Defrosting Car Windows!

[AJA_GTi 0]

Had to do running repairs on my blower motor brushes in a valeo motor last night cos it started working intermittently last week - luckily it sorted it as it was -3 deg. this morning and the car was like a block of ice!

 

This made me think of the question of how you guys defrost your cars in the morning?

 

I'm a engine running, few revs, blowers on full chat and ice scraper while I smoke a roll up person.

 

Being a resourcefull and intellectual bunch does anyone have any interesting tips to quickly defrost your car? (I'm normally late for work)

 

Is it better/ safer to gently rev a cold engine or hold throttle at a certain rpm to get heat into it?

 

Buying the stuff in cans is expensive and I dont have a garage or heated front windscreen like on Mondeos

 

I have seen my neighbour pouring a boiling kettles over her windscreen before, obviously not a wise move

 

Pls discuss?

[swordfish210 20]

Warm water from a pan or bucket over the windows, job done.

[Bigtimmy 1]

Get the Mrs to do it and have an extra 10 minutes in bed...genius

 

Haven't got a clue what she does I'm usually asleep!

[maturin23 10]

Plenty of warm water does a fairly instant job for me, in conjunction with the heater obviously as long as it's not too far below freezing.

[Iain-gti 6]

Well normally this only works when its sunny but i park my car in the sunny with engine running and heats on full and use a credit card. Or warm water. Wish i could get the mrs to do it you are genius.

[tri_longer 25]

Warm water every time.

 

Mrs's Mini has heated front screen which is really nice feature at this time of year.

[Anthony 1,003]

Mrs's Mini has heated front screen which is really nice feature at this time of year.

One feature that I sorely miss from my Mondeo's - press the button, and 60 seconds later, one de-iced screen no matter how cold.

[Obey_R 23]

I normally just used some water, as long as it wasn't too freezing, even cold water would give enough time to scrape all the slush from the screen. That or when I used to drive home from the girlfriends late at night and I didn't have a scaper I just leaned out of the window, woke me up that's for sure!

[feb 47]

Slightly off topic but is there anything that you can treat the mirrors to prevent them from misting?

[hexhamstu 9]

Boil a half full kettle, then top up with cold, through this over the windscreen and HEY PRESTO. God knows why anyone would scrape the windscreen by hand if they had access to a kettle.

[welshpug 1,657]

park it facing the sunrise

 

one method I have done is the hot water in 2L bottles placed on the dash, heats the screen up much quicker than having the engine idling, a hot water bottle will do if you have one or two.

 

the other method is to cover the screen the night before, also RainX on the screen minimises water buildup

[AJA_GTi 0]

Slightly off topic but is there anything that you can treat the mirrors to prevent them from misting?

 

'Rain ex' for the outside and 'mist ex' for the insides

 

I would think mist ex on your mirrors should help mate.

 

They are in black and yellow bottles and can be bought from the great british institution that is Halfords! I'm sure you'll come accross said outlet when you visit the UK next week

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

No problem for me on the way to work, the 205 is garaged. But if i'm on nightshifts, then its a pain as the last thing you want to do at 5.30am is scrape ice! In our old Boilerhouse, we used to be able to park the cars in the loading bay next to the workshop. Keep them warm and fix at the same time. New one is in a secure area so can't do that anymore.

 

Tend to park forwards to a building, but a sheet over the screen is wise for me considering my blower is crap. Will try that Mist-X stuff this week.

[Bigtimmy 1]

Slightly off topic but is there anything that you can treat the mirrors to prevent them from misting?

 

Rain X and Mist X as mentioned.

 

Although I treated the Golf to both of the above and the Rain X works a treat, but I'm not overly impressed with the Mist X.

 

A good wedge of winter screenwash in the bottle works well so long as the squirters don't freeze up.

 

I'll stand by my initial method of getting the Mrs to do it for you, sometimes if it's timed right you can even get a brew out of her as well!!

[blessed6383 0]

stay in bed and call in sick because its too bloody cold for me to be outside

[AJA_GTi 0]

On a more serious note - please be careful when de icing your car.

 

A woman was recently killed de icing her FIAT PANDA when she was crushed under the wheels after obviously knocking the handbrake off.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-11594571

 

Is it too soon to make jokes?

 

Darwin/ evolution etc etc

[number2301 1 1 Cars]

I just scrape with a bank card, it takes about 2 minutes and I don't risk cracking the glass with water. Can't see the benefit of messing about with water?

[CaptainK 11]

I used to use a credit car to deice, but now I have a Halfords special scraping thingy. It has a nice handle so my poor little handies don't have to get so close to the ice I'm scraping off. Whilst scraping I have the engine idling and the blowers on. All good for me, but not so fun for the neighbours with my 6.30am-ish leaving time and me owning TWO loud cars.

[Bigtimmy 1]

On a more serious note - please be careful when de icing your car.

 

A woman was recently killed de icing her FIAT PANDA when she was crushed under the wheels after obviously knocking the handbrake off.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-11594571

 

Is it too soon to make jokes?

 

Darwin/ evolution etc etc

 

This was in our local rag last week, apparently she was under the car for nearly an hour before anyone found her.

 

Surely her kids / husband would have heard the car running outside and after say 20 minutes surely they would have gone out and had a look to see why mum hadn't left for work.

 

Maybe their double glazing is wickedbad.

 

Are there any jokes to be had here, I'm not sure, but the best headline would surely have been "Woman crushed in Panda de icing horror", people would have visions of a zoo enclosure etc etc!!

 

I always try not to put the car into gear whilst deicing, well thats what the Mrs says anyhow!

[allye 530 3 Cars]

I actuallt have a brembo scraper! My mechanic mate had a box of them amd said you can't buy them any more! I work earlies and this morning (5am) scraped the ice of the car went on my way put the blowers on (cold) instantly misted up and had to pretty much do an emergency stop! Might start using warm water.

[damien 22 1 Cars]

cars in the garrage so no need to scrap, afew times tho at work ive been known to throw a old sheet over the windscreen

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

On my old Series 1 Landrover I sometimes just folded the windscreen flat!

 

However if you use Rain X on your screen then scraping it in the morning is a doddle. It also saves you wearing out wiper blades which are really quite priced for modern cars with long screens like a 307.

 

Otherwise I start the car up and leave it running on the drive, but it depends where you live. I would love one of those auto start alarms that kicked in the heated seats too!

[dumbiron 0]

I am another "leave it running and watch from a window" person. really can't be bothered with all that scraping and cold fingers.

[Rippthrough 98]

Got Gtechniq G1 on mine and it hasn't frosted up yet even though the bodywork has been.

[Richie 32]

I find urine works quite well, but you get some funny looks.

 

I like to mix it up, sometimes use warm water (i think its fine providing its not boiling), sometimes i just go mad with the de-icer (car needs paint anyway).

 

I avoid scraping at any cost.