De-icer kills wipers?

bbuzz

One of my mates claimed that de-ice spray perishes the windscreen wipers. Anyone heard that/know if it's true?

biko

Moved out from an unrelated thread.

MugMugs

Who uses this spray anyway?

It's not good for the environment.

Turn the car over, stick the AC on and scrape the windows. By the time you're back in you're ready to rock.

AugustusMinimus

Wipers on. Luke warm water.

T-Maxx

MugMugs wrote: »

Who uses this spray anyway?

It's not good for the environment.

Turn the car over, stick the AC on and scrape the windows. By the time you're back in you're ready to rock.

MugMugs

T-Maxx wrote: »

The car is invariably going to be engaged at some point, I can't see 30 seconds having more of an impact than the production, packaging transportation and delivery of a can of De icer over a scraper and a short idle time of the engine.

H3llR4iser

I honestly don't know; If they are glycol based, then they're very similar to the deicer that is sprayed on aircraft in winter - and I seriously doubt they would bathe an entire plane with it, if it corroded all the pressure-critical seals that are around the fuselage and wings.

If that was the case however, the wiper blades would be the least of my concerns and I'd worry more about the windscreen seal...

ABajaninCork

Lukewarm water and a scraper is the way to go. NEVER pour boiling water on the cold screen. I had to restrain my ever helpful FiL from chucking a boiling kettleful of water on my car! :eek:

ShatterProof

jump in and press button for front windscreeen heater

theteal

ShatterProof wrote: »

jump in and press button for front windscreeen heater

i miss my focus

Matt Simis

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Wipers on. Luke warm water.

This. Works perfect each and every time. Though I just use warm tap water, not too pushed about "luke warm".

ShatterProof wrote: »

jump in and press button for front windscreeen heater

The one and only thing Ford drivers get to brag about. :pac:

munchkin_utd

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Lukewarm water and a scraper is the way to go. NEVER pour boiling water on the cold screen. I had to restrain my ever helpful FiL from chucking a boiling kettleful of water on my car! :eek:

indeed, and what do you do then down the road when its -10 and your screen is covered in muck/ salt sprayed up by other cars/ trucks and
a) your water you spray on the windscreen freezes instantly blocking your vision
OR
b) your water is just plain frozen in the first place so you just have a progressively dirty windscreen for your journey, which if its say a spin from Cork to Belfast or the likes is a LONG time of building up dirt which you are unable to remove.

I'll stick with my winter screen spray thanks very much!

Cheensbo

The warmest stretch of the year to date,

And threads on de-icer pop up :pac:


My method of clearing windscreens is - go and start it, turn on blower, go make tea, drink tea, and she'll be ready then

Also wouldntuse any of them sprays, they always give me the feeling that they'd damage paint/lacquer..

PlainP

Wasn't there a caller on Ray Darcy a while ago saying he had his car stolen because he had left the keys in the car while he was waiting for the window-screen to defrost....

I did use deicers but I think warm water is sufficient enough.

Roll on the snow.........

el flaco

Only one person has attempted to answer the original question. OP, maybe you should carry a flask of luke warm water around with you :pac:

Cheensbo wrote: »

My method of clearing windscreens is - go and start it, turn on blower, go make tea, drink tea, and she'll be ready then

Dublin Method of clearing windscreens is - go and start it, turn on blower, go make tea, drink tea, pray car is still there.

PlainP

el flaco wrote: »

Only one person has attempted to answer the original question. OP, maybe you should carry a flask of luke warm water around with you :pac:



Dublin Method of clearing windscreens is - go and start it, turn on blower, go make tea, drink tea, pray car is still there.

Eh you haven't answered the OP either.....

ABajaninCork

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Lukewarm water and a scraper is the way to go. NEVER pour boiling water on the cold screen. I had to restrain my ever helpful FiL from chucking a boiling kettleful of water on my car! :eek:

Works for me! And I've been using this method for over 20 years...

munchkin_utd wrote: »

indeed, and what do you do then down the road when its -10 and your screen is covered in muck/ salt sprayed up by other cars/ trucks and
a) your water you spray on the windscreen freezes instantly blocking your vision
OR
b) your water is just plain frozen in the first place so you just have a progressively dirty windscreen for your journey, which if its say a spin from Cork to Belfast or the likes is a LONG time of building up dirt which you are unable to remove.

I'll stick with my winter screen spray thanks very much!

You do what works for you. But you'll find the same problem, when using the spray. That's why you have winter screen wash in the car, and you can then turn on the wipers, to keep the screen as clean as possible. I've never and will never use de-icing spray.

PlainP wrote: »

Wasn't there a caller on Ray Darcy a while ago saying he had his car stolen because he had left the keys in the car while he was waiting for the window-screen to defrost....

This happens at home a lot. People have had cars nicked whilst trying to de-ice them, have been run over and even killed because they're trying to de-ice the car, and some scumbag decides it'd be a good idea to nick the car...:mad:

Matt Simis

munchkin_utd wrote: »

indeed, and what do you do then down the road when its -10 and your screen is covered in muck/ salt sprayed up by other cars/ trucks and
a) your water you spray on the windscreen freezes instantly blocking your vision
OR
b) your water is just plain frozen in the first place so you just have a progressively dirty windscreen for your journey, which if its say a spin from Cork to Belfast or the likes is a LONG time of building up dirt which you are unable to remove.

I'll stick with my winter screen spray thanks very much!

Hmm... isnt the thread about de-icing a parked car? You seem to be talking about Screenwash, which already has anti-freezing agents in it. Its not the same thing as de-icer.

No one uses virgin water to to clear glass when driving IMO?

