Stinky windscreen washer water

[Cardiff_Exile]

My car has egg smelling washers – 98’clk

At start of the summer I drained and cleaned out the reservoir and ran through some baby bottle sterilizer. All was well for a few months but the smell has come back. I use water and screen wash 50/50. The other cars don’t have these issues with the same mix but the reservoir tends to be in the wing. In the merc it's in the engine bay so I guess gets warm/cold/warm/cold so germs breed.

Any ideas on what to mix with screenwash to sort? I was thinking a dash of the baby sterilizer fluid but that may be too harsh for the paint.

[voicey]

Fill it with a bleech solution, leave for a while then drain.

[swansea v6]

Had the same thing with my FTO, I flushed the system with boiling water then a weak bleach solution and the smell didn't return.

[iPlod999]

Try smelling your screen wash before you put it in.

I has this a couple of years ago and wasted a afternoon draining out, washing and refilling.

The screen was itself had gone off.

[Cardiff_Exile]

just sniffed the bottle of blue stuff and its fine.

Can I just add something to the mixture rather than draning, purging and re filling?

would baby bottle fluid, say 50ml in around 5000ml of fluid, cause issues to paint and rubber seals etc?

I should add my car is not waxed and gets washed when it rains, it is just a daily hack

[smartphone hater]

There may well be something wrong with my maths but that Sonex stuff is about £8 per bottle which gives you 25 litres. You can buy 25 litre concentrate for about £20 which if mixed at 10/1 is £20 for 250 litres, which is saving of £60 over the Sonex. Then add your Ethanol.

[Yuxi]

My 93 500SL heats the washer fluid, it makes it smell after a while were the same fluid when used in my Peugeot stays fresh for ages. Maybe the Mercedes spec washer fluid can stay fresh with continued heating and cooling.

[Cardiff_Exile]

Thanks for all the replies - I've filled up with 50/50 holts screen wash and water with a dash of baby bottle fluid - will let you know how I get on.

[Martin F]

voicey said:

Fill it with a bleech solution, leave for a while then drain.

This works !

[theshrew]

Remove the washer bottle and put it in the dishwasher.

[Evoluzione]

Since I got over my OCD of smelling my washer fluid my life has been much better. Coming out and admitting I had a problem was the hardest part, but my support group and counsellor were very supportive.
It was a long and difficult journey, but I feel it was worth it in the end.

Now I've just got to stop sniffing my tyres and my oil.....

[MJG280]

Put a bottle of cheap vinegar in the water. It will clean the system and your windscreen.