Anybody know any PROVEN methods that work for keeping ice off your windshield? (I don't have a garage so "putting in the garage" doesn't work for me).
Keeping ice off your windshield in the morning?
- Thread starter TAZORAC
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Cover it with a tarp at night.
+1 ... if you have those sun-screens that go inside the windshield during the summer, you can use them outside during winter. Just secure them in place with the wipers at half-mast.
You could look into getting a complete car cover too. It might not take as long to warm up the car.
DO NOT use any chemical treatments like this one.
I tried it last year, and although it did prevent ice buildup, it left my windshield smeared and hard to see through in the morning.
Park your car in Australia.
Seriously, I use to live in Canberra, and I had to chip my car out of a block of ice each winter morning. A tarp is the only real option that I know that works, but it might not be practical if you live somewhere really windy.
I would just get up a bit early, start the car with the heater going full blast on the windscreen, then drink a coffee and read the paper while it did its thing. The amount of people I saw tipping hot water onto frozen car windows in those days boggles my mind.
Seriously, I use to live in Canberra, and I had to chip my car out of a block of ice each winter morning. A tarp is the only real option that I know that works, but it might not be practical if you live somewhere really windy.
I would just get up a bit early, start the car with the heater going full blast on the windscreen, then drink a coffee and read the paper while it did its thing. The amount of people I saw tipping hot water onto frozen car windows in those days boggles my mind.
A remote starter kit is best. Leave the defroster on. Car audio places have them fairly cheap installed.
Carport
Worth every penny if you don't have a garage.
http://www.hayneedle.com/product/20...ci_sku=PP009&gclid=CNj-gv6-tboCFUVxQgodUXwA2Q
+1
I used to think remote starters were the stupidest things and that I would never use one. Well, I finally got a car that came with one, and I love it. Get one that comes with an iPhone app (Best Buy has them), start your car five minutes before leaving the house, and your car will be warm and defrosted by the time you get in.
it was the best investment I made in my car! Never chipped ice again.
I had one of those fancy ones that could start your car from a mile away (or something), had a LCD screen that would tell me if someone was breaking in, would tell me if a door was left open, or trunk, turn the car off and on, and it would automatically turn off after like 15 minutes if you didn't put the key in the ignition. all kinds of goodies.
Best part was I could "turn it on" and remove my keys from the ignition leaving the car running and locked while I run in someplace. Used that quite often during the winter months. I hate the cold.
- Thread starter
- #12
DO NOT use any chemical treatments like this one.
I tried it last year, and although it did prevent ice buildup, it left my windshield smeared and hard to see through in the morning.
Yes I know, I have a bottle that I no longer use. Smears your window and you can't even see that with that left over residue on it.
Covering the glass is the best way, even then any water/snow that gets in will freeze. I use luke warm water to clear my windows though, no scraping. Yes, I've heard people talk about how your window will crack doing that, and I've yet to have that happen. So either lucky or wive's tales, I use the rinse method.
- Thread starter
- #14
I've read that WHITE VINEGAR makes your window so that ice doesn't stick. Haven't had the opportunity to try it yet because their hasn't been any ice the last couple of days.
+1 for white vinegar. Dilute it a bit and spray it on your windshield the night before; ice may form, but you can knock it off pretty easily. There's also a windshield washer fluid made by Rain-X that works great for melting ice as well; I believe it's called Rain-X 2-in-1 (with bug remover), but it melts the ice off nearly instantly. The "orange stuff" as it's often referred. It's a bit more expensive than the blue fluid, but worth it.
A quality scraper makes all the difference in the world.
The cheapos they sell in drugstores and gas stations are just junk, the plastic edge rounds over in no time.
But even the best scrapers eventually dull, so they must be replaced each year or two.
Canadian or American made Mallory's are pretty decent and run between $10-$20 depending on model; but again, they don't last forever.
Personally, I like the two foot models as they give you enough leverage, reach and don't take too much space in the car.
PS... I live in Canada and often have to scrape the windshield two to three times a day
The cheapos they sell in drugstores and gas stations are just junk, the plastic edge rounds over in no time.
But even the best scrapers eventually dull, so they must be replaced each year or two.
Canadian or American made Mallory's are pretty decent and run between $10-$20 depending on model; but again, they don't last forever.
Personally, I like the two foot models as they give you enough leverage, reach and don't take too much space in the car.
PS... I live in Canada and often have to scrape the windshield two to three times a day
I've always wanted to build a battery powered windshield heater that was solar charged. Originally i was thinking a fan with a heating element, but thats too wasteful. So i figured more like a static cling sheet that had heating elements woven through it that could be put against the inside of the windshield at night and then automatically (by an alarm clock you set) turned on an hour or so before you get out there.
The other idea i thought of was if you were in an area where you used a block heater, you could leave the interior heater core open with a way to power a computer fan all night using an aux battery... maybe the luke warm coolant would be enough to keep the windshield from freezing as well? maybe not.
Its been a while since i live up north (CT and ME) so i don't have these problems anymore
The other idea i thought of was if you were in an area where you used a block heater, you could leave the interior heater core open with a way to power a computer fan all night using an aux battery... maybe the luke warm coolant would be enough to keep the windshield from freezing as well? maybe not.
Its been a while since i live up north (CT and ME) so i don't have these problems anymore
ylekot
On the lookout for a purse
Go to a fabric place and get a piece of light canvas wide enough to cover your windshield and long enough to close in both driver and passenger doors......
Close one end in the passenger door......
Pull it taut across the windshield and close the other end in the driver door.....
Helps a lot and the wind won't blow it off
Close one end in the passenger door......
Pull it taut across the windshield and close the other end in the driver door.....
Helps a lot and the wind won't blow it off
I've often thought it would be a good idea to build windshields with the same type of embedded defrosters we have on the rear window, but I've never seen this done.
I've seen windshields with embedded radio antennae, and my current car has a metallic screen across the top of the windshield that is part of the glass, not an applied film. I'm not certain what the purpose is, but I think it has something to do with sun-screening as an addition to the visors.
But no one has ever made a car with a heating element in the windshield. I wonder why? Is it a safety issue? Do they think it would decrease visibility? ARE YOU LISTENING, Detroit? Here's a great idea, for free. Take it and run with it.
+1 They're great in the hot-weather months too.
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