Windshield wiper fluid

What is windshield wiper fluid?

Windshield washer fluid is also called a windshield washer fluid or screen wash. We use it to clean our windows while driving. There is a small reservoir provided under the hood where you can refill this fluid. This is connected to a windshield washer pump that draws the fluid through the pipes, passing through a valve and spraying it onto the window. This loosens the dirt and you can use the windshield wipers to remove the dirt so your windows are clean again and you can see the road well again without obstacles. By all means, this should be the intention. However, this is not always the case because sometimes faulty or poor quality products are used. We explain everything in this blog post. After that, you can always take a look at the windshield washer fluid we offer.

Types of wiper fluid

As you will have probably noticed, there are 2 major categories into which wiper fluid is divided. Namely winter wiper fluid which some also call antifreeze and summer wiper fluid. And 2 smaller categories namely ready to use wiper fluid and concentrated wiper fluid.

Use winter or summer washer fluid?

Is it best to use winter or summer washer fluid is a question people often ask. Others, in turn, think that it is natural to use winter washer fluid in the winter and summer washer fluid in the summer. However, people do not always drive the car the same amount and not everyone uses the washer fluids the same amount. So it can happen that in the summer you refill the washer reservoir with summer washer fluid and in the middle of winter when it is freezing the summer washer fluid is still in it. That's why we recommend if you don't drive the car much or don't use the wiper fluid much or if you only want to use 1 kind of wiper fluid that you best take the winter wiper fluid.

What is the difference between winter and summer wiper fluid?

The difference is in the seasons, of course. What is common in winter? Freezing temperatures, snow, ice, salt, etc. And what is common in summer? Insects and pollen. In winter, of course, it's important that when you refill your windshield washer reservoir that it doesn't freeze. This can cause problems where the only option is to go to the garage to fix it.

Why use winter wiper fluid?

Winter wiper fluid contains antifreeze agents that make it resistant to certain freezing temperatures. These temperatures can usually be found on the packaging. Sometimes there are also dilution quantities listed, such as pure is resistant to -30°C, 1 part washer fluid to 1 part water is resistant to -15°C, and so on. So if it is not going to be a very cold winter, you can sometimes dilute your winter screenwash with demineralized water so that you get more out of 1 can. Note that if you still have summer screenwash in the reservoir, it counts as water and not as winter screenwash. This means that if for example you have 1 liter of summer screenwash left in the reservoir and you top it up with winter screenwash that can only go down to -30°C and 1 part winter screenwash to 1 part water to -15°C and you top up 1 liter winter screenwash that you only have protection down to -15°C and not down to -30°C.

The cleaning agents in winter windshield washer fluid is also formulated at a quality brand to specifically have strong cleaning properties for winter dirt such as snow, ice, salt, and so on. This allows you to clean your windows faster and better with less product than a cheaper brand that uses the same windshield washer fluid cleaning ingredients in summer as in winter and has only added antifreeze to protect it from freezing temperatures. So with some brands that are mostly cheaper, you will find that their ready-to-use winter windshield washer fluid can only go as low as -7°C. And with quality ready-to-use winter washer fluid such as the

Why is this important to check? Well as we already told you it is important to make sure that your washer fluid does not freeze and you should look at the temperatures that it says on the bottles. If you still have summer washer fluid in the reservoir and you top it up halfway with the quality Sonax Winter Beast then you still have protection down to -7°C. If you use the cheaper brand that purely can only go down to -7°C and you pour half of this into the reservoir you don't have protection down to -7°C but only down to -2°C approximately. In other words there is a good chance that the washer fluid will freeze then. The cheaper brands may be a few euros cheaper than the quality Sonax. But the Sonax is much more concentrated so it is safer and cleans better. If you do want cheaper washer fluid, you can still dilute the Sonax Winter Beast 1 to 1 with demineralized water which often makes it as cheap or maybe even cheaper than the cheap brands. Do you take a concentrated winter washer fluid like Sonax's? Then you can dilute it even 1 part washer fluid to 2 parts water making it even cheaper!

Why use summer washer fluid?

With summer windshield washer fluid, you don't have to consider antifreeze temperatures since summer washer fluid is for the warm periods of the year when it stops freezing. With a quality brand like Sonax, summer washer fluid is specially formulated to have specific cleaning properties to remove summer contaminants such as insects and pollen. We all know that sometimes it can be very annoying to remove insect debris from your car. That's why there are special insect remover products. This is exactly the same for windshield washer fluid. Using a good summer windshield washer fluid will loosen and remove insect residue more easily. Pollen and fine sand is also a nasty contaminant we have to deal with in the summer. Good windshield washer fluid loosens these contaminants from the windows and, together with good wipers, ensures that you have a clean clear window again without streaks!

