Now winter is here, you can’t escape from morning frosts and windshield cleaning. Tedious work, especially if you should hurry or if you don’t leave for it enough time.
How to de-ice the windshield quickly?
Use a deicer spray on the frozen windshield, doors
Especially during very cold nights it can occur, that the ice covers not only the windshield, but the doors and locks can freeze up in the car, making impossible the starting in the morning. With a special anti-freeze ice spray you can easily defrost the ice found on the doors and locks.
But pay attention to hold the spray outside the car, as if you forget it inside, you can’t use it! 🙂
Keep an extra ice scraper outside the car
The ice scraper is a special device, typically made of plastic, and at one end of it is a large, flat, dull part, the other half is a handle, sometimes with brush. There is available in most car store, gas station, and hardware store.
If you drive in icy areas it’s a good idea to keep a spare scraper. In that case if the door gets stuck because of the ice, you can scraped off the ice from the windshield until the door blow out due the deicing spray. In addition, the scrapers are prone to break if the temperature falls below -10 Celsius. If you have an extra ice scraper, you can save the situation if this happens.
Add winter window washer to the windshield washer fluid
A layer of ice you can easily remove from the windshield when in the windshield washer fluid there is also winter window washer. It’s rapidly melt the ice, so you can easily peel-off residue with an ice scraper. Winter windscreen washer you can purchase at any gas station.
NEVER use (hot) water to remove the ice
A common misconception is that to remove the ice you can be use hot water. NO. The warm water creates a so large temperature difference that the glass can’t really handle it. Thus, you may find that the car window explodes. Even a room-temperature water isn’t suitable for this, as the temperature difference even in this case is too large. If you try with a low-temperature water, it can freeze on the window, so you have to scrape more ice.
Turn on the window heater
Contrary to the hot water, the heating of the window you can safely use to defrost the front and back windows. The windows will gradually warm up, the ice begins to melt, so you can easily scratch off the melted ice.
If there is a “defrosting” feature on the car you can use it. You have to wait about 15 minutes for warming glasses.
Cover the car windows
The cover prevents the formation of ice. You can use special frost-proof blanket, but a sleeping bag or garbage bag will do it. Cover the windows when you leave the car after arrival and only take off when you start again. If you go to mountain areas it could be particularly useful.
Therefore, you can do:
- It is best if you invest to a deicer spray and ice scraper. With the deicer spray you can spray the entire windshield, then scrape off the ice with the ice scraper. Don’t use credit cards, CD case, or any other device because they will scratch the windshield.
- It is best if you use a windscreen washer, which also contains deicer – it helps to keep clean the windshield of ice and prevent the nozzles from freezing.
- Before starting, make sure that the entire windshield defrosted – not only a small area in front of the driver’s seat – as well as other windows and mirrors. If you drive with frozen side and rear windows and mirrors, your visibility will be very limited.
What not to do:
- First, ignore all hot water advice. It might seem logical that the hot water can melt the ice, but not, whether it can broke the windshield.
- Many people just sit in the car with the running engine and fan and wait to melt the ice from the windows. This not only takes a long time, but consumes fuel too.
- Don’t use the windscreen wiper to remove ice or snow, it could break.
