De-icing your car windows quickly

Video: This Weatherman Reveals The Secret To Defrosting Your Windshield In SECONDS

Content

To step
Method 1 of 4: Using a window defroster
Method 2 of 4: Using a pass
Method 3 of 4: Using warmed rice bags or hand warmers with sodium acetate
Method 4 of 4: Prevent the car windows from freezing
Tips
Warnings
Necessities

If you're late for work in the morning, the last thing you want to see in your driveway is a car with its windows completely covered with ice. Driving with ice on your windshield is dangerous and you can also be fined if you have not de-iced your car windows and door mirrors or not properly. Scraping away the ice with a regular ice scraper takes valuable time and can even scratch the glass. Fortunately, these are not the only options you have. Ice your car windows with the quick and easy tricks below.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Using a window defroster

Buy a window defroster in the store or make your own. You can buy specially formulated window defroster at most gas stations, garages and supermarkets. However, if you don't have a window defroster on hand or want to save money, making your own is easy. Follow the simple instructions below:
- To make your own defroster, pour rubbing alcohol into a clean, dry spray bottle. Add a few drops of dish soap. Twist on the nozzle and invert the nozzle several times to mix the ingredients.
Spray defroster on the window. Whether you bought a window defroster or made your own, you use it in the same way.Spray the defroster on the frozen parts of the window and let the agent soak in briefly. You shouldn't have to wait more than two minutes. The more window defroster you use, the shorter you will have to wait.
Scrape off the ice as usual. Use a plastic ice scraper, gloved hand, or other tool to scrape away the ice. You should find that you can remove the ice from your window much faster and easier than usual, which will save you time. If necessary, re-apply windshield defroster to stubborn areas.
- Rubbing alcohol that is sold in the store has a very low freezing point, so you can keep the windshield defroster in your car. Namely, it freezes at a temperature of -29 ° C.

Method 2 of 4: Using a pass

Switch on your car's window heating. This method is actually a last resort and can be used if you do not have lukewarm water, a window defroster or an ice scraper available, for example if the car windows are frozen in the parking lot while you were working. Because you are trying to remove the ice with a pass or some other improvised tool, it is wise to get as much help as possible. To start, start your car and turn the heating as high as possible. Leave the heating on during the process. Over time, this will cause the ice to soften and start to melt, making the job a lot easier.
Find a suitable card. Search your wallet to find a debit card or other similar sturdy plastic card. Do not use a laminated pass, as it is not hard or strong enough to properly scrape the ice off the windows. If possible, try to use a card that is not important to you, such as an old, expired health insurance card, because with this method there is a risk that the card will be damaged. However, do not keep the expired card for too long, because it is recommended to destroy old cards as soon as possible to prevent fraud.
Start scraping. Hold the long side of the card diagonally against the window and apply firm pressure. Try to keep the card as straight as possible and make sure it doesn't bend and deform as you scrape. When that happens, it can warp or break.
- Keep going. When it comes to scrapers, you have to put in more effort with a pass than with an ice scraper. You may have to apply quite a bit of pressure to remove the ice.
- If you are concerned that your card will break, you can use two or three cards at the same time so that your scraper is two or three times stronger.
Make use of your windshield wipers and washer fluid to help remove the ice. As you scrape away the ice, debris will likely collect on the edges of the window. Occasionally spray wiper fluid on the window and let the wipers do their work for a few seconds. The windshield wiper fluid can help soften the ice, while the wipers can wipe away the ice. With the help of your pass, your windshield wipers, windshield wiper fluid and the heating, your car windows should be free of ice within minutes.

Method 3 of 4: Using warmed rice bags or hand warmers with sodium acetate

Place rice in a mitten or sturdy resealable plastic bag and heat the rice in the microwave for half to a full minute. You may need several mitts or pockets to get the job done.
Move the bag of rice back and forth across the inside of the window while in your car. The window heats up like this, so that the ice melts.
- You can also use hand warmers with sodium acetate this way and keep them in the car. By bending a metal plate, the hand warmer heats up and you can boil the hand warmer in water afterwards to use it again.
- The advantage of this method is that the window does not freeze again when you start driving because it is still warm. You are also warm and dry in your car while you prepare to hit the road.
Work carefully and quickly. Just as hot water can crack the glass, the glass can be heavily loaded if you keep the warm bag in one place for too long. Only hold the bag of rice in one place long enough for the ice to melt, as it will continue to melt as you move the bag to another place. You can turn on the wipers and lower the side windows to let the moisture disappear.

Method 4 of 4: Prevent the car windows from freezing

Cover your car windows at night. One way to make sure you don't get delayed in the morning due to frozen windows is to prevent them from freezing. Cover your car windows at night with special blankets, covers, towels, a folded sheet or pieces of cardboard in front of the panes start to freeze or get damp. Try to cover the windows tightly so that no dew (and therefore no ice) can form on loose spots.
- A neat trick for your windshield is to use your car's wipers to hold the cover material in place. With the other panes you can use small stones or other heavy objects to keep the covering material in place.
Remove the covering material in the morning. Pull the covering material away from the windows. It can be damp or frozen, so if you want to cover your windows again at your destination, make sure to put in a waterproof tarpaulin before putting the covering material in your trunk.
Scrape away the ice in frozen areas. This method should greatly reduce the amount of ice on your windows, but there may still be some frozen spots here and there. Use a scraper, your hand, or a similar tool to remove the ice if it restricts your vision. If you are in a hurry, you can also use your windshield wipers and windshield wiper fluid.

Tips

If you expect frost, pull the wipers away from the windshield to prevent them from freezing.
Make sure the windshield wipers are turned off when you turn off the engine so that the frozen windshield wipers don't start moving until all the ice has melted.
The air blowers in cars usually do not reach all the way to the switched off windshield wipers. Before closing your car, pull the windshield wipers up about an inch. When you turn on the air blowers the next morning, the windshield wipers are defrosted first.
If the ice cover is thin, you can open the defrost function all the way and turn on your windshield wipers to scrape off some of the ice.
With room temperature water or cold water, you can quickly de-ice the windows, especially if the ice is thick. Pour the water onto the windshield from above to start scraping.
When the temperature is at or just below freezing, use windshield wiper fluid and wipers to melt the ice faster. However, when it is very cold, the thin layer of liquid left on the window after using the wipers can quickly freeze, especially while driving.
If you forget to cover your windshield or if it freezes unexpectedly, get out and start your car ten minutes before you leave. Switch on the window heating and set it to the highest setting. The ice on the windshield will now melt. It is best to stay close to your car while the engine is running, as thieves can steal your car from your driveway or parking space.
You can prevent your windshield from freezing by parking your car facing east. The rising sun causes the ice to melt.

Warnings

Do not use metal scrapers (or other metal utensils not intended for scraping windows) to scrape ice and snow off the windows.
Free the wipers from the ice on your windshield before turning them on.
Never pour hot water on a frozen windshield. The rapid change in temperature will cause the glass to crack.
A plastic card can snap or otherwise break by using it to scrape ice off your car windows. Choose a pass that is old and expired, or keep an old pass in your car especially for this purpose.