How2Day: Home Remedies for Icy Windshields

There are home remedies you can use to clear an icy windshield. Andrew Bret Wallis/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
Waking up on a cold winter morning is difficult enough without the added hassle of scraping down your car's windshield so you can see to get to work or school. When ice forms on the windshield and bonds to the glass it can be difficult to get it off. Gadgets such as heated scrapers that plug into the cigarette lighter of your car or commercial de-icer formulas will assist you in this process, but you can remedy the situation at home without resorting to these gadgets and chemicals.

If you could rub a magic solution on your car windshield when you park it at night and wake up with a frost- and ice-free windshield each morning, you wouldn't hestitate. With a simple combination of white vinegar and water, you'll have this magic.

Mix three parts white vinegar to one part tap water in a spray bottle. Keep the bottle in your car. In the evening when you come home for the night and park, spray a light mist all over the windshield and windows. The next morning you'll wake up to find you don't need to scrape anything. Your windows will be clear and ready for you to drive, according to the Vinegar Book website.

Rubbing alcohol mixed with water will melt ice on a windshield quickly. Mix two parts rubbing alcohol to one part water and pour it across the frozen windshield, according to the FC&A Publishing website. This will make it easy to scrape. In addition, using pure rubbing alcohol to clean your wiper blades on a regular basis should help keep ice from accumulating on them

One way you can effectively clear ice from a windshield is to go out and start your car a few minutes early. Give yourself 15 extra minutes and turn on the car defrost. Crank the heat up and put the fan on high speed. By the time you need to leave, the ice should be gone or at least loose and slushy enough to remove with the wipers.

To use this simple remedy you may have to sit in the car for a bit before leaving. Leaving your car running and unattended is against the law in some states, even to let it warm up in the winter.

You've probably heard the old rumor that using water as a remedy for an icy windshield will cause it to break. It's true---at least it can be. When a windshield changes temperature unevenly across its surface, part can expand while the other part doesn't, according to the Sebring West Automotive Center website. This can cause cracks, but if you don't use hot water, this shouldn't happen.

Pouring water across a frozen windshield can be a quick and easy way to clear the ice away. This is an especially effective method if the temperature is above freezing. Just pour a pitcher of unheated tap water on the icy windshield and then scrape away the chunks. Unfortunately, this will not be as effective in subfreezing temperatures because the water may freeze on the glass, making a bad situation worse.

At night when you park your car and you expect icing to be a problem the next morning, cover the windshield with rubber mats or even a flattened cardboard box. Tuck the cover under the wipers to hold it in place.

How2Day