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[miyuru]

So I was running low on windshield washer fluid, you know, the blue stuff. I come home and see a bottle of antifreeze my dad was keeping outside the garage, probably for convenience. I look inside, it's green, wtf? I thought this stuff's supposed to be blue. Eh, it was from Superstore, so it was probably just cheap stuff :lol

You see, my parents always refered to the stuff that sprays your windshield as antifreeze. I'm thinking it's an Asian-immigrant thing, as a coworker (Asian) today told me her parents call the stuff antifreeze as well!

I've never had to change anything in the car except the gas, which yeah I can do so don't laugh ^_^ But it's funny, my parents have always called this stuff antifreeze, so in it went.

Anyway that was a horrible drive to work. Antifreeze is really oily (non-polar), so yeah... I wiped off the windshield with some napkins when I parked :lol

So what's the easiest way to get it out and clear the lines in the car? I was thinking of going to car wash, but right before spraying it all out onto the windshield and then filling the container with blue stuff and spraying that out to clear the lines, then drive into the car wash. Then refill with more blue stuff, and all should be well I'd hope.

Any better ideas? I don't wanna take the container out of the engine and dump it, don't wanna mess any *further* with the car. Maybe I'll take it to a mechanic but I'd rather be embarassed here on GAF rather than in "real" life ^_^

EDIT: Of course it'd be best to wash out the container with some soap or GoJo (superawesome cleaner for greases, etc., that smells like orange too!).

 

[Ninja Scooter]

you're not chinese, liar.

 

[miyuru]

So what's a Sri Lankan? European? :lol

 

[Ninja Scooter]

So what's a Sri Lankan? European? :lol

sri lanken is like something out of star trek. Don't try to trick me, sir.

 

[miyuru]

Hehe please I need some advice, no more derailment!!!!

 

[Miguel]

:lol @ star trek

 

[fart]

you should probably pull the bottle, empty it, then flush with water until it's clear and then some (fill spray fill spray fill spray, etc.). i guess you could just spray antifreeze all over your car + paint + windshield too to empty it but i wouldn't recommend that unless it's like 100 parts water.

 

[miyuru]

Will antifreeze wreck the exterior of the car??

Also, I don't quite know how to take the bottle out. It's just a plastic container, but I mean there's a hose and everything attached to it, as well as screws or whatever holding it down. I don't wanna fuck with that.

My best plan so far was to spray the antifreeze out, but into *milk bottles* or something. Ahhh...

EDIT: My friend also said to syphon it out, which is a working idea right now...hmm...

 

[Dan]

1. Insert straw.
2. Suck.
3. Spit.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no longer necessary.
5. Die.

 

[fart]

Will antifreeze wreck the exterior of the car??

Also, I don't quite know how to take the bottle out. It's just a plastic container, but I mean there's a hose and everything attached to it, as well as screws or whatever holding it down. I don't wanna fuck with that.

My best plan so far was to spray the antifreeze out, but into *milk bottles* or something. Ahhh...

EDIT: My friend also said to syphon it out, which is a working idea right now...hmm...

siphoning is an idea so good i was guaranteed not to have it.

i have no idea what antifreeze does to paint. i know nothing about chemistry, really. that's why i wouldn't take the chance. the piping should be fine with the stuff though, as long as it's decently diluted, and the pumps won't take issue at all.

 

[FightyF]

AFAIK windshield fluid does have some anti-freeze in it. Maybe that's why your parents call it that?

Syphon it...but it could be dangerous...I dunno. sorry.

 

[BobbyRobby]

Unscrew whatever is holding down the bottle, and wash it out. Just remember how you did it , and you should have trouble putting it back.

 

[fart]

you don't have to use your mouth to create suction, dudes...

 

[aoi tsuki]

1. Insert straw.
2. Suck.
3. Spit.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no longer necessary.
5. Die.

All jokes aside, antifreeze is extremely poisonous. It doesn't take much to make you sick, more than that will kill you.

i'd say siphon it out, and if you don't feel like removing the fluid resevoir, just add water and run it through until the water off the jets looks as clear as water on a paper towel. Wash your car, and you might wanna look into getting a soap additive for your washer fluid to aid in removing whatever's left of the antifreeze from the wiper fluid system.

