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I recently was driving my delivery truck to the convention center in our fair city. I hopped out to speak with the gate guard and discovered that my truck was leaking bright green coolant all over the ground! The guards took the spill very seriously, and I saw them deploy a bag of absorbent material just before they kicked me out. I was flustered, but they had every right to do this; as we all know, antifreeze is toxic.

After shelling out for a new radiator and refilling my truck with fluids, I happened to read the label on a bottle of windshield washer fluid. The label said the bottle contained antifreeze, albeit in a smaller concentration than my coolant. My question is ... if antifreeze is so toxic, then why does every vehicle built in the last 50-60 years have a button on the dashboard to spray the stuff everywhere? -— Jared

It’s a good question, Jared. The truth is, both fluids are toxic, but they use different antifreeze chemicals.

The ethylene glycol in your radiator is quite toxic if ingested. And, to make matters worse, it has a sweet taste and smell, making it particularly attractive to dogs and other animals. Fortunately, manufacturers now add a bitterant to their ethylene glycol to make it taste bad, so that’s not as much of a concern as it once was.

Still, the guys at the gate were doing their job by quickly mopping up the leak. Ethylene glycol is used in radiators, because it’s not only an antifreeze, but also a coolant. It has properties that prevent freezing in cold weather but also resist boiling when the engine is running at its operating temperature, which is over 200 F.

The stuff they put in your windshield washing fluid doesn’t have to worry about boiling. It just has to keep the soapy water from freezing when the temperature drops.

Because the needs of windshield washer fluid are simpler, they use a much cheaper antifreeze called methanol, also known as wood alcohol.

Methanol is also toxic. So why isn’t its containment (when it’s sprayed or spilled) taken as seriously as antifreeze? Probably because methanol poisoning tends to happen when a little kid sees a bottle of blue fluid that looks like Gatorade and takes a slug. Or a desperate alcoholic drinks it intentionally.

As for the methanol that runs off our windshields, the Environmental Protection Agency is not concerned enough about it to impose regulations. Perhaps that’s because it evaporates quickly, or because the concentrations in groundwater or food are not yet proven to be harmful to humans.

But, what can you do if all of this concerns you? So, first of all, store these products carefully, far from the reach of kids or pets (not on the floor of the back seat). And, never transfer them to other containers that are not clearly labeled as toxic.

If you’re willing to spend a little more, ask your mechanic if a propylene glycol-based antifreeze is available. Propylene glycol is not toxic to pets or people. And, there are at least a few ethanol-based windshield washer fluids that have been sold over the years.

In the European Union, there are limits on the amount of methanol allowed in washer fluid, mostly to deter intentional consumption. You can urge authorities to adopt those limits here, too. Other than that, clean up spills right away. And don’t put either one of these products in your evening martini.

Got a question about cars? Write to Ray in care of King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or email by visiting the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com.

© 2022 by Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman

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