What a surprise! I’m once again looking for ways to save money by making it myself. One really easy thing to make on your own is automobile washer fluid. There are lots of ways to make it, too, and you’ll likely have the ingredients on hand. Here are some options for making your own auto washer fluid.
Warm Weather Washer Fluid
If you live where it’s warm year round or you’re making fluid for warmer weather (spring, summer and fall), here are some options for washer fluid.
Option 1:
Gallon jug
4 cups window cleaner
1 TB dish soap
12 cups distilled water
In the gallon jug, add in the window cleaner and dish soap. Fill the rest with distilled water. Add the cap and gently turn over to mix.
Option 2:
Gallon jug
8 cups vinegar
8 cups distilled water
Add both ingredients to the jug and turn to mix. This is a great option because it’s environmentally friendly and inexpensive!
Cold Weather Washer Fluid
When temperatures are likely to dip below freezing, you need a different combination of ingredients to prevent the washer fluid from freezing.
Gallon jug
8 oz (1 cup) 90% isopropyl alcohol
1 TB dish soap
15 cups distilled water
Fill jug with ingredients, add the cap and shake to mix.
For all of these options, you can also add a couple drops of food coloring to distinguish the liquid from other liquids making it easy to identify—whatever is your preference.
Has anyone made their own washer fluid for their cars? If so, what did you use for it and how well did it work? I’d love to hear others’ experiences with this, so tell me all about it!
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Amy says
What kind of vinegar is used
Happy-Money-Saver says
Distilled white vinegar
Pamela says
I usually use half vinegar/half water, with a bit of dish soap added. However, I was also a trucker and one of the gas stations made a mix for the window cleaner boxes. This was for taking the bugs off in the summer. They used water, rubbing alcohol, and Joy dish soap. Not sure why Joy. I asked them and they said it worked the best. Their mix worked great!!
Karen says
I know you can make home made ice packs with the rubbing alcohol and water and it gets kind of slushy. Have you tried out the windshield wash made w/alcohol? Does it get slushy or thick? Does it spray on the windows okay?
Karla says
I’m a truck driver and all the ingredients for this are readily available at most truck stops…..accept the distilled water…would regular old bottled water bought from the store work just as well?? Washer fluid is upwards of $4 a gallon here on the road.
Mary says
Sorry for my ignorance but you mentioned 1 TB soap. What is TB? Tablespoon? I’m not used to seeing it written that way.
Thanks
Karrie says
Whoops, yep that would be Tablespoon.
stefanie says
Hi Carrie,
How much did each of these recipes cost for you to make? I usually get washer fluid on sale for about 99 cents.
Mackenzie says
Im assuming all these are safe for car paint and such? 🙂 is that correcT?
Karrie says
Yes, these are all gentle enough for car paint. 🙂
Jenn says
Is it necessary to use distilled water? I’m on a well, so don’t have all the chlorine, etc. that city water has. Would that be ok, or would I have to boil it?
Karrie says
I wouldn’t think you HAVE to use distilled…it’s just the add-ins that are the problem like chlorine.
Morgan says
Distilled water probably works best since it has next to no impurities and hard water can leave scale over time which could affect your vehicle’s hoses and water pump leaving to eventual blockage of said hoses and pump(it would probably take a very long time before that happens). I’m not sure about how soft water would affect it.
Joan says
I would still use distilled water even though I also have a well. If you have ever filled a jug with well water and let it sit for any length of time you will notice that green algae coats the inside of the jug, especially the bottom, so I am sure that could eventually cause problems with something getting blocked.
KC says
Odd. That doesn’t happen when I fill jugs with water from our well… I’ve filled jugs in preparation for a power outage and left them for about a year without any problems.