 

[miyuru]

Goddamit, this is gonna be on my mind until I fix it. It's stressful because I'm opening for a flair competition tomorrow night </shamless plug> and I honestly don't have time to figure this shit out. Meanwhile my car looks like a fucking greasy mess. I especially don't wanna take it to a shop because it'll probably take a while if they're busy. I can call ahead I guess. Then again, calling, etc., takes time!

For sure, *I'm* not going to fuck around with my *dad's* car anymore. He's out of town, so I wanna get this fixed by the time he gets back (Friday). I'll probably tell him about it though, since he'll wonder where his antifreeze went :lol Actually I'll tell my mom tomorrow so my dad gets mad out of town, but when he gets back, all will be forgotten.

 

[Crag Dweller]

Go to an auto parts store and find something like this:

 

[miyuru]

Turkey baster? Shit, we have one in the kitchen, I should just syphon it out like that right now :lol

And throw it away, I don't want no toxic turkey for Thanksgiving.

 

[Lil' Dice]

Dude, remove the reservoir and dump the antifreeze. Taking it out should be no more difficult than removing a hard drive in a pc.

 

[Space Age Playboy]

You should clean out the container or else it'll still have greasy antifreeze in it. Don't be a wimp. Unscrew whatever is holding it in its place, taking note of whatever you are doing, then reverse the process once it's clean.

 

[miyuru]

I'm too pussy. I'll use the turkey baster method and get out as much as possible, and then run the lines with water multiple times, maybe with soapy water at first and then just H20. Then, run with some blue stuff, and then after that take her to the car wash

What a load of shit to deal with. I was about to ask my neighbour if this green stuff belongs in there, I should've done it :-\ I remember my gr. 8 teacher always said I was one of those kids that need to touch the stove to realise it's hot :lol

EDIT: Yeah, good points with the antifreeze staying in the container...

My friend's going to help me out tomorrow (it'd be a bitch anyway to run back and forth to run the lines anyway ) so maybe he can help out with that.

 

[Lil' Dice]

I'm too pussy. I'll use the turkey baster method and get out as much as possible, and then run the lines with water multiple times, maybe with soapy water at first and then just H20. Then, run with some blue stuff, and then after that take her to the car wash

What a load of shit to deal with. I was about to ask my neighbour if this green stuff belongs in there, I should've done it :-\ I remember my gr. 8 teacher always said I was one of those kids that need to touch the stove to realise it's hot :lol

Any self respectign man makes sure he knows at least the simple workings of an automobile. Otherwise be prepared to be ripped off by mechanics, and be totaly reliant on someone else to diagnose/repair even the simplest of automobile problems.
If you can learn the inner workings of a PC, then you can learn basic automobile maintenance....

 

[aoi tsuki]

Any self respectign man makes sure he knows at least the simple workings of an automobile. Otherwise be prepared to be ripped off by mechanics, and be totaly reliant on someone else to diagnose/repair even the simplest of automobile problems.
If you can learn the inner workings of a PC, then you can learn basic automobile maintenance....

Having said that, we really need an official car help thread, with links to sites that help car owners do it themselves, like http://autos.yahoo.com/owning/maintain/repairqa/.

 

[miyuru]

Nice link, I was actually trying to find a guide.

And yeah, I must say I should learn this kinda stuff. A lot of my friends are always hyping me up to get a car and put this and that in it, but I always tell them I'm going to keep my car stock, as I'm not deserving of such a car because, well, I wouldn't know why it was going so fast, among other more basic things :lol

 

[Folder]

Go to an auto parts store and find something like this:

Wow! They swll ass-douches at auto parts stores in the US?
That's some forward thinking right there...

