Windshield washer fluid - Commercial brand or DIY ?
 

What do you guys think about store bought products vs DIY mixes when it comes to windshield washer fluid ?

The Internet is full of DIY / home-made recipes for making your own mix of windshield washer fluid:
* distilled water
* splash of dish detergent
* some white vinegar / liquid ammonia / isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) in % by volume according to outside temperatures - more in winter, less in summer.

With my old 98' Interpid, rust spots + stickers everywhere, faded paint, etc I didn't mind experimenting with DIY concoctions for washer fluid. Even found pills/tablets at the Dollar-store which you just added to water - they were great!

With my 2013 Honda Fit that is brand "new" for me, I'm concerned about the cars' paint/gloss being ruined, premature rusting through the water drainage holes or even the washer fluid hoses and pump being damaged long-term. The key here is long-term, as I want to keep my car forever. :D


PS:
I am fully aware I'm asking a crowd of people known to remove their windshield wipers for aerodynamics and remove the fluid from the reservoir for weight reduction. But I hope at least a few still use windshield wipers & fluids and can share your point of view.

I started using the pink rain-x early on and never use anything else. I forgot to switch to rainx after i bought my cts and was letting the dealer fill it.... until the bottle froze solid, luckily it didn't break anything.

I just use water during the summer.

I use the blue stuff from Walmart. It works better than water and is cheap to buy. I don't like Rainx

Dollar stores out here sell gallon bottles of blue fluid. It works so far.

I like the orange Rain-x. Barely more than the cheap stuff at Walmart and seems to work much better.

I use plain water or the Rain-X stuff. If I ever want the blue stuff, I know a junkyard that gives it away.

A jug of washer fluid and a can of wax both last me years. I use Rain-x on the windshield and seldom use the wipers. Wiper blades last a very long time. The last set I replaced was the Sentra and they were falling apart, painted the peeling wiper arms at the same time.

regards
mech

Blue fluid is so cheap and lasts so long that it wouldn't occur to me to DIY it- I'd be running at a loss right away. I don't use Rain-X fluid because of the paint, but I do windex (store brand) and use the wipe-on Rain-X.

Have there been consumer complaints on the Rain-X fluid ruining the paint on cars?

I have not tried any of the Rain-X products yet, but I have tried waxing (Turtle Wax) the windshield on my old Intrepid with decent results. However using windshield fluid appeared to wear off the wax pretty fast.

I think I may have a bit of a problem :rolleyes:...obsession with always having a clean windshield - also want the dashcam to capture good clean footage, just in case. I seem to use a bit everyday and will go through a 1 gallon (3.5 L) jug every 2 months regardless of the season.

So you use a gal (3.8L) every couple of months. How much will you save making your own?

Way back when I first used Rain-X, One of the directions was not to get it on the paint. Their FAQ has this:

So while it's completely awesome on your windshield, apparently it's not the best thing for your paint. I have no personal need to Rain-X my whole car, so the why doesn't concern me. I just don't use their washer fluid, doing it by hand every few months.

Just plain tap-water works great...until...winter arrives and it freezes.

LOL, throw some moonshine in it.

regards
mech

3 X $2.50 (summer) + 3 x $3.50 (winter) + tax = about $20/year.
Making it at home would be maybe $10/year. I agree not enough to make any difference. I did it because I just like the whole DIY idea when possible, not to save money.

My area has very hard tap-water which leaves mineral deposits fast. Long-term it would eventually clog the fluid pump & tubes and haze the windshield. I have used distilled or reverse osmosis water in all my previous homemade mixes.
Tried with distilled water only but didn't work so well for pollen & bug splats.

When it warms up I want to try wax & distilled water. From what I've seen online about the Rain-X gel is that it seems to act like a liquid wax. You apply and rub it in, wait a few minutes for it to haze & harden, then buff it out with a clean towel.

But that would be alcohol abuse!