Windscreen washer not working

DublinWriter

The windscreen washer in my car has been progressively getting worse in the past year.

The jets of water were getting less and less powerful until they've now stopped coming out. I can still hear the water pump working when I try to spray the screen.

I looked at the tank for the water and where some water has spilled out there's a white powdery/chalky substance left as a residue.

We live in an area with very, very hard water.

Is there any recommended additive I can put in to the water tank to de-gunge the lines and/or soften the water?

Spook_ie

you could try a descaler such as they use in kettles etc, or if it is a limescale build up then try any weak acid like vinegar/lemon juice etc. but don't leave it in contact with paintwork, maybe even that Calgon or Cillet Bang Limescale remover ( I'd stick with the vinegar myself lol ) other solutions are get some replacement jets ( they're fairly easy to replace on most cars ) as the holes clog up like showerheads

si_guru

You need to determine if the pump actually works.. the impeller might be slipping on the shaft.

Avns1s

Or your nozzles could be simply blocked with limescale. Get a needle and gently clean them.

biko

Had a similar issue.
I put a lot of white vinegar in the tank to descale that. 50/50 with water.
Then followed the line and at a junction pulled the line off and made sure the water made it that far (which it did). Cleaned the jets with a needle which helped a bit.
Then noticed there were two small filters at the inlets to the jets so just removed and threw those away. Reconnected lines to jets and it's fine since.
You may have to get underneath the bonnet lining to access the jets filter (if you have them).

Car will smell like chips a while, keep topping up with water. White vinegar also lowers the freezing point of the water a bit.

macquarie

I had this problem a few weeks ago too, I just drained the tank (i.e. just turning on the washer jets until all the waters gone) then filled the tank with very very hot water (but not boiling) mixed with some washing up liquid and then turned the washer jets on for a couple of minutes to flush it out and been working ever since. Might be worth a try!

TheAceFace

I've had this problem with lots of cars. Basically it was a build up of slime on the small rubber gauze that separated the washer pump and bottle. The chances of the jets themselves being blocked is slim. All you need to do is locate the pump on the bottle, remove it, clean the slime off the filter/gauze and replace the pump. It should work no bother. In relation to the last comment, never put washing up liquid in your windscreen washer bottle, one of the ingredients is salt :mad: