We’re all familiar with the painstaking and time-consuming process of removing ice from your windshield on those cold winter mornings. And while you’re standing out in the cold, chipping away at ice from your windshield, you might be contemplating your decision to live in a wintry region.
While we can’t get rid of winter altogether, we can share a few simple tricks to avoid a frozen windshield, making ice removal a bit easier.
There are several ice/frost prevention sprays on the market designed to help make ice or frost removal easily. Simply apply the spray to your windshield the night before and the stubborn freeze should slide off easily with your scraper. For you DIY-ers, using water mixed with vinegar should do the trick.
If you want to go a step further, consider guarding your windshield with a temporary cover at nighttime. You could lay your floor mats (soft side down) or a piece of carpet across the windshield so that it’s frost-free in the morning.
To prevent your wipers from freezing, you could stick an old sock over each blade to protect them from ice and snow. If your blades are frozen, a simple trick is to wipe them with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. The alcohol will keep the blades from sticking to the glass.
Don’t forget that your side mirrors could freeze, too. To avoid this, wrap the mirrors with a plastic grocery bag and secure with a rubber band. When you remove the bags in the morning, your mirrors should be close, if not entirely, frost-free.
But sometimes, it’s easy to forget to treat your windshield before a frost. So if one morning you find your windshield under a thick coat of ice, start by turning your car on and letting it heat up. Don’t turn the defroster on high just yet, keep it at a low level and slowly increase until your car is toasty.
Meanwhile, spray the surface with a de-icing solution (or vinegar if you don’t have any) and use your ice scraper downward, working your way towards the middle.
Removing ice from a windshield isn’t anyone’s ideal way to start the day. But with these few simple tricks, hopefully the process isn’t as frustrating.
