Which screen wash do you use?

bazz26

As the title suggests what brand/type screen wash are you guys using in your cars? The stuff I'm using at the moment is crap so I'm looking for recommendations.

MuppetCheck

Reminded me to get the cold weather one from Halfords on the way home.

I stocked up a while back on the texaco own brand one, orange stuff in a small bottle. I think it's Wurth make it. Usually streak free.

R.O.R

Halfords pre-mixed stuff in the 5l containers. Does the job I need it to do.

Had some Holts Prestone bugwash a couple of years ago (didn't pay for it :pac:) and I can't say it was noticeably better than the Halfords stuff.

AndyBoBandy

I got a gallon of the winter wash from Halfords, its cherry scented.

€4.49 for the -5 grade
€4.99 for the -10 grade.

I know it's probably overkill going for the -10, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, as we know we 'can' have very cold snaps here now.

Special Circumstances

Andybobandy wrote: »

I got a gallon of the winter wash from Halfords, its cherry scented.

€4.49 for the -5 grade
€4.99 for the -10 grade.

I know it's probably overkill going for the -10, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, as we know we 'can' have very cold snaps here now.

Thought I only had the -10, but they don't list the citrus/green 5L in anything but -20.
Mine may be -20 protection - I sometimes get a kinda "coolanty whiff" from the car and I have my suspicions it's more to do with screenwash than anything leaking or overpressurising.

moleyv

I use the 5l of -10 pre mix from halfords for 4.99e. Although the guy in the shop told me it is only actually -5. Its -10 before mixed...... makes sense.....

Grand for me anyway. Haven't noticed it leaves any streaks although my car is dark.

nerobert

Why would you want scented screen wash?

Uncle Ben

nerobert wrote: »

Why would you want scented screen wash?

Because I'm worth it!!

*Kol*

nerobert wrote: »

Why would you want scented screen wash?

Normally you get the smell through the air vents when you wash the window. So I guess it's better to have a pleasant smell. Maybe screenwash in its natural form smells bad?

jca

Holts one shot when I can get it, easily the best I've ever used.

Bandara

Having sold and used just about every type over the years Holts OneShot is miles ahead of the rest imo

CrowdedHouse

BMW Windscreen Washer with Antifreeze

jca

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

BMW Windscreen Washer with Antifreeze

Probably Halfords muck in a BMW bottle.

jimgoose

Halfords Advanced premix scented tack here. Good stuff.

bazz26

Thanks lads.

Halfords have the 5 litre drum of -10 Cherry concentrate for €5.49 but some of the reviews complained of it leaving alot of streaks. It's not that expensive so might give it a try.

The headlight washers and windscreen use the one reservoir and every second screen clean activates the headlight washers too so I'm topping up nearly every 2 or 3 weeks at this rate.

tcawley29

Whatever I can steal off my father :pac:

Prefer holts one shot though, best hes ever bought

Mycroft H

Washing up liquid or half a bottle of vinegar.

Special Circumstances

nerobert wrote: »

Why would you want scented screen wash?

Because they didn't have the hipster locally grown organic free range non gm responsibly farmed stuff on offer that day.

Really all I care about is it cleans the screen,doesn't freeze above -5, kills legionella or whatever and doesn't smell like cat wee. While being reasonably cheap.

jca

Mycroft H wrote: »

Washing up liquid or half a bottle of vinegar.

Washing up liquid is a disaster....slime everywhere and it rots the shoite out of the wiper blades. It also turns into a scummy mess in the water bottle, horrid stuff.

Uncle Ben

jimgoose wrote: »

Halfords Advanced premix scented tack here. Good stuff.

That other gear Rainex that they supply is also very good.

quadrifoglio verde

Few squirts of OAC Hydrophobe on the windscreen, and then a few squirts into the washer bottle....rarely need to use my wipers now

Mc Love

I used to use the ford oem wash, one of the best I've used

Mycroft H

jca wrote: »

Washing up liquid is a disaster....slime everywhere and it rots the shoite out of the wiper blades. It also turns into a scummy mess in the water bottle, horrid stuff.

Ah never noticed that. Been using it for years.

akura

Green Holts concentrate stuff. Cheap and makes a good few litres.

Atlantic Dawn

Tesco blue concentrated screenwash in a 5 litre jar, does the job.

Had some industrial looking stuff before (brand unknown) from PR Reilly's but it was the business, cleared the screen completely, I was concerned though that it might damage the paint or window finish as it worked so well, was nearly like an acid.

biko

Mycroft H wrote: »

half a bottle of vinegar.

