How do you de-ice windshield ice?
12-17-2008, 01:17 PM
#1
How do you de-ice windshield ice?
Being a lifelong Southern California resident, I've never had to deal with freezing temps. But now that I'm in Northern California, this morning was my first encounter with icy windshield. What's the proper way to clear the ice before driving?
Dr J
Dr J
12-17-2008, 01:59 PM
#4
Pour cool water over windshield until ice breaks up enough to scrape off with windshield wipers or towel.
Alternatively, you can use your windshield cleaning liquid. This will take a while, but you will be warm and toasty in your car while doing this.
Don't pour warm water onto the windshield. Tempting, but wrong.
Alternatively, you can use your windshield cleaning liquid. This will take a while, but you will be warm and toasty in your car while doing this.
Don't pour warm water onto the windshield. Tempting, but wrong.
12-17-2008, 08:41 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Knoxville Tn
Posts: 429
when it used to get cold here in tn i would get a 1 liter bottle and fill it with cold water and just dump it over the windshield while running the wipers. works pretty well for loosening it up.
12-17-2008, 09:10 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 954
Ice scraper, defroster, washer fluid. Not necessarily in that order.
12-17-2008, 09:25 PM
#10
What i do: I have 2 sets of keys on my key chain, with one key i start the car, with the other key, i manually lock the doors from the outside, i set the car on AUTO 32C on defrost both front and rear. I go back inside, brush my teeth and put on my boots/shoes then by the time your back out, the ice comes off much much easier with the scraper.
One thing you should never do is pour hot water on the windhshield, as tempting as it may be when your in a rush its a great way to end up with a nice crack in your windshield. Ive seen it happen all to often.
Also using windshield washer fluid and cycling your wipers on while ice is on the windshield is a good way to destroy your wipers. Just get off your *** and scrape the windows and save yourself the money. Especially if the ice is kinda jagged when it snows, it just destroys the rubber and you end up with streaks galore.
One thing you should never do is pour hot water on the windhshield, as tempting as it may be when your in a rush its a great way to end up with a nice crack in your windshield. Ive seen it happen all to often.
Also using windshield washer fluid and cycling your wipers on while ice is on the windshield is a good way to destroy your wipers. Just get off your *** and scrape the windows and save yourself the money. Especially if the ice is kinda jagged when it snows, it just destroys the rubber and you end up with streaks galore.
12-17-2008, 10:09 PM
#11
Oooooh... well, not knowing exactly what to do, I set the vents to windshield-foot, hot, fan level 1. I didn't put on windshield direct cuz that turns on the AC compressor, and I didn't want the compressor running as the car's warming up. Then I had the wipers going on slow interval... sat there for 2min till the ice started melting, and the rest of it finished off in another minute.
I read about the 50-50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water. Does that work well? Oh, and my windshield nozzles were frozen, nothing came outta those till engine was fully warmed.
I will be installing a remote-start alarm from another car after xmas break.
Dr J
I read about the 50-50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water. Does that work well? Oh, and my windshield nozzles were frozen, nothing came outta those till engine was fully warmed.
I will be installing a remote-start alarm from another car after xmas break.
Dr J
12-17-2008, 11:13 PM
#13
Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 78
What i do: I have 2 sets of keys on my key chain, with one key i start the car, with the other key, i manually lock the doors from the outside, i set the car on AUTO 32C on defrost both front and rear. I go back inside, brush my teeth and put on my boots/shoes then by the time your back out, the ice comes off much much easier with the scraper.
12-17-2008, 11:30 PM
#14
Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Nor Cal
Posts: 60
I get a jug full of hot water and splash it on there a few times. It works like a charm.
12-18-2008, 09:30 AM
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: 92626
Posts: 1,187
you're not talking about the windshield washer are you? cause I was in big bear last weekend and that didn't work cause it froze along with everything else
12-18-2008, 10:27 AM
#20
all I do is put a rubber mat (floor mat) under the windshield wipper (driver side duh) the night before and in the morning I pull the mat off start the car and let it run for 30sec-1min before I put it in gear, so it will have time to get all the fluids going real good. oh cardboard will do the trick to.
12-18-2008, 10:57 AM
#22
Member who somehow became The President of The SE-L Club
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,033
Standard windshield washer fluid will de-ice your windshield too.
It works before your defroster gets hot, just give the squirter a pull and drive away.
I don't understand why people scrape their windshield to get rid of frost...
Makes no sense....
It works before your defroster gets hot, just give the squirter a pull and drive away.
