Why do we need to fill the screenwasher bottle ?

[Mastodon2]

Dear lord, this is ridiculous.

[bexVN]

rainwater is not exactly clean either. Screenwash does clean the screen better than water alone.

[killsta]

sussexjob said:

I never use screenwash, start the engine put the heater on and eventually the water in the bottle warms/melts from the heat of the engine.

You must have to get up an hour early just to go to work

[Otto]

sussexjob said:

we are talking fresh rainwater here

But not really - it tends to wash down the screen, and takes a load of crud with it into the gulley.

So I guess the nicer answer would be - because the water would be filthy, would clog up the washer jets, and would do a very poor job at cleaning the screen. Added to the fact it would not have any cleaning agents to help loosen bugs / tree sap / grime, and also nothing to lower the freezing point.

[mgtony]

What would you do if it didn't rain for a few months? Who said threads were going downhill?

[Otto]

sussexjob said:

I never use screenwash, start the engine put the heater on and eventually the water in the bottle warms/melts from the heat of the engine.

Either this is BS and you are having a laugh, you start your car two hours before you leave, or you drive without the ability to wash your screen.

It would be a SOLID BLOCK OF ICE after a fairly cold night - that doesn't defrost quickly. Not only that, but the instant you used it on your windscreen, it would refreeze on the cold screen (When driving along at moderate pace, you need a LOT of heat on the screen to keep it above freezing point - more often more than the heater could put out)

[gareth.e]

mgtony said:

What would you do if it didn't rain for a few months? Who said threads were going downhill?

thats easy, get a watering can and pour it down your windscreen to top up.. Might aswell pour a few litres of anti freeze over the screen too..

[bexVN]

mgtony said:

What would you do if it didn't rain for a few months? Who said threads were going downhill?

I thought of this and thought that maybe you wouldn't use that much water during a dry patch but then again windscreens get very duty instead so water is still needed.

As for OP poster heating up his car to melt the water in his screen wash, he must have patience!

[Shaw Tarse]

mgtony said:

What would you do if it didn't rain for a few months? Who said threads were going downhill?

Never mind a couple of months, last winter when the snow/ ice didn't melt to refill the screen wash bottle?
At the same time just how often did you need to wash your screen?
If you were sat on a motorway, would the water refreeze?

[skoff]

There is also a possible link to Legionnaires disease if you just put plain water in your washer bottle

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/14062010/36/windscreen-wa...

Dunno how true it is, but I'd rather not risk it.

[Jasey@]

bexVN said:

As for OP poster heating up his car to melt the water in his screen wash, he must have patience!

During winter up here to wait for that to happen would take approx 4 months .

I've seen my water nozzles re-freezing once motoring with 50/50 water / screenwash during the -15 spell we had.

Great thread - all the makings of a classic.

[spyder dryver]

Filling the washer bottle with piss probably makes more sense than plumbing in the windscreen run-off.
Maybe we could all collect our micturations and market the stuff as windscreen washer additive.
The advertising would be straightforward enough.

"Keeping the screen clear is now a piece of piss"
or
"We piss all over the competition"
You get the idea.
All we need is a name.

"Amberklene" is already in use. Makes you wonder what they make it from!

Then there's..

"WAZZO"
"Dick's Dirt Destroyer"
"Liquid Gold"
"Sheik Pissquick's Screensaver"

It can also unfreeze locks although draught is probably better than bottled for that particular application.

[poo at Paul's]

I think we need water or cleaner in there. But it amazes me that no car manufacturer (as far as I know) has tried heated water / fluid washing?
In the 80's, I got a thing that was like a heat exchanger for washer fluid, on a top hose, and it was excellent. In winter especially, it seemed to really help frozen washers / screen problems.

[Pothole]

skoff said:

There is also a possible link to Legionnaires disease if you just put plain water in your washer bottle

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/14062010/36/windscreen-wa...

Dunno how true it is, but I'd rather not risk it.

article said:

In 2009 there were 345 cases of Legionnaires' Disease

research suggests that water from windscreen washer jets could be the cause of one in five cases of Legionnaires' Disease.

so 69 people might have got ill perhaps...a risk so low as to be almost none at all.

ETA. According to the same source 163 of the 345 cases were 'Travel Associated'. Do we subtract those from the 345 or are van drivers 'travelling'?

Edited by Pothole on Thursday 12th May 19:27

[Great Pretender]

sussexjob said:

Otto said:

Yeah.... and instead of plumbing clean water from the mains in our homes, we can just pump the stuff back up from the drain in the shower / sink / bath and reuse it! GENIUS!!

we are talking fresh rainwater here

[spurs-442]

This has to be a wind up - no one is this dumb.

[pinchmeimdreamin]

Nothing to add just wanted to be part of a legendary thread.

[anonymous-user]

the engine doesn't defrost the washer bottle in my car - its at the other end of the car!

[eldar]

JPJPJP said:

the engine doesn't defrost the washer bottle in my car - its at the other end of the car!

You could reroute the exhaust slightly so it ran near the bottle to keep it warm.

[Monkeylegend]

poo at Paul's said:

I think we need water or cleaner in there. But it amazes me that no car manufacturer (as far as I know) has tried heated water / fluid washing?

Mercedes E class has a heated system. Works very well.