DaddyL

I needed to drain smelly windscreen washer fluid from my C3 Picasso. I have a Briggs and Stratton oil extraction vacuum pump which is intended for easy draining of sump oil from my lawnmower. (Other brands are available). I tried to use the pump to extract washer fluid by pushing the pipe into the washer reservoir. The reservoir is a complicated shape and inserting the pipe was like intubating a comatose swan, I could not get the pipe around the bends. I noticed that there is a connector clipped to the left hand side of the bonnet. I pulled the rubber tubing off the connector, and found that the rubber tube was an air tight fit inside the plastic tube of the extractor pump. It took a few minutes to drain the tank. I did operate the washer briefly once or twice, which did speed things up, but using the car washer to drain the tank is definitely not a good idea. Firstly on the C3 operating the washer pump also runs the wipers. Secondly continuous use would very likely overheat the pump. It took only a few minutes to drain the reservoir this way, and this method avoids removing the front wheel and wheel arch liner. The following is how I attempted to sterilise the system. Copy this action at your own risk. As for dealing with the smell. I pumped out the smelly fluid. Then flushed a litre or so of fresh water through. The smell is caused by bacteria, so the system needs to be sterilised to avoid re infection. I added a dilute bleach solution and left it for half an hour or so before flushing again with fresh water. After final draining, I replaced the washer fluid. The smell was gone, and the windscreen seems less smeary. I was concerned because some online sources suggest that these water born bacteria can cause respiratory infection including legionnaires disease. I am unsure how the use of bleach might affect the rubber tubing, but could not think of a suitable alternative which would not attack the rubber. However I am hoping that the brief contact will not cause long term damage. I hope this post is helpful to someone:-)