In practice, ethanol can be administered intravenously by doctors to counter ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning, but now that another antidote is available ( fomepizole), its popularity for this application is greatly in decline. Should ingestion of antifreeze occur, ethanol (alcoholic beverages) can be administered until proper treatment can be started in order to slow the conversion of methanol to formaldehyde and formic acid which are the substances responsible for methanol's toxicity. All spills should be cleaned, or else an area in which it may be present should be kept inaccessible. They form calcium oxalate crystals in the kidneys and can cause acute renal failure and death.

Ethylene glycol antifreezes are poisonous and should be kept away from any person or animal (children and especially dogs) that might be tempted by its sweet taste. Also, the concentration of methanol would tend to be reduced over time due to its greater tendency to evaporate than the water with which it was mixed.Įthylene glycol solutions became available in 1927 and were marketed as 'permanent antifreeze', since the higher boiling points provided advantages for summertime use as well as during cold weather.

While effective in preventing the coolant from freezing, its low boiling point and low specific heat capacity led to considerably less cooling than water alone. Until the 1930s, methanol was the most widely used antifreeze.

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