This can happen even to drivers who buy high-quality windshield washer fluid. It is enough to hit severe frosts or leave the car outside in the cold for several days, and ice will form in the washer nozzles. And if you forget to change the summer washer to the winter one, then after the first frost the tank will be clogged with ice. We tell you what to do if the “anti-freeze” is frozen and how to prevent this in the future.
Why does windshield washer fluid freeze?
There may be several reasons:
- The “anti-freeze” was mixed with the water that remained in the windshield wiper system, or the summer “wash”, and therefore began to freeze at lower temperatures.
- If a low-quality liquid is poured, then at low temperatures it begins to thicken and crystallize.
- The windshield washer fluid does not match the weather conditions.
- An anti-freeze solution that is too diluted with water is used.
As a result, ice can form in the nozzles, windshield washer motor, pipes or reservoir.
What to do if the “anti-freeze” is frozen?
There are several ways to melt the ice in the washer.
Warm up the car
This is the simplest and most effective method that should be used first. Service director of one of the divisions of the Avilon group Pavel Sidorov advised Move the car to a warm place, wait until it warms up, and then replace the windshield washer fluid with new one.
How exactly to warm up the car is up to you. You can simply drive around the city for a long time or park your car in a heated parking lot and go to the cinema or go for a walk to the shopping center. If you have your own heated garage, leave the car to warm up in it for several hours. In one and a half to two hours in a warm room, the frozen windshield washer fluid should thaw. To warm up your car, you can come to the car wash and order services that take a long time. While the car is being put in order, the “anti-freeze” will thaw.
If there are no heated parking lots nearby, and for some reason it is impossible to go to the car wash or drive around the city or you simply don’t want to, you can warm up the car by leaving the engine idling. First you need to cover the front part of the car and the hood with something dense (for example, a wide piece of polyethylene) so that warm air from the heated engine does not escape outside. After some time, the car will warm up and the “anti-freeze” will thaw.
Remove the windshield washer system
If you are well versed in the “insides” of the car and have enough free time, then dismantle the windshield washer system. Warm everything up at home, blow out the injectors and pipes.
On some car models, the windshield washer reservoir is located under the hood and can be easily removed to warm the house under running warm water.
Warm up the windshield washer reservoir with a hair dryer
This method is suitable for those who live in a private house. Direct the warm air from the hair dryer onto the windshield washer fluid reservoir and warm it gently. You can also use a hairdryer to warm frozen windshield washer nozzles and pipes.
Add winter windshield washer concentrate or alcohol
Any winter washer or alcohol will melt it when it comes into contact with ice. It is better to heat it before adding liquid. If anti-freeze concentrate or alcohol cannot be purchased nearby, but there is a grocery store nearby, buy a bottle of vodka. As a last resort, you can fill the tank with ordinary preheated water.
This method can only be used if there is enough free space in the windshield washer reservoir.
Once the windshield washer fluid has thawed, it will need to be removed from the windshield washer system and replaced with a quality windshield washer fluid that has a freezing point that is appropriate for your region.
How to prevent windshield washer fluid from freezing?
To prevent the “anti-freeze” from freezing in the future, follow simple rules:
- Use high-quality anti-freeze.
- Buy winter windshield washer fluid that is suitable for weather conditions.
- Buy “anti-freeze” with a reserve: if the frost outside is about 10 degrees, buy a liquid that is designed to work at -20 degrees.
- Do not fill the liquid to the top of the tank so that there is somewhere to pour the washer fluid concentrate if it freezes.
- Add only washer fluid concentrate to the reservoir so that the properties of the remaining windshield washer fluid do not deteriorate.
- Carry a supply of concentrate with you in the trunk so that you can pour it into the tank if necessary.
- Install heated injectors and a tank heater in your car.
Telegraph previously wrote how to choose a high-quality “anti-freeze”.
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