[marc.knuckle]

Hi all.

So initially when my wipers stopped working it was suggested i may have to take off the inside of the wing and take all the gubbins out to clean them.
Instead i unattached the pipe and did a mixture of blowing air through the pipe into the water container with my tyre pump and then filling the water back using the hose pipe.

Eventually this got some algae out and it was fine again. I then stopped using water and a bit of washing liquid and instead filled it with proper washer fluid.

However it's now happened twice more. The last time it took ages but eventually a big plug of algae surfaced about the size of a pound club and 3 times as thick. I thought that was it.

It's now happened again which tells me there must be some sort of spores in the system keeping it alive each time

So, when i clean it again, could i use something strong to wash through the system like bleach or will that damage something?

Maybe white vinegar?

[AlanHo]

I guess - and it is a guess - is that a water treatment used for aquariums should be safe.

This is one of many advertised on Amazon

https://tinyurl.com/4zkmc554

[marc.knuckle]

I guess - and it is a guess - is that a water treatment used for aquariums should be safe.

This is one of many advertised on Amazon

http://tinyurl.com/4zkmc554

Thanks mate. That has made me think. We have an above ground swimming pool we get out in the summer and from time to time needs to have algaecide added. I've still got some of it so i could add that i guess

[Pnut]

You could try emtying the tanks and using one of those 30 second bleach mould treatments to flush through the system, not sure how the plastics and seals will react to it though.

[marc.knuckle]

You could try emtying the tanks and using one of those 30 second bleach mould treatments to flush through the system, not sure how the plastics and seals will react to it though.

Yeah i thought the same thing.

I'm looking into using some of the algaecide i have now. I'm not quite sure how much to use though. In a swimming pool full of water i put about 40-50ml so with the tank being so much smaller I'm not sure if i should use the same because it won't be in long. I also don't know how long to leave it in, how much to squirt through to kill it in the pipes etc.

[Lorian]

I use a milton tablet (for cleaning baby bottles)  when I have someones car with this issue - wait for it to disperse then run it through all the pipes. leave and hour and then flush it all out. making sure to not get/leave any on any of the brightwork or paint.

washer additive with amonia will resist this happening. never use washing up liquid it promotes gunk.

[AlanHo]

I never use tap water or dishwasher fluid in my washer bottle - I only ever use commercial windscreen washer anti freeze liquid and have never had a problem.

[marc.knuckle]

I never use tap water or dishwasher fluid in my washer bottle - I only ever use commercial windscreen washer anti freeze liquid and have never had a problem.

I had in the past but stopped when this first happened. The reason i always did it, never had this issue and been doing it for 23 years. Our other car, I've also stopped doing that but that didn't have this issue either.

Anyway. Cleaned it out today. Then added a mixture of approx 10:1 water: vinegar with a splash of algaecide. Left it for about 1.5 hours and ran it all through now I've filled it back up with the proper fluid with another splash of algaecide.

[Greyhound]

I would never use washing up detergent mix as screenwash, as that usually contains salt.
It is not good for your hands, or your car bodywork.

Same applies to washing your car. Don't use washing up detergent in your bucket.