In my early days as a liney on these things (late 80’s) we were told and shown on our Flight Servicing Course at Coningsby how to top-up the water bottles IAW the flight servicing schedule, however on reaching the squadron this had “stopped” (unofficially as far as I can remember) because the bottles would leak wash fluid over the equipment below it. (Electrics and water…you get the picture?) it became the “accepted norm” by ground crew and aircrew alike. However the canopies and front were polished spotless after the BF.
Until one, day some years on, when a pilot needed to clean the screen in flight and couldn’t due to this ground practice. Once down he raised a report which ended in disciplinary action being taken against the liney and supervisor whose task it was to replenish the bottle. It also saw bottles being replenished at record rate (as there were gallons of washer fluid stacking up in POL) and a number of unservicabilities due to the leaking of washer fluid over adjacent equipment.
I haven’t worked a Tornado since the late 90’s but I do remember them to be a pain to rectify due to limited access. I wander if this old fault versus practice is making a return? And if so critical then why not fix (in the technical sence) it so operational capabilities are not compromise through aircraft engineering practices?