With all of the rain and resulting mud around here, it is not uncommon for me to drain my window washer fluid in a couple of weeks. Rather than running out to buy it in bulk, I decided to try my hand at making my own.
You’ll Need:
A gallon sized jug {an old cleaned out distilled vinegar jug works great}
1 Gallon of Water
1 Tbsp. Dish Soap
½ Cup White Distilled Vinegar
Directions:
Fill your empty jug with the water. Add the dish soap and vinegar. Put the cap on the jug and gently swirl the jug around to mix all of the ingredients. Pour it into the wiper fluid container in your car. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
***If it gets super cold in your area, you may want to add 1 cup of isopropyl alcohol to prevent it from freezing. It doesn’t get cold enough for me to be too concerned about that, but I thought it was a pretty good tip for those of you who have tougher winters than we do here in Washington. 😉
This literally costs pennies to make, and eliminates who knows what kind of chemicals from the commercial washer fluid. Wahoo!
~Mavis
Rosaleen says
Thanks, Mavis,
I’m going to mix up some now, including the rubbing alcohol. We have been having temperatures in the 20s already in November. It is coldest here in New England January-March, so we have plenty of cold weather ahead of us.
Kathryn Stein says
I love this, BUT I’m curious about whether this formula with the addition isopropyl alcohol is toxic to pets and other animals.
Karen says
Isopropyl isn’t outright toxic in small quantities consumed a small number of times in one’s life. The commercial stuff, however, is highly toxic(the stuff used at gas stations at the pumps? Has a warning label that says “DANGER: CAN NOT BE MADE NON-TOXIC”. Having it diluted to this point, it shouldn’t even be capable of giving a chihuahua a buzz.
Helen in Meridian says
What pet do you have that sits on the windshield waiting for you to use the window cleaner and windshield wipers? Would that strange pet jump off the car at the first sign of the windshield wipers moving?
Sandra says
This mixture will ruin your washer pump . Do do not use. Check it first.
Amy says
Absolutely true. Learned the hard way. Vinegar will eat away the seals in the pump and kill it.
Kim L says
I don’t recommend the tablesppon of dishsoap but rather a TEASPOON . . here in MIchigan if we put that much in we get a care windshield full of soap suds! Learned that the hard way . . I don’t understand why, pollution, cars, climate I don’t have any idea but at any rate it does work and is quite a bit cheaper than buying it!!
Jack says
Probably depends on the hardness/softness of your water.
Loosh says
@Katheryn, Do you use the stuff stores sell? DO you have any clue what they have in it when you put the store stuff in your car? If you live in an area that the temp. goes below 32deg. Good luck finding anything without Isopropyl. Thank you Mavis for this helpful tip.
LindaW says
Mixed up a batch of this last year. I doubled the iso-alcohol as was concerned about freezing and was so glad I didn’t put it in my car, as it froze solid in the container sitting in the garage. This may work fine in mild climes and summer elsewhere, but do not put this in your car in areas where winter means freezing temps.
Dana says
Can one use alcohol like Vodka instead of the isopropyl alcohol? Seems less toxic and it certainly wouldn’t freeze.
PattyB says
Since the “jury” is still out on this one I think I’ll wait until someone in the North East has used it and it didn’t freeze up in their car’s windshield wiper well.
Laurie says
I am all for cheaper ways of doing things, but the reason I Googled this to begin with, was because I have seen truck stops that use dish soap in the community washing areas at the pumps… and thought it did a great job in cleaning but as far as it being cheaper? I am in Michigan and generic window washer even by the gallon can be as little as 79 cents. A bottle of Dawn and Alcohol isn’t much of a savings over all. But I can attest to the dish soap working better than window cleaner does. At least it did for me.
Heather says
I am cheap. I like to DIY. I did however read that vinegar can and will go rancid while in the window washer tank waiting to be used. It turned me off the whole DIY thing…but maybe I’ll look into it again!!?
Happy Summer!
jas says
vinegar doesnt go rancid and it also doesnt freeze