I've used vinegar with various results. Mostly good but there was a pretty distinct smell around the car..

MuppetCheck

bazz26 wrote: »

Thanks lads.

Halfords have the 5 litre drum of -10 Cherry concentrate for €5.49 but some of the reviews complained of it leaving alot of streaks. It's not that expensive so might give it a try.

The headlight washers and windscreen use the one reservoir and every second screen clean activates the headlight washers too so I'm topping up nearly every 2 or 3 weeks at this rate.

Picked up a few bottles of the pre-mix Halfords -10 one earlier given the colder weather. Streak free, that berry smell is rank though.

cargo

Do you guys use the Halford Pre-mixed stuff "neat" (yeah I know what pre-mixed means) or do you dilute it further? I also went about another 50/50 when I used it as I dont like too much suds on hte screen.

Does the -5 or -10 stuff stay unfrozen (including jet tips) even on the frosty mornings? I'm always about 50kms up the motorway before the jets thaw out.

As I said I dilute mine a lot not because I'm too mean to buy more but i just dont like a lot of soap etc flying all over the place.

Del2005

jca wrote: »

Washing up liquid is a disaster....slime everywhere and it rots the shoite out of the wiper blades. It also turns into a scummy mess in the water bottle, horrid stuff.

Don't forget the paint damage.

AndyBoBandy

cargo wrote: »

Do you guys use the Halford Pre-mixed stuff "neat" (yeah I know what pre-mixed means) or do you dilute it further? I also went about another 50/50 when I used it as I dont like too much suds on hte screen.

Does the -5 or -10 stuff stay unfrozen (including jet tips) even on the frosty mornings? I'm always about 50kms up the motorway before the jets thaw out.

As I said I dilute mine a lot not because I'm too mean to buy more but i just dont like a lot of soap etc flying all over the place.

The more you dilute it the more likely it is to freeze

i.e. using it neat will not freeze down to -10, whereas using it mixed 50/50 with water, and it might only be good for -4/-5

cargo

Andybobandy wrote: »

The more you dilute it the more likely it is to freeze

i.e. using it neat will not freeze down to -10, whereas using it mixed 50/50 with water, and it might only be good for -4/-5

Yeah I understood that but was just wondering do other people use screenwash in the very very soapy form? Does it not wreck your head? / paint?

Mycroft H

Del2005 wrote: »

Don't forget the paint damage.

Its a jeep... you'd be horrified of the trees I've drove it through.

Bpmull

Andybobandy wrote: »

The more you dilute it the more likely it is to freeze

i.e. using it neat will not freeze down to -10, whereas using it mixed 50/50 with water, and it might only be good for -4/-5

It seems to be always the washer jets and that freeze as opposed to the actual washer fluid in the reservoir bottle.

Special Circumstances

Bpmull wrote: »

It seems to be always the washer jets and that freeze as opposed to the actual washer fluid in the reservoir bottle.

I've been using the suggested concentration of the halfords concentrate and haven't had that issue this year. Hasn't been too bad in limerick though.

The first gen new minis are a disaster, capacity of a coke bottle and tucked into a wing over a wheel arch. Easy to freeze,engine heat won't thaw it.

sean1141

using the halfords cherry sent one now and it's OK. best one I ever used was the auto glym ready mixed stuff but it's pretty expensive. was great in the summer for fly and bugs. never used it in winter so can't say what it's like in frost etc

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

I use VW screenwash. I have no idea why.

Cass

Ford's own brand screenwash, winter premium. Got a bottle of a friend a while ago, and it's brilliant. Has an antifreeze component, streak free, pleasant smell for all you out there that are worth it, and at €10 for the 1 litre bottle, pretty good value.

whomitconcerns

Cass wrote: »

Ford's own brand screenwash, winter premium. Got a bottle of a friend a while ago, and it's brilliant. Has an antifreeze component, streak free, pleasant smell for all you out there that are worth it, and at €10 for the 1 litre bottle, pretty good value.

10 euro for a litre is good value! My resovoir needs 4.5L!!! Headlight washers wont fubction at all with only 1l remaining! 45quid a month for screen wash would want to clean the whole car with one spray :P

inforfun

Blue W5 window cleaner from Lidl.
Half that and half water for most of the year.
If it needs a refill during a cold spell i ll just use only the W5.

