Well its that time of year again when this is becoming a morning ritual ...
But I'm having problems:
Day 1. I usually use a plastic scraper. Despite taking it carefully (not applying too much pressure) I have managed to scratch the windscreen - there must have been small bits of grit on the edge of the plastic). The van is only 2 weeks old. Not happy! Still, judicious use of Brasso should get the worst out - we will see.
Day 2. After Day 1 I invested in an aerosol (haven't used one in years). I was careful to wipe off any overspray from the paintwork, as advised. But the area I sprayed on the windscreen has been left with a 'spray' mark. Not happy (again)! Again, it should polish out, but I am running out of options to de-ice the screen. I have never been brave enough to pour hot water over the screen, and it seems wasteful to leave the engine running with the climate control on defrost for ages.
Where do I go from here - leaving a sheet of something covering the screen?
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I use a trigger spray, or rather I did use one ( retired folk hibernate till spring) and found it was a more controlled aim than aerosols plus it is less bulky and fits in the door pocket.
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>>I use a trigger spray
I also use one on modest frost particularly on the side windows, filled with neat LIDL screenwash (rated to -70c, so probably almost pure alcohol).
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A good amount of tepid water will clean the screen and warm it enough to prevent re-freezing until the heater is blowing. A kettle with a mug or so of hot water topped up with the cold tap should be fine.
Or a bath towel/newspaper across the screen the night before if you can be azzed.
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In the days before I was lucky enough to have somewhere to put the car at night, I used to use a car cover, of which there is an endless variety at all sorts of prices. Bit of a minor faff to put on, less so to remove, and much better than dealing with iced up windows in the mornings.
Start from a few pounds for a simple sheet with ties on it - I had a universal one that went over the whole car, and had "pockets" for door mirrors and so on. About £25 I think at the time.
Edit: This kind of thing. Even cheaper than I remember.
Ebay link
tinyurl.com/p2ubz3b
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 15 Nov 13 at 14:30
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Is this going to be big enough?
r.ebay.com/35M1mA
£3.99 delivered.
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You can get pre treatment for deicing. I think Halfords sell it, you spray it on the night before.
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Trigger spray gun with some undiluted winter screenwash concentrate. Any streaks wash off next time you use the scooshers. Also comes in handy if the screen wash jets freeze up and you need to stop to clean the screen.
Don't thank me now, just send money.
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>> Trigger spray gun with some undiluted winter screenwash concentrate. Any streaks wash off next time
>> you use the scooshers. Also comes in handy if the screen wash jets freeze up
>> and you need to stop to clean the screen.
>>
>> Don't thank me now, just send money.
Good suggestion I think, I've been meaning to try that - I have tried a super strong mix in the washer bottle and that works, but on the Outlander it uses rather a lot so the trigger spray would be more economical. I use the Holts stuff from Costco, normally at 10% in summer and 20% in winter, I think it's still about £5 a gallon.
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>> Trigger spray gun with some undiluted winter screenwash concentrate. Any streaks wash off next time
>> you use the scooshers. Also comes in handy if the screen wash jets freeze up
>> and you need to stop to clean the screen.
>>
Now that is a good idea. Why hadn't I thought of that? (no answers needed)
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>> You can get pre treatment for deicing. I think Halfords sell it, you spray it
>> on the night before.
It stops the ice sticking to the screen so it's shifted with a flick of the wipers. It's quite messy though, sort of oily. If you use it and the predicted freeze fails to occur if leaves a streaky mess.
I'm a firm convert to the warm water method. De-icer is OK but seems to promote mist on the inside of the screen. Warm water avoids that complication.
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I still have half a dozen big tins of Holts de-icer from a bulk buy years ago. I stopped using it. It melts the ice, but on a bitter morning if you then set off, the evaporation cools it so much it actually freezes on the screen and also freezes any misting inside.
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LIDL usually have their 5L bottles of screenwash concentrate at this time of year, it is good for -60C used neat. Used in a trigger spray bottle it should do the job, and diluted in the washer bottle. Don't buy ready mixed screenwash, you are buying mainly water.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 15 Nov 13 at 15:05
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1. Pour warm water (or deicer)
2. Don't try to drive off immediately!
3. Run the heater in demist mode for 5 min max
4. Drive off
5. Don't turn on wipers for next 1 hour [if you do so, you are back to step 1]
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I get writ of ice with a scraper and de icer.
Drive off when screen clear, blower on full to the windscreen.
Why using warm water and the change of a cracking windscreen when de icer is cheap?
If the car is covered in snow I always use a soft hand brush to get writ of it.
Silicone spray for the door rubbers or Vaseline stops stops the doors sticking.
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>>If the car is covered in snow I always use a soft hand brush to get writ of it.
>>
I have a really useful device for removing soft snow.
It is an extending aluminium handled brush that is light and easily popped in the boot.
Three + feet long extending to six feet.
It has a nine inch wide twin head, one side is a squeegee and the other side is a line of soft bristles.
It has the added benefit that you can stand back and not get showered in powder.
It also means I can easily clear snow off the roof easily before departing.
It was made by Brabantia. A really well made item that would be a bit pricy today.
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For removing snow off a windscreen I just use an old windscreen wiper.
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I picked up a nice little device in Aldi (or it may have been Lidl) - its a snow brush on an aluminium pole and a decent scraper on the other end. Think it was about a fiver, but feels like its really well made
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>> De-icer is OK but seems to
>> promote mist on the inside of the screen.
>>
Thinking about it, it would, wouldn't it? I've never noticed the connection before.
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I just keep a small plastic bottle of water on the radiator in the cloakroom and take that out and pour the lukewarm water over the screens. The trouble is with antifreeze is that it lowers the temperature of the glass down to ~-20˚c so it fogs up on the inside. This is caused by change of enthalpy, energy is taken from the glass to change the phase of the water from solid to liquid.
When a solid melts, the required energy is called enthalpy, or heat of fusion. For one mole of ice the enthalpy is given as:
ΔH = 6.01 kJ at 273.15 K
Last edited by: sooty tailpipes on Fri 15 Nov 13 at 18:22
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De-icer? What's that?Haven't used it for years.My Mondy has heated everthing,including the seats.
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If you've got water repellent side windows then they shouldn't ice up.
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Go out, start car. Lock car and go back in and drink coffee.
Drive away in perfectly clear car.
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Bucket of warm water, throw over windows, make sure wipers are free, get in, start engine and go.
Uncle has one of those Kenlowe heaters, great he says.
I always defrost my Mum's car if she leaves it out & start the engine so it's warm for her.
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Bought one of these for my ix35 last week - putting it to use tonight!
hyundai-ix35.sgpetch.co.uk/pages/accessories/detail/model=300/category=ROOT-extras/accessory=Ice+%26+Sun+Screen+/id=10138
Particularly handy because
a. as a shorty I can't reach the middle of the windscreen with a scraper
b. the ix35 has a design flaw that means the side windows do not clear with the window rubber when you wind them down and back up. Can see me Rain X-ing