I don't understand why people scrape their windshield to get rid of frost...
Makes no sense....
12-18-2008, 11:05 AM
#23
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: montreal
Posts: 43
curse at it.
take it from me.
i live in quebec.
take it from me.
i live in quebec.
12-18-2008, 11:05 AM
#24
when there's a sheet of ice on it there's no way that washer fluid is going to melt everything w/o defrost blowing at it for a few min.
12-18-2008, 01:33 PM
#26
What i do: I have 2 sets of keys on my key chain, with one key i start the car, with the other key, i manually lock the doors from the outside, i set the car on AUTO 32C on defrost both front and rear. I go back inside, brush my teeth and put on my boots/shoes then by the time your back out, the ice comes off much much easier with the scraper.
One thing you should never do is pour hot water on the windhshield, as tempting as it may be when your in a rush its a great way to end up with a nice crack in your windshield. Ive seen it happen all to often.
Also using windshield washer fluid and cycling your wipers on while ice is on the windshield is a good way to destroy your wipers. Just get off your *** and scrape the windows and save yourself the money. Especially if the ice is kinda jagged when it snows, it just destroys the rubber and you end up with streaks galore.
One thing you should never do is pour hot water on the windhshield, as tempting as it may be when your in a rush its a great way to end up with a nice crack in your windshield. Ive seen it happen all to often.
Also using windshield washer fluid and cycling your wipers on while ice is on the windshield is a good way to destroy your wipers. Just get off your *** and scrape the windows and save yourself the money. Especially if the ice is kinda jagged when it snows, it just destroys the rubber and you end up with streaks galore.
best post in this thread so far.
also they sell anti-iceing windshield washer fluid which is a great help and i use it every winter.
12-18-2008, 06:41 PM
#29
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Staten Island,NY
Posts: 700
start the car, window de frost on full blast, get out and scrape away while she get warmed up. then drive nice slowly with the tunes bumping.
remote start also sounds great. afteri get a tune up i might get one for myself too. im soo sick of waiting like 2 mins in the morning for it to warm up.
remote start also sounds great. afteri get a tune up i might get one for myself too. im soo sick of waiting like 2 mins in the morning for it to warm up.
12-18-2008, 07:06 PM
#30
also.. like torgus said.. def worth the extra couple of bucks to get the expensive windshield washer fluid that is designed for melting ice,.. i think rain-x makes a good one .. walmart for under 5 bucks...after its defrosting.. u can spray the crap out of it from inside the car.. and it should help.. unless theres alot of ice,.. which if thats the case,.. get a piece of rubber or cardboard and put it on ur windshield so in the morning all the ice is stuck to that not the window .. g/l it sucks.. get used to it..wait till u get like a foot of snow and you have to shovel it all off ur car (dont scratch it 
)
.. g/l it sucks.. get used to it..wait till u get like a foot of snow and you have to shovel it all off ur car (dont scratch it )
12-19-2008, 08:00 AM
#33
It's my first time w/ice on the windshield. If I had to use the defroster, it's cuz the inside is foggy, so I use the AC function to dry the air and clear that up. I've never had to use the defroster's heat function to melt something on the outside of the window, which's my question and concern. I think in my situation, I'm lucky that it was just a thin layer of ice, I probably coulda scraped with a credit card. But if it's a thick layer of ice, I don't know if the ice could be melted evenly bottom to top.
12-19-2008, 08:06 AM
#34
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 26
You'll still need to put some elbowgrease into it even with the defroster on full blast. You can't expect to sit in your car for 20 minutes and have the ice completely melted. Put the defroster on full blast for a few minutes and give a few squirts of windshield washer and make them wipers go crazy. It's not rocket science...
Last edited by Maximillionaire; 12-19-2008 at 08:08 AM.
12-19-2008, 08:17 AM
#35
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: montreal
Posts: 43
start the car, wait 5 minutes, spray with windshield wiper fluid, wipe with wipers then drive off.
12-19-2008, 08:23 AM
#36
I still say put something like a rubber floor mat or cardboard under ur wipper and take it off in the morning. No scrapping, no buying fluids, takes $0 dollars and you can drive away faster than ur neighbor who is outside freezing their a$$ off scraping. Just my $.02 worth. you'll find its the best way know matter how thick the ice is.
12-19-2008, 09:42 AM
#38
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 39
the formula is (Defroster)(t)+(Scraper)(t)= no ice on windshield and is (t) dependant on how thick the ice is and how f***in cold it is.
