WindshieldWiper fluid or Antifreeze?

I am wondering what would be better to add into my system to prevent nasty little bacteria growth... I've read approx 10-15% antifreeze works well, but I've also read things about w/w fluid... how much w/w fluid would need to be added, and does it really matter which one I use?

I add a little "bacteriostat" sold at Sears. Its in the humidifyers/dehumidifyers section. The liquid stuff.

I'd stick to antifreeze. I'm using windsheild fluid now to keep my freezing point down, and am not very impressed with it. It bubbles immensely when you put it in, so it's hard/irritating to work with at first.

Unless your super-chilling your water, I don't see any reason to use windsheild fluid over antifreeze.

windshield washer fluid is used to kill bacteria, mold, fungus etc.
[edit]it is also used to lower the freezing point of water in a chilled
water system.[/edit] it does nothing to prevent corrosion. i've been
doing alot of research on the subject and found that distilled water
is the best water to use. methanol (main ingredient in windshield
washer fluid) has good thermal characteristics. not as good as
water, but the best of the alcohols and is good at keeping the little
cridders out. you can usually find pure methanol at auto parts
stores. i'm not sure the amount to use yet. i was told by a member
that they've had good results using 5% methanol. i would think that
amount would be effective since alcohol is good at killing things in
small doses. as a bonus it will help thin out the antifreeze which
should help your flow/cooling.

you'll want a corrosion inhibitor in the mix as well. anti-freeze is a popular
one and works well. bacteria can still grow in a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze
so you shouldn't rely on it to kill the nastys. standard ati-freeze (Ethylene Glycol)
works well as a corrosion inhibitor, but losses it's ability to prevent
corrosion over time. i'm going to use the newer type (DEX-COOL® )
that last much longer than conventional Ethylene Glycol based anti-freeze.

in a system with all copper blocks, 10% antifreeze seems pretty
popular. if there's any aluminum in the system, 25% is recommended.
this is what i'm going to use since one of my blocks has a aluminum
top.

we are having a good discussion over here on additives.

be sure to read threw the water cooling stickies. they have helped me quite a bit.

good luck
rich

P.S. forgot to mention methanol is used to lower the freezing point of water as well.