Hello! With temps going well below freezing upcoming, anyone have tips on how to add slip to a solution of washer fluid/alcohol? Currently, I use a little Dawn, but this can freeze at times. Is there a powdered soap/slip that could be used that wouldn’t freeze?
Thanks for any help!
Why do you want slip ?
All I use is a little soap in the winter as little as possible , because that’s what freezes . Start off with a little ,an add as needed . No need for any slip if you ask me , but if you feel you need it why can’t you add it ?
Add slip , an a little soap to whatever your using to keep the water from freezing . Alcohol , WWF, Methanol. Add slip no big deal !!
When using alcohol, I get turn marks easier. I just use soap which has enough slip for me, but soap can freeze even if using straight windshield washer fluid.
Yes I would assume single digits or below zero it could. Have you tried methanol ?
Lmao I won’t work unless absolutely necessary in single digits
The soap isn’t causing the solution to freeze. Washer fluid is water and methanol. Since alcohol evaporates faster than water, then the longer your solution lingers on the glass, the more the alcohol evaporates, leaving water, which then freezes.
You solution may be to try to leave the solution on the glass for a shorter time than you would when the weather is warmer. Like cleaning half a window at a time instead of 2 windows at a time.
soap creates bubbles, bubbles are a microscopically thin layer with lots of surface exposure and no thermal mass and i believe they will freeze faster. additionally the large surface area allows any alcohol to evaporate faster.
i wonder if tsp would work better than soap?
Thanks for the reply! So, even at zero or below temperatures, dawn liquid dish soap will not freeze if mixed with straight washer fluid/alcohol?
I have heard that TSP could be an option, yes. I have seen that it does leave white marks on the glass where missed and/or turn mark due to the increased drag on the glass of the alcohol. Also, I see that is doesn’t sud like soap, so more difficult to see the solution on the glass. The latter piece I would not be worried about.
I am assuming that because TSP is a powder, that is why it doesn’t freeze? So, would a powdered soap do the same?
dawn or tsp will definitely freeze when mixed with washer fluid even the straight washer fluid will freeze depending on the temp.
TSP will amplify any of the slightest lines…
(you know, the streaks that normally you and I would normally be the only ones to see.)
Powder dries as powder.
And this coming from someone who grew up with TSP in my bucket… but truth is truth. 
liquid tsp is what i used. dries without soap residue if used without soap. dawn leaves lines as does washer fluid, the only that doesn’t is purified water.
Got it. So you use liquid tsp…that is why it would still freeze as it is not the powder form.
any soap or cleaner used is going to leave marks if not fully removed or at least removed evenly and almost completely which is what we do with a squeegee. almost every liquid (maybe every) freezes at some point. alcohol has a lower freeze temp than water but it does freeze and it does evaporate faster than water which leaves the water and anything else to freeze.
there are MANY opinions on the best formula for cleaning windows winter or summer.
here is an old video with some info there are many more on you tube
What about using powdered soap in windshield washer fluid as an example? Would this provide slip and the soap would not freeze like liquid Dawn being that it is a powder?
I’ve heard that you can use vinegar instead of alcohol to avoid freezing. Any truth to that and if yes, what’s better? And what’s tsp? Newbie here in the frigid granite state.
Stop in the drug store and get a few bottles of polypropylene glycol aka vegetable glycerin. You will find it in the skin care area of the first aid section. It’s used as a skin lubricant to prevent friction burns among a million other things. It will give you the slip you are looking for without creating bubbles that can freeze.
there is no significant difference
Ok thank you!
