As Ireland braces for bitterly cold conditions over the coming days, you might be dreading the dark morning dash outside to defrost the windscreen on your car.
Temperatures are set to plunge to as low as -10C so we’ve compiled some handy tips on how you can remove ice and frost from your glass easily to make getting the kids to school that little bit easier.
DIY de-icing spray:
If you’re looking for a cheap and effective way to always be ready for that icy bout of weather, we recommend having a DIY solution pre-made at home.
Glassdoctor.com says you should actually apply this solution the night before, so you prevent the frost from accumulating on your car.
The solution consists of two parts rubbing alcohol and one part water. You simply put it into a spray bottle and you have your very own de-icing solution.
Of course, they also work well if you use them after the ice has completely rendered your car useless in the morning.
Autoglass.ie recommends a similar solution, writing on their website: “Mix 1/3 of a cup of water with 2/3 of a cup rubbing alcohol to produce a defrosting spray yourself.
“Due to rubbing alcohol’s freezing point of -128°C, this spray should clear icy windscreens with ease.”
Commercial de-icing solutions
If you’re time-poor or you want to have a handy spray always in the car for when you’re caught unawares, there’s also a huge range of de-icing sprays you can buy at supermarkets and garages across the country.
They typically contain chemicals that lower the freezing point of water so you can easily be on your way.
Start the engine
There could come a time where you find yourself stuck out and about with no sprays or even water on hand.
The AA recommends starting the engine and turning on the warm air blower on the windscreen. Having the air too hot could actually damage the glass with such a sudden change in temperature.
You should also switch on the rear window heater, your heated mirrors and the air conditioning. The air-con removes moisture from the air to stop the car from misting up.
They recommend scraping the ice or snow off your car while you wait for it to heat up.
The one thing you should never do
Your first instinct may be to boil the kettle to use on your windscreen, but according to the AA that’s the last thing you should do.
Boiling water can cause the glass to expand rapidly and can cause cracking. Instead you should use lukewarm water.
Paddy Comyn from The AA explained to NewsTalk Radio’s Breakfast Briefing in 2022: “Our AA patrols are often called out to people because they have put a fresh kettle of boiling water across their windscreen, and it cracks windscreens quite a lot.”
According to Autoglass.ie, you also run the risk of your car refreezing again at a rapid rate.
“Applying boiling water to your windscreen not only risks damaging the glass. Believe it or not, in extremely cold conditions, hot water can freeze faster than cooler water. So, if you apply hot water to a frozen windshield, you may find it refreezing again soon,” the website reads.