Defrosting Your Windshield Do’s & Don’ts

Frozen windshield

Frozen windshield

The winter brings both the beauty of snow-covered evergreens and the hassle of snow-covered driveways, but nothing beats the time-drain of ice-covered car windows on a busy weekday morning. There are a lot of hacks for quick removal of ice but not all of them are effective and some of them may even be damaging to your vehicle. Here’s a list of dos and don’ts to defrost your car as quickly as possible so you can start your morning commute.

DON’T: Pour Hot Water Over Your Car Windows

You may be tempted to tackle the problem in what seems like a straight-forward way and pour hot water over your icy windows. Don’t. Pouring hot water onto the windshield or window may melt the ice but it can also crack the glass.

DO:  Use a DIY or Store-bought De-ice Spray

Instead of using a bucket of piping hot water, try a de-icing spray. You can pick one up at any auto supply store or make one yourself. All you need is a spray bottle, rubbing alcohol, water, and dish detergent. Mix two parts alcohols to one part water and add half of a teaspoon of dish detergent for every two cups of the mixture.

You can spray the mixture on ice covered windows, windshields, and even locks and door handles. Allow a minute or two for the mixture to soften the ice or melt it away.

DON’T: Use Your Key or Other Metal Objects as a Scrapper

Even with a de-icing spray, you may need to use a scrapper for thicker patches of ice. It might be easy to use the first thing you have on hand such as a key, but anything metal can scratch or crack the glass of your paint job. To keep from grabbing the first thing you see in a rush, purchase a plastic scrapper with a brush on one end that you can keep on hand. You can even buy a miniature ice-scrapper to keep on your key chain.

Bonus: If your car doors are frozen shut, you won’t be able to get to anything inside. So, DO store your scraper and de-icing spray in your home rather than inside your car or in the trunk.

DO: Use Your Car’s Defroster

This one is an old faithful. It may take a while, but if you can get inside your car or start it remotely, your vehicles defroster will eventually melt away the ice. If this is your go to method, you’ll want to wake up early each morning to make sure you have time to defrost and it may be helpful to pair this method with one of the others listed above.

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DO: Visit Us at Huber Motor Cars

If it’s time to upgrade your vehicle, come by and take a look at our selection at Huber Motor Cars of Fredericksburg, VA.

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