I am a bit intrigued as to why English drivers
have frost-free cars on a chilly morning
Having lived in snow country,
I am a bit embarrassed to say I still haven't graduated from
using a plastic card to scrape my car
before my mad dash to get to school on time
As most of the English do not park in their garage
(it is used for storage)
they must have some magic trick up their sleeves?
Here's a few possibilities:
1.
Throw water on the windshield with wipers on
(never hot, which could crack windows)
2.
Overnight, cover windscreen with a towel
3.
Use one of the popular de-icer sprays I've seen for sale
4.
Spray a vinegar/water mix on windscreen the night before
5.
Wipe a homemade saltwater mixture over windows
when parked for the evening
6.
Without worries of a stolen car,
warm car a few minutes before leaving
Most of these I haven't tried
but entering the frosty season,
I may experiment
Do you have any tips to share
so I stop looking like the foolish American
in a frost-covered car?
- photo by me -
Windshield recipes: eHow
38 comments:
Wonderful photo - it is like an exquisite water colour painting.
A newspaper trapped under the washer/wipers. I use the freezer scrapper.
De-icer spray seems to leave the windscreen smeary (is that a word?!) So I now use a jug of lukewarm, definitely not hot, water which instantly clears your screen. Then use your wipers a few times to disperse the water so it doesn't freeze on your screen. After many years of scraping I find this much quicker and easier.
I use a combination of 3 and 6. A good dose of spray as well as letting the engine run with the blowers on in the car - I'm blessed to live in an area where I can do this. On heavy frost days it does need the help of a scraper too.
I don't think de icer is as good as effective as it used to be, i reackon they took the good stuff out of it!
I run my engine, put the blowers on the windscreen full, and use a really good scaper, i find that by the time i've gone around the windows of the car, the windscreen is softer from the blower air and it comes off quite easy!
First of all, this image is just gorgeous. So cold, so beautiful. I am lucky enough to have a garage but let me know how those tips work out -- I have a lot of friends who just park outside or in a carport and get plenty of frost!
You can buy windscreen covers - but a towel would do just as well.
De-icer is very efficient (though I'm interested in Claire's comment, and it's true I haven't used any recently, ie for the past 6 years), but deadly poisonous to cats, so if you have one, be careful.
I am still pondering why we didn't have front in the Midwest, even when it was very cold.
Why not just use a window scraper thingy that we have here in the States? Surely they must have those in the UK
I'm with you ... I always mean to do one of these things but end up out there in the dark, cold morning scraping a tiny hole with my scraper, then sitting in my car with the blower blowing cold air onto the windscreen full blast. By the time the car has warmed up I am frozen! M x
I use a husband, very good at defrosting my car before I leave for work....
Is this cheating?
Lx
We both used a scraper (although a real scraper, not a plastic card) when we lived there. But if I remember correctly it's the law to scrape every inch of your windshield, not like in the US where people just scrape a little hole from which to see?
We had a huge garage in our first house in which we did park both cars- it was so nice. Second house had a pokey little thing that would have only fit a Smart Car!
Oh, the joys of early morning windscreen scraping! :) x
Ah ha! That's number 7 :)
I'll give this a go :) thx!
I gathered this was the law, as I was the only one peeking out of a hole :)
Lacks the moisture?
De-icer and a scraper works for me every time. A jug of luke warm water if it's a very heavy frost, which is unusual.
Had no idea it was the law to clear you windscreen properly - how interesting!
Gillian x
In my opinion be a foolish American and park your car in the garage :o)
I send the park the car in the garage suggestion! :) For me though, I always just get the car warming up and scrape it. I know a lot of those covers work nicely, I think my dad uses one.
Ha! Wish I could help you with this one but I am always the one looking goofy scraping with whatever I have!! Good luck!!
I love your view of the strange things we get up too! We always use the warm water method!
Sarah x
We lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for five years and did not have a garage. I threw old comforters over the windshields then threw them in the back of the car. Had to warm the car at least 20 minutes to stand getting in it. Used a hair dryer to thaw out the steering wheel, struck a match to the key(this was 20 years ago before clickers) to warm it to unlock the car. Of course, we had to plug in our cars to keep the battery blanket warm. Too cold to be out scraping.
I bought some quilted waterproof magnetic covers that worked great but until you find some a big comforter works well.
I use #6... Though my father called me tonight: "Did you remember to put cardboard on your windscreen so it won't be frosted tomorrow morning?" I said "yes", but the truth is I completely forgot and I was already in my pajamas when he called... So, I'll deal with the frost tomorrow morning, since it's a very unusual here 0°C tonight!
Bonnie,that's crazy! Hair dyer, matches, battery blanket? You win the prize :)
I LOVE all this great advice. You and others have mentioned cardboard and newspaper - but doesn't it get soggy and freeze to the windscreen? I used a towel tonight to try - they say -4 degrees tonight here. Yikes!
Here in New England, I see a lot of people putting cardboard over their windshields. Gorgeous photo!
But that's why I love you! Keep the card baby...alternatively stay home! Happy New Year Laura love to you all -x-x-x-
Okay, I used to think it would be nice if it snowed here. But I never thought of dealing with a frost-bitten car lol! Hope you sort something out soon, xx
When you find out, let me know! I'd love a frost-free car for once.
I'm assuming the snow/ice scraper we take for granted in North America is an unknown beast here in England? LOL!
Ali x
Comforter??
The towel trick worked beautifully :) I happily looked like an English person driving down the road this morning :)
They do have them here, but those are better for snow, I find. The plastic card I referred to is actually designed for scraping ice and fits in my wallet. Pretty handy, actually, but still takes time.
Hi Laura, great post, such fun! I always nip out and start my car 10 minutes before leaving the house. It's great, defrosts the windows and warms the car at the same time, though I have heard the horror stories about people having their car nicked!
Many thanks for your comments on the poppies, sorry for the late reply! I think you should plant them anyway, and be the mad poppy lady. All mine are grown in containers, so renting isn't an excuse! Have a great weekend, love Linda x
Thanks for sharing, Linda! Ooh, and pots are a great idea :)
I'm always late for work, so I need a quick solution to defrost the windows with a thin layer of frost. It actually takes SECONDS! The answer is MEDICINAL ALCOHOL (the alcohol we keep in our medicine cabinet).I pour it over the window and frost disapperas in no time!
Let me know if it worked for you, too!
Wow! How smart are you?! I'll have to give that a try. Thanks!
Looking forward to your feedback!
Oh! it does make me laugh how you describe the English!! We normaly go for pouring some warm water and then maybe a bit of a scrape! (you can buy proper scraper things from garages and supermarkets like Tesco!)
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