There is something i would rather use but have never been able to find it here while everyone who knows how to clean windows has a bottle in their kitchen in Holland (Spiritus)

Blue W5 does contain a bit of it.

kirving

Ran out of screen wash yesterday morning at about 6am and had to get to the first petrol station I could find which was about 2 mins down the road. Of course the free water wasn't working, and there was only a window to be served at. Asked the guy for 2L of the cheapest water he had. Ended up pouring about €3 worth of Ballygown into the reservoir. Not happy, but it was that or stop driving!

sunnysoutheast

Concentrated screenwash from either Lidl or Tesco, higher concentration in the winter.

Can't see the financial sense in buying ready-mixed! Also clean the edge of the blades very regularly.

I did try the one with Rain-X in it but didn't think there was a huge difference for the extra cost.

stimpson

The old Lidl W5 super concentrated in the yellow bottle was great. Apparently it was rebranded Sonax Clearview (which is fantastic stuff). Small little bottle which had a mechanism for dosing - 10 off doses in a bottle. Lasted ages and you could keep it in your glove box.

Haven't seen it in ages, so I'm using the Halfords Cherry stuff and it's grand. I over dilute it and my nozzles have only frozen once this year. Still looking for the Lidl stuff though.

Cass

whomitconcerns wrote: »

10 euro for a litre is good value! My resovoir needs 4.5L!!! Headlight washers wont fubction at all with only 1l remaining! 45quid a month for screen wash would want to clean the whole car with one spray :P

It's a concentrate so you mix it 10 to 1 or 50 to 1 depending on weather, driving conditions, etc.

whomitconcerns

Cass wrote: »

It's a concentrate so you mix it 10 to 1 or 50 to 1 depending on weather, driving conditions, etc.

Aha! Now it sounds much better!

Mc Love

whomitconcerns wrote: »

Aha! Now it sounds much better!

Yep it works pretty well, they sell little bottles for a euro sometimes, one little bottle lasts ages and provides good results

_Kaiser_

At the moment I have a bottle of some stuff I picked up in a garage recently in the car.. it's alright. Not a good as the little small bottles of yellow stuff with a green label that you can get in some filling stations though.

Previously had a drum of stuff from Halfords (I think) but it can apparently go off (didn't know that! ) .. rotten smell through the vents the last time I used it - still haven't fully gotten rid of it either!

I don't buy in bulk anymore as it always seems to run out when I'm nowhere near home anyway.

B00056718

Got a hold of 1l bottle VW wash for free. Its 1:50 mix and it is brilliant stuff. Compared to Halfords ready mix anyway.
I was trying all types of viper blades and was never happy with the performance.
Last week got a set of Michelin blades, put them on and thought they weren't worth the hassle and I need to go and get a set of OEM ridiculously expensive ones.
But then a friend of mine gave me the VW bottle, and the screen is crystal clear after each wash. Thought it was a bit expensive@ about 8€ a bootle AFAIK, but now I might actually buy some.

OldmanMondeo

In winter I use the cheapest stuff I can get and put plenty in. 2 reasons,
1. In this weather you will use it a lot, no point in paying for good stuff to run out very quickly
2. The more in the mix the less chance of freezing up.

Tesco do a cheap brand.

ardle1

I made my own last week, now I did google for a 'recipe' and between all the suggestions this is what I came up with....
2 x. ½ltr bottles of cheap glass cleaner from Aldi.... 2.50€
2 x. ½ltr bottles of white vinegar
Dunnes 2.20€
1 x. 400ml? Bottle of lemon juice
Dunnes 2.00€
1 bottle of red food colouring
1.30€
And my favourite 1 bottle of pink mouth wash from Aldi 1.50€...
All in a 25ltr drum topped of with water..
All for under a tenner..
If it gets really cold I'll throw in a ½ltr of IPA...

moleyv

ardle1 wrote:

I made my own last week, now I did google for a 'recipe' and between all the suggestions this is what I came up with.... 2 x. ½ltr bottles of cheap glass cleaner from Aldi.... 2.50€ 2 x. ½ltr bottles of white vinegar Dunnes 2.20€ 1 x. 400ml? Bottle of lemon juice Dunnes 2.00€ 1 bottle of red food colouring 1.30€ And my favourite 1 bottle of pink mouth wash from Aldi 1.50€... All in a 25ltr drum topped of with water.. All for under a tenner.. If it gets really cold I'll throw in a ½ltr of IPA...

Why the colouring? for safety? That's the only thing I would question really, I'd wonder if it would leave a colour residue.

ardle1

moleyv wrote: »

Why the colouring? for safety? That's the only thing I would question really, I'd wonder if it would leave a colour residue.

I questioned that also, I think it's just for aesthetics...
Anyway no residue, in fact I used 2 wee bottles of colouring but it made it very red, so one bottle should be enough.