does anyone have an environmentally friendly solution for well below freezing temps?
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is safer than methanol, but it stinks, doesn’t lower the freezing temp of the water as much, and evaporates from the water pretty quickly. I use it on days where it’s not terribly cold, and I usually just pour it straight (with a little ecover mixed in) onto my damp t-bar. As it starts to dry out, I’ll rinse & ring out my t-bar in a bucket of warm water, and dump on some more isopropyl soap mix.
thanks guys but a heated bucket won’t stop the solution freezing on the glass i don’t think and while iso is safer than methyl the property manager specifies environmentally friendly.
Hot water from a heated bucket might DELAY the freezing by just a little bit maybe? I’m a Floridian though so I can’t say I know much about freezing temps. The heated bucket suggestion was from my farmer uncle in MN. 
is this thread really happening right now? how is ANYBODY thinking about freezing weather when the phone is literally EXPLODING for warm weather work?
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Depending on the temperature differentials heated water on cold glass can cause cracking (
I added windshield washer fluid to the soap this winter but I will be trying different things next winter.
Putting in a $50k bid for year round cleaning tomorrow and they want eco
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ah got it. what exactly is not “eco” about methanol?
Very poisonous
planning on drinking it?
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I hasn’t even considered that! And my uncle’s suggestion came from what he uses to keep the cow’s drinking water from freezing. It’s definitely eco friendly but maybe not the best for window washing… 
Some quick research on vinegar shows that it has a freezing point of 28 Fahrenheit or -2 Celsius, so probably not very functional for Canada or Alaska. Apparently the acidity of vinegar provides it with a freezing point lower than water. I can ask my friend who has a PhD in Biochemistry for an eco friendly low freezing point product but it might take a day or two to get an answer.
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Hot water actually freezes quicker than cold water (see The Mpemba Effect). EDIT: I’m not sure how big of a problem this really is with window cleaning since I some of you guys are hot water WFP-ing even in the winter?
As far as Iso goes, I’m not finding significant environmental harm from its use. It is only harmful if ingested, which is the same caution you would use with Ecover, I believe.
On a chemical level, Iso is derived from the branch of organic chemistry (which, I realize, does not make it “organic”). It is safe on the body.
But, if that doesn’t meet the classification (are they specific about what “Eco-friendly” means?), I have a completely serious suggestion: Vodka. Since it is in the same family as Iso (Alcohols), it has some similar effects, such as a low freezing temp (-24C/-11F). However, it is considered safe for human consumption, which would surely fall into the category of “Eco-friendly.” I’ve never cleaned with it, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work to lower the freezing temp of water.
Again, I’m interested to hear specifically what the claim against Iso is, considering the fact that it is generally considered safe for human contact.
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Also, there is someone on the forum who has a chemistry degree, but I can’t remember his name. Hopefully he’ll find this thread and chime in. He always has a lot to add on topics like this.
Not sure if he has a degree, but @Henry knows more about chemistry than anyone else I know.
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That’s who I was thinking of! Yeah he knows a ton about this kind of thing!!
Thanks everybody, I’ll look through in the morning and make a decision.
I did a quick search and I was also thinking of @joshuag as a possible chemistry guy.
