If you’ve ever used a gas station broom to clean your car’s windshield, you may have just coated your vehicle in a thin layer of piss.
At least that’s what a TikToker named Mera (@merabell7) claims in a viral clip she uploaded to strongly advise people not to play a “life hack” posted by another user on the platform: Devin (@irishboy2one) .
In Devin’s original video, he records himself carrying an empty McDonald’s cup into the buckets used to house gas station brooms. If you’ve ever cleaned your windshield with one of these cleaning devices, you’ve probably noticed that the liquid on it looks like windshield washer fluid and maybe the same stuff you put in your car.
The TikToker writes in a caption for the video: “$6.00 for windshield fluid??? Times are tough…” He also hashtags “#lifehack” to the video, giving insight into why he chooses to introduce the raw hand in the wiper tank: filling the plastic cup with juice from the squeegee bucket and then pouring it into your vehicle’s windshield wiper. fluid reservoir for the lid of your vehicle.
However, Devin’s video was stitched up by Mera, who says doing this is a bad idea: “Oh my god, actually, please don’t,” she says in her video.
@merabell7 #stitch with @Devin ♬ original sound – Mera
He continued: “I work at a gas station, we have to change it like every night and every night it smells stale. Like I think people pee in there. Really. I wear two pairs of nitrile gloves when I handle this water because I don’t want it touching my bare skin. For God’s sake, please don’t put it in your car and don’t touch it.”
One commenter seemed to agree with Mera, stating that the only time he uses this water is when his car is covered in bird droppings: “I only use this when I have birds all over my windshield, so wouldn’t want that in my car. lol.”
Someone else stated that the places they go to fuel their vehicles don’t seem to want to replace the water in the brush: “my gas stations don’t change them”, to which Mera replied: “Ngl, no m they said it I had to do it until I was working here for 8 months”
There was another TikTok user who said that Devin’s own video provided evidence against the use of this hack: “there was literally something FLOAT IN THE CUP.”
The Carwash Country blog, published by a car wash enthusiast, wrote a whole list of reasons why he thinks using a gas station brush is almost always a bad idea, writing that “brush and water usually be dirty. there is a reason the wash containers that hold the brush are black… because the water in them is 9 times out of 10 dirty in my experience. everything from the oil from the engine to the bug guts to the brake dust, it’s hard to find a clean solution anymore.”
In the same piece, the author of the article states that brushes can often scratch paint and glass “especially when the brush sponge is worn.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Mera via a TikTok comment for more information.
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*First published: May 29, 2023 at 12:39 PM CDT
Jack Alban
Jack Alban is a freelance reporter for the Daily Dot who covers human interest and social media stories and real people’s reactions to them. Always look to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events and relevant facts into these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.