Ready to use washer fluid or take concentrated washer fluid?

You may be wondering why we offer both ready to use and concentrated washer fluid. If you only drive your car sporadically or use your windshield washer fluid infrequently then a quality ready to use washer fluid from Sonax may be the easiest solution for you. All you have to do is top up and you're done without looking at anything.

If you have to refill regularly because you are on the road a lot, if you have a fleet of cars, if you are a professional and refill customers' cars and the like. Then a concentrated washer fluid might be a better solution. By using a concentrated windshield washer fluid, you can dilute it with demineralized water which means you have cheaper windshield washer fluid and also can make more margin per fill.

Why use Sonax windshield washer fluid?

is a huge company and also the market leader in detailing in Germany. They are not packers, they develop, test, produce and package their products all by themselves. This is the same with windshield washer fluid. Sonax is known for quality and this is reflected in their detailing products and their windshield washer fluid. There have been many independent tests between different windscreen washer fluid brands and Sonax has always come out on top.

Recently a test was done by the German GTÜ, you can compare this with test-purchase which is known in Belgium and the Netherlands. They tested all kinds of different brands including many big and well-known names. The results were that Sonax won with 135 points out of a maximum of 150 points which is comparable to a score of 90%. Second place went to Robbyrob windshield washer fluid which scored only 116 points which compares to 77%. And German A.T.U. achieved a score of only 106 points which compares to 70%. So this means that between the first place of Sonax and the third place of A.T.U. there is already a big difference of 20%! The washer fluid from Total which is a well-known brand was the most expensive of all and even got the worst score. With this we want to make clear that name and price is not always everything. But reviews and independent tests make it clear that Sonax is the best washer fluid brand on the market!

Therefore, by choosing Sonax, you won't suffer from various problems that are common with cheaper and worse brands. You'll never have to lie awake looking at freezing temperatures on packaging since Sonax's ready-to-use winter screen washer fluid is even concentrated enough that it can be half-laid with summer screen washer fluid. With cheaper brands, you will have to pump or spray the reservoir empty first and then refill. You don't have to wonder why your windows have streaks because Sonax formulated their windshield washer fluid to leave no streaks. You don't have to wonder why your windows just won't get clean since Sonax's windshield washer fluid is specially formulated for the type of dirt you will encounter in the season in which you will be using it.

Streaks on your window and nasty odor when you use your windshield washers?

If you get a lot of streaking or blurred vision when you use your windshield washer fluid then this could be a sign that you are using poor windshield washer fluid. Although the cause can also be poor wipers and acid rain spots we find that many do not look at the windshield washer fluid as the cause. Cheap and poor quality washer fluid that can often be found in the supermarket is made from white vinegar or a type of alcohol such as ethanol and methanol which are also toxic and environmentally unfriendly by the way. These ingredients are cheap so it is often cheap windshield washer fluid on which supermarkets can still earn a large margin. It leaves streaks, often leaves dirt behind, clouds up, makes spots, can poison people and animals, pollutes the environment, and so on. The smell that you smell is therefore very strong and nasty which they usually try to mask by adding even more citrus scent or the like so that the chemical smell is less noticeable.

Sonax windshield washer fluid is made from glycerin which has a much more subtle and gentle odor. It also makes your windows instantly clear with no streaks, no cloudiness, no dirt and no stains. It is also a safer and more environmentally conscious choice.

Do you use Sonax windshield washer fluid and still have streaks or smudges? Then it might be interesting to replace your wipers and lubricate the wiper arm joints. There may also possibly be acid rain stains in the glass that you can remove with a glass polish.

Using water as wiper fluid?

A question we sometimes get before is whether you can also use plain water as your windshield washer fluid or whether you can also add water to the windshield washer fluid reservoir. We never recommend using plain water to add to the windshield washer fluid reservoir. Regardless of whether this is just to use water as wiper fluid or to dilute the wiper fluid. If you want to add water, it is always best to use demineralized water. Ordinary water contains lime and other minerals. This affects the windshield washer system so components will start to break down over time and you will have to go to the garage to fix it. Depending on the severity and the car, this can sometimes add up significantly so it would have been many times cheaper to just top up with wiper fluid.

