Windsheild Woes: Navigating Hudson Valley Roads Without Washer Fluid

I really try my best to be a responsible adult.

Some days are easier than others, where 329 things don't go wrong and 'adult life' is easy to navigate, and then there are other days when just about everything goes wrong and you feel like calling a better, or more seasoned adult to help you take on this wild world.

Today, well, today I was not a responsible adult - please don't tell my dad.

Hitting Hudson Valley Roads Post Snowstorm

I was well-prepared for these past two snowstorms when it comes to the pre-storm prep.

• bread and milk - check
• brought shovels up from basement - check
• stocked up on pet-safe driveway salt (gotta think about those outdoor kitties) - check
• filled up my car with gas - half check, I did before the first storm, not the one this past Monday

Wednesday morning I hit the road from my house in Wappingers heading to the radio station in Poughkeepsie. I cleaned off my car really well, and managed to get out of my ice luge driveway without incident, starting my 25 minute commute.

As any seasoned driver knows, when you're on the roads after a fresh coating of snow, you tend to use your wipers, and your windshield fluid a lot. All the salt that is put down on the roads to keep us from sliding around tends to end up on our windshields and makes it hard to see...especially when you happen to run out of fluid while you're on the road.

READ MORE: Hudson Valley Recovers From January 2024 Flooding

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My Car Let Me Down, Again

My car is quick to inform me of every other issue it encounters - low tire pressure, oil change needed, the seatbelt alarm when I put something heavy on the passenger seat. Why didn't it notify me we were low on washer fluid, but instead the oil change wrench came on conveniently when I tried to clean off the windshield...

In the end I made it to work - the one gas station I stopped at on the back road I was on was out of washer fluid, so I gave it the ol'snow on the window treatment to clear off some of the sludge, and then grabbed a bottle after I was done at work. My car was pretty thirsty, taking just about the entire bottle.

The moral of this story - always keep a spare bottle in the car, not in your garage, after a snowstorm. Oh, and make sure your car has a windshield washer indicator on the dash that actually works...