 

[Soybean]

Yeah, you're probably going to want to learn a little bit more about automobiles. At least you knew that the windshield wiper fluid was supposed to be blue. That stuff sucks, though. I like the stuff that has a de-icer in it, like Rain-X's orange stuff.

 

[Azih]

I'm pretty sure you have to clean out the whole system with some sort of alcohol. Take it to a mechanic or something I'm sure they'll take like 50 bucks from you and give you funny looks.

 

[Doth Togo]

:lol

 

[M3Freak]

In Canada windshield washer fluid has antifreeze (or something similar) mixed into it. Normal windshield washer fluid turns into a sheet of ice when sprayed in the winter.

Just mix your windshield washer fluid with the antifreeze...the car will be fine.

 

[darscot]

Don't be an idiot and dump the antifreeze all over the driveway.

 

[351]

Your washer reservoir should have a rubber hose attached to it where it sucks the washer fluid out. Just pull the hose out and let everything drain out of your tank. Keep pouring water in until it flushes everything out. Reattach hose and your done. And yes anti-freeze will ruin your paint, so be careful.

 

[miyuru]

Removing the hose though, would just dump the stuff onto the ground = NOT COOL. I don't want any pets dying from this.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Just take it to a garage, they'll take out the vessel and clean it for you. You could probably do it yourself, but I'd let a garage do it, sdince you're concerned about the environmental effects of the anti-freeze.

Not to de-rail this topic any further, but last winter the motor in my washer fliud went out and I had it replace when I took my car in for an oil change. Two days later it went out again. I took it back and as they were bringing me my car it went out agian a third time. When they removed my veseel they found a dead mouse in there. I was like YUCK!! What we could never figure out is how the HELL did it get in tere in the first place. I have no mice in my garage or in the house (trust me I have scheduled pest control service), and the container is always closed. It just boggles my mind how the hell it could've gotten in there. The mouse cadaver was as blue as a smurf. :lol

 

[Ecrofirt]

ahaha

 

[Soybean]

In Canada windshield washer fluid has antifreeze (or something similar) mixed into it. Normal windshield washer fluid turns into a sheet of ice when sprayed in the winter.

Just mix your windshield washer fluid with the antifreeze...the car will be fine.

No! Antifreeze (for your radiator) is a toxic, oily chemical. Now as I noted above, they do make windshield washer fluid that de-ices, but that doesn't mean they just mix it with antifreeze.

 

[miyuru]

Everything I've read says it's common for windshield washer fluid to have antifreeze in it, though maybe this was more common in the past. I'm sure that there are other de-icers, etc., that are safer to use in it.

Anyway I just got off the phone with a mechanic. He told me that I can do it totally myself and all I'd need is water to flush it out. Just put a garden hose in there with flowing water and run it all out, or better yet take out the hose and dump it.

EDIT: :lol @ smurf mouse haha

 

[Soybean]

Just put a garden hose in there with flowing water and run it all out, or better yet take out the hose and dump it.

Only someone who hates the environment would say that!

Also, there's a difference between windshield washer antifreeze and coolant antifreeze.

 

[miyuru]

Only someone who hates the environment would say that!

Haha yeah I was sorta wondering about that. I guess in an empty parking lot it wouldn't do that much harm, well, birds and shit....

Yeah, totally bad idea. Maybe he didn't understand how much antifreeze I put in there.

Well I'm going to leave and check for paint damage :S My friend's gonna help me out with this later today, meanwhile I'll get my glasses fixed (long story) and prep for my flair comp tonight. I'll take a video ^_^

Later dudes!

 

[theo]

dont forget to check your blinker fluid while you're at it

 

[AlphaSnake]

Windeshield washer fluid contains anti-freeze, which is why it's also commonly called anti-freeze.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

Windeshield washer fluid contains anti-freeze, which is why it's also commonly called anti-freeze.

No! Antifreeze (for your radiator) is a toxic, oily chemical. Now as I noted above, they do make windshield washer fluid that de-ices, but that doesn't mean they just mix it with antifreeze.

.