In winter, this is an even bigger problem. This is because there is no frost protection whatsoever. The water can freeze in the system which not only allows components to freeze, but also means that you will not be able to use windshield wipers in the winter since everything is frozen. As a result, you can only use the windshield wipers if they are also not frozen and thereon hope that they can restore your vision when there is dirt on the window. So this can create really dangerous situations.

Because it is unavoidable that your windshield washer system will be affected by the lime and minerals and is guaranteed to break down components, there is no advantage to using plain water as windshield washer fluid. You will save money with this in the short term, but in the long term it will cost even more money. This while, of course, ordinary water also cleans a lot worse than real wiper fluid.

If you use demineralized water, it will freeze in freezing weather. It can freeze components broken and you will not be able to use windshield washer fluid so you will constantly have poor visibility. If it is not freezing weather and you use demineralized water, you will just have to spray much more than with real wiper fluid to remove dirt. So you will also have to refill the reservoir much more regularly. In our opinion, the price difference is definitely not worth all these risks, problems and complaints and we recommend using plain wiper fluid.

Windshield wiper fluid frozen?

As mentioned earlier, your wiper fluid can freeze when it gets cold enough and if you don't have wiper fluid that can withstand these cold temperatures. This causes the water or wiper fluid to freeze so you will find that the windshield washer no longer works when you want to use it. You may still be able to hear a click or the electric control, but no wiper fluid will come out of the nozzles.

Depending on how serious it is, this can be fixed fairly easily and inexpensively. Or it may have caused permanent damage that will require replacing parts and thus you will have to go by the garage.

Ideally, you can put the car in a sheltered place, such as a garage. If you leave the car running, over time the temperature under the hood will begin to rise and the wiper fluid will begin to thaw. However, this may take a while depending on the ambient temperature. Once the wiper fluid has thawed, you can use the nozzles again. However, we do recommend avoiding the problem by either adding concentrated washer fluid so that the mixing ratio is more concentrated. Or you can empty the washer fluid reservoir with a pump or by loosening the casings and adding appropriate washer fluid so it cannot freeze. If you are not technically inclined, you can also let the nozzles spray until the reservoir is empty, although this may take some time.

At worst, components have frozen to pieces. Just as many people turn off the water tap that goes to the garden in winter because otherwise certain parts can freeze to pieces, this is the same with cars. If a component is frozen it can sometimes freeze to pieces. For example, this could be the windshield washer fluid pump and the windshield washers. These parts then need to be replaced. In some cars, these pumps, nozzles and reservoirs are not easily accessible which sometimes adds a labor cost on top of the part cost. Many cars also have front and rear windshield washer pumps which can quickly double the cost.

Conclusion on wiper fluid

So basically, windshield washer fluid is more complex than many people think. Hence, some people use plain water instead of a real windshield washer fluid because they think it just serves to clean the windows along with the wipers anyway. However, choosing washer fluid does not have to be difficult. We can only recommend taking a good brand that can show results that it does have quality windshield washer fluid that has specific winter and summer windshield washer fluid. And whose ready to use winter windshield washer fluid is also usable at least down to -10°C. We can further make the following statements:

• If you don't drive the car much or barely use the windshield wipers: Then it's best to just choose a ready-to-use winter wiper fluid. You can also use it in the summer if necessary. But you can't use a summer wiper fluid in winter. Hence, we recommend getting a winter wiper fluid. It will not work as well in summer as summer wiper fluid. But then you don't have to worry in winter that your wiper fluid can freeze.
• If you drive your car regularly and need to refill wiper fluid regularly: Then it's best to choose a ready-to-use wiper fluid for winter and for summer. This way you will get the best results when using the wiper fluid. Do you really need regular refills and want to save a bit on this? Then you can also use concentrated wiper fluid and dilute it with demineralized water.
• Do you have a fleet of vehicles or are you a garage and if you need to refill customers' cars: Then it might be best to use concentrated winter wiper fluid. After all, you can't know when cars will need their wiper fluid refilled. You also don't know water was poured into the wiper fluid before. If there is just water in it now and you refill with a ready-to-use summer wiper fluid and this car ends up in freezing temperatures then it can freeze and cause problems. Hence we recommend getting a concentrated winter wiper fluid. Then try to dilute it so that it is definitely resistant to -12°C. If there is still summer wiper fluid or water in the reservoir, it is already much less likely to freeze. Because wiper fluid is concentrated and because larger quantities are also available, you can use wiper fluid very inexpensively.

If you still have any questions or comments we would love to hear from you. In the meantime, you can also find our range of wiper fluid in our shop.