MugMugs

munchkin_utd wrote: »

indeed, and what do you do then down the road when its -10 and your screen is covered in muck/ salt sprayed up by other cars/ trucks and
a) your water you spray on the windscreen freezes instantly blocking your vision
OR
b) your water is just plain frozen in the first place so you just have a progressively dirty windscreen for your journey, which if its say a spin from Cork to Belfast or the likes is a LONG time of building up dirt which you are unable to remove.

I'll stick with my winter screen spray thanks very much!

You're comparing apples with death stars.

The topic at hand is a reactive measure taken before the vehicle leaves it's overnight frozen stationary position.

endacl

theteal wrote: »

i miss my focus

My focus doesn't have one. I miss your focus too.

ABajaninCork

Neither does my Fiesta! :mad:. I miss my old 206...

sfbonner

So does it do serious damage to wipers?

Plus you will need de icer if you havent any houses near you and and old car.

el flaco

sfbonner wrote: »

So does it do serious damage to wipers?

Plus you will need de icer if you havent any houses near you and and old car.

From doing a bit of googling it looks like some of the bog standard de-icers are methanol/ethanol based. From doing more googling it looks like these have a degrading effect on rubber (assuming that is exactly what the wipers are made of and not some fancier materials)

The glycol based de-icers used in aviation and in anti-freeze also seem to have a negative effect on rubber and apparently cause it to expand.

munchkin_utd

MugMugs wrote: »

You're comparing apples with death stars.

The topic at hand is a reactive measure taken before the vehicle leaves it's overnight frozen stationary position.

good point. I was thinking of the built in screen spray not some can of gloop but maybe thats cos I park my yoke in the garage so never have a problem in the mornings.

I'd say manys a person just uses water in the car spray. I know my dad and my father/ mother in law do and arent fussed if it freezes as they rarely would use it. Even after the big freeze a few years back when the reservoir was froze solid for days on end, those 3 cars still are on just water for the screen spray.

Matt Simis

munchkin_utd wrote: »

I'd say manys a person just uses water in the car spray. I know my dad and my father/ mother in law do and arent fussed if it freezes as they rarely would use it. Even after the big freeze a few years back when the reservoir was froze solid for days on end, those 3 cars still are on just water for the screen spray.

Freezing isnt the reason for using screenwash (or vinegar or ethanol mixes).
Well they wont be doing it for long (nor will their electric pumps) as without any additives warm, clean water is a bacterial breeding ground. Its unhealthy and brutal for cleaning.. do they really do this?

The smell alone would be enough to get them to cop on.

Del2005

bbuzz wrote: »

One of my mates claimed that de-ice spray perishes the windscreen wipers. Anyone heard that/know if it's true?

I'd rather replace a few wiper a few weeks earlier than required than not be able to see on a frosty morning when I don't have access to a big jug/bottle for warm water.

dh0011

i have used deicer every time the car is frozen and dont think it made a difference to the wipers. This is not a scientific test though.

Also,i always buy bosch wipers maybe other brands might fare worse with deicer.

biko

Regular wiper blades take a lot of punishment and should be changed aprox once a year anyway so I wouldn't worry about some de-icer causing an issue.

gurramok

biko wrote: »

Regular wiper blades take a lot of punishment and should be changed aprox once a year anyway so I wouldn't worry about some de-icer causing an issue.

I never knew that de-icer affects the wipers till now, they don't exactly warn you on the spray can

I guess is the spray the cause of the wipers getting noisy as the rubber contacts get damaged?

dgt

I must be the only anus using this stuff when wipers are frosted.... I keep it in the glovebox

Has it affected my wipers? The passengers one seems to be affected, however it may be from being on 2 other cars and the last one having a broken screen may have frayed it slightly.... Drivers side is fine.

We all use it on cold mornings and I can't see any negative effect on any of the other cars/vans

I have Valeo flatblades on my car

biko

I would guess that whatever is in de-icer isn't great for the wiper rubber but it's a slow process and if you change the blades every spring it wouldn't be an issue.
It's not something I use myself, I'm old school scraping style.

pippip

I'd say any damage done to the rubber by this spray is equal to any done by turning the wipers on to try and remove ice stuck to the windscreen which most people seem to do.

I start the car and turn defrosters etc on and then lock the car with my second key until all is clear.

OldmanMondeo

The ice on the windscreen will kill your wipers quicker. And yes Di-icer will cause damage to your wipers, but they will be long changed by then.

Autosport

I use De-Icer, it's handy in the evenings when the windscreen is frozen i was nowhere near water. Got 3 for 2 in Halfords Didn't notice any difference with the wipers.

sungear

cold water is warmer than frozen
if that concerned, keep a clear bottle of water in the car, if its in the sun it will warm up.

Popoutman

In the concentrations available to the public, and the length of time that any wipers should be in contact with any standard de-icer (i.e. when following the instructions..) then any degradation of the wiper material should be minimal. Leaving the de-icer sit on the wipers for tens of minutes may have a wiper lifetime shortening effect. Using unusual chemicals to de-ice may also cause similar problems in a shorter space of time.

And as for the overall best way to de-ice a windscreen? Scrape it, and only scrape it. It's anti-social when the weather is really cold and staying freezing throughout the day, if you live in an area where other people can park, if you deliberately leave large quantities of water to freeze where other people can slip on it after it refreezing on the ground. Using a scraper only also means less worry about refreezing on the windscreen as well, as the de-icer will drop the temperature of the glass to well below what would otherwise have been, through both evaporation and the lowering of the melting point of the water.

The majority of screenwash solutions are perfectly fine to use with windscreen wipers. My personal favourite is the reddish colour premix from Halfords. Cuts through any crap on the windscreen fairly quickly.