Although we also have no miracle cure. But our tips are easy and cheap to implement, so you can start the day stress-free even without antifreeze for your car, garage or carport.
How to prevent frozen car windows?
It’s an early winter morning – you want to drive off in your car. Then you see: ice on the windshield. A scenario that is certainly familiar to every motorist. Basically, you have two options during the cold months: Either take precautions to prevent the car windows from freezing. Or use car de-icer in the morning. We have tips and tricks for both options to make the winter months easier for you.
Prevent ice on the windshield overnight
If you want to keep car windows frost-free, you can buy car deicer or make it yourself. For the latter, get an empty spray bottle and fill it with one of the following mixtures:
- Vinegar solution: three parts vinegar, one part water
- Alcohol solution: two parts high proof alcohol, one part water
- Saline solution: four cups of distilled water and two teaspoons of non-iodized salt, boiled for 20 minutes
Please keep spray bottle with mixture in the house. When you store them in the car, their temperature also drops – the solution becomes less effective. Apply the mixture to all car windows every night and you will find an ice-free windshield in the morning. Why is that? The solutions have a lower freezing temperature than water and therefore freeze only at much lower temperatures. However, if temperatures drop below this threshold, you will need to take other measures to keep your windshield frost-free.
Expert tip:
Never use boiling water for cold car windows! Glass is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. If you splash hot water on cold glass, it will most likely pop.
If temperatures drop below the freezing point of our inexpensive deicer and you don’t have a windshield cover handy, you can alternatively use a towel, piece of carpet, cardboard or even a shower curtain to protect your windshield from freezing up.
Another trick is to park in the right direction: stand so that your car windshield faces east – that’s where the sun rises. Especially if you don’t have to leave before sunrise and there’s nothing blocking the sun, this is a natural way to de-ice your car.
But what about your side mirrors and windshield wiper blades? Pull a freezer or plastic bag over your outside mirror and secure the bag with a rubber band or clothespins. This way, only the bag will freeze. You can wipe the wiper blades with a soft cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol (or one of our aforementioned mixtures) to prevent them from sticking to your windshield.
If you do not have a special windshield wiper fluid for colder seasons, you can also remedy the situation here. Add five tablespoons of rubbing alcohol to your wiper fluid tank to prevent the fluid from freezing in the car. You can also use this mixture as a car de-icer. Just activate the wiper fluid – in no time your windshield will be clear again.
How to de-ice car windows in the morning?
If you don’t mind removing the ice on your windshield in the morning, you can use your homemade de-icing solutions. Spray it on the windshield and pull off the glass with a squeegee or wipe with a soft brush over the window. Alternatively, run the windshield wipers.