous rated fluid.

[beretta]

rated for 0 degrees ?? the stuff in my car right now is for -37 C and one of my sprayers froze up yesterday lol

[DTMAce]

This is why I stopped buying blue anything. I now just buy the slightly more expensive rain-x orange stuff. Never freezes, and it works well, even for summer. Just make sure it says Rain-X on it. They have it for -30 something below, that is what I have been using.

[Money pit Beretta]

Yeah blue for summer and the Rain X or the red stuff for winter. It doesn't get that cold here but I have had the nozzles get frozen when using Rain X. That was because there was still blue stuff in the lines. Got to spray until you see the color change.

[Styluss]

I have never had washer fluid freeze. And I live in Colorado... I must be buying well rated stuff.

[ErichZ26]

This is why I stopped buying blue anything. I now just buy the slightly more expensive rain-x orange stuff. Never freezes, and it works well, even for summer. Just make sure it says Rain-X on it. They have it for -30 something below, that is what I have been using.

Yes, sometimes if its really cold out i will dump the more expensive Rain-X in my tank. I do have a couple bottles of this.

I was wrong on the Zero. It is actually -20. I went back to the store today and on my way in there was some old guy with 3 bottles of this +32 degree stuff. He was returning it for the same reason.

Color means nothing for rating but i don't understand why they even bother to dye it blue when it is basically water. SAE should get involved with this.


Yes, i feel stupid for NOT reading the damn bottle before purchase before dumping the contents into my van.

[Money pit Beretta]

I swear that in the old days that 32+ was very small and hard to see. Yes I learned that the hard way when I was young. No screw that, it said on the label to like -10. It never made it passed 32 and I think they got sued. Too bad I used all my old bottles for oil changes long ago.
That big 32+ was not on the old bottles and the company didn't have that -20 stuff. Hell I didn't know that they even made that these days. LOL, if I see blue I look at it as summer washer fluid, I don't care what the label has on it. Looks the same as the other crap and I'm not going to go through that again.
Some of my friends in school did try what the antifreeze washer fluids label said to do, like a 50/50 mix. That does not work when the temp goes under 32 by even 5 degrees.

Well I'd say put some of that -20 crap in a cup and put it in the freezer. The washer tank is under pressure and that would for sure change things, but it would still be a good test.

[Money pit Beretta]

I have never had washer fluid freeze. And I live in Colorado... I must be buying well rated stuff.

I would think that they would sell only one kind in your area. Just a state away we have a range of 115 to -10 degrees. We can use both kinds. Really I think it's more of a regional thing. Would you sell both in your area?

[Godlike]

Thats why I use Dexcool

[MAD MARK]

Shouldnt you be cleaning the shop, fixing a car, or mailing stuff out instead of thinking about this...

I sexted you. Write me back.