Turns out there’s a way to defrost your windshield FAST, without using an ice scraper or blasting the defroster.
Ice Free Windshields with Homemade De-Icer
To prevent your car’s windows/mirrors from icing up in the winter, treat the windows before you go to bed each night. The window treatment can be made up of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water and placed in a spray bottle. This mixture will prevent ice from forming. It is important to spray all of the car’s windows and not just the windshield. You can also use the same mixture using rubbing alcohol.
Rubbing Alcohol Window De-Icer
For homemade window de-icer, use a solution of 1 part water to 2 parts rubbing alcohol.
Provide a Physical Barrier
If this is for a car windshield, you may want to prevent ice buildup in the first place, by using an old sheet or a lightweight tarp. Lay it over the windshield and tuck it into the top and front parts of the car door to secure it. After the storm (or in the morning), remove the cover, along with the ice and snow, shake off, and fold away. When you provide a physical barrier to the ice, any remaining frost should go away quickly with the defrost setting and wipers.
Lift the Ice off the Window with this Homemade De-Icer
You can use a household spray bottle for this. Mix a bottle of isopropyl alcohol (70% is best but 50% also works) and a few drops of dish liquid. Spray the windshield liberally, and in a few minutes, the ice lifts off the window. Also, try putting isopropyl alcohol in the washer fluid container (half fluid and half alcohol) to keep your wiper lines from freezing up in the winter.
De-ice frozen car doors, locks, and handles
There are several clever ways to do this:
- Heat your car key with a match or lighter, then gently push the heated key into the lock to melt the ice as you apply pressure. Just be careful as that key will be hot!
- Another option is to take a regular drinking straw and blow directly onto the frozen lock. The heat from your breath should melt the ice in no time.
- Rubbing your key or door handle with a squirt of hand sanitizer will have the same effect. The alcohol in the hand sanitizer will melt the ice and shortly allow you to unlock your car.
Keep doors from freezing
- Sometimes putting WD-40 in the keyhole before the winter will keep any ice from forming in there in the first place.
- Cooking spray in the cracks of your doors and on the rubber will prevent them from freezing shut at night. Water that melts during the day runs in between your doors and freezes, but cooking spray keeps the water from resting in the cracks in the first place.
