Tip Tuesday: De-icing Your Vehicle

Winter is here and in full swing. While we have not had much snow yet, we can still be getting ice from all this rain and cold nights. Nothing is more annoying than having to de-ice your windshield when you are in a rush in the morning. This Tip Tuesday we are going to talk about what is suggested by several entities on how to de-ice your windshield effectively.

Option 1:
One suggestion is to go out to your car a few minutes before you leave start it and turn on your defrosters. This will soften up the ice and it will most likely slide off. You might need to use an ice scraper a little bit.

Option 2:
Another suggestion is to use an ice scraper.
Typically it’s freezing outside when you are taking part in scraping your windshield. I used to use your standard ice scraper, but now I have one of these.

 It is a glove you can wear on your hand with an ice scraper inside. This keeps your hand warm and effectively removes ice.

If you are like me however and are on the shorter side, most of the time a typical ice scraper will not reach your whole windshield.

You can purchase the exact one that I use here from Amazon:
Amazon: Glove Ice Scraper (it is super soft and cozy inside)

Option 3:
A third option is to use a “SnoBrum” to remove some ice and snow.
This invention is a very safe tool to use to push softened ice and snow off your vehicle. This is very helpful for all those short people out there or anyone with a taller truck. The “SnoBrum” will not scratch your car as you push it along so you do not have to worry about any damage. It has a telescoping pole so you can change the length to reach all those tall spots.

You can purchase one here from Home Depot and this is the one that I use: 
Home Depot: SnoBrum

Option 4: 
Another suggestion would be covering your windshield the night before.
If you know we are going to be expecting ice or snow the following day, you can be proactive and cover your windshield. If you do not have access to a garage or carport and have to leave your vehicle outside this is a good option for you. There are companies out there that make apparatuses that you can hook on your mirrors and lay down on your windshield. We suggest looking into these apparatuses to see which would work best with your vehicle.

This is one that I have at home and used, but there are tons of other ones out there!
Sam's Club: Wintershield

Option 5:
Last but not least you can make a special de-icing solution.
There is a special hack that is going around on the web about making a solution to remove all the ice in on simple spray. You can mix ⅓ part water and ⅔ part isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) together into a spray bottle. Unfortunately I cannot try this out myself because we haven’t had the weather for it yet, but many have and claim it works.

Attached below is a video of a Meteorologist, Ken Weathers testing it out. 
Solution in Action

Before trying any solutions that we have suggested, please do your own research and decide what option would be the best for you and your vehicle.

And there you have it! A few simple options to remove ice and snow this Winter from your vehicle. Be sure to be safe out there on the roads. If you do want to make sure your vehicle is safe for the Winter months ahead stop by and make an appointment for our Winter Check.
Call us, Jerry Noonan’s Auto Center, at 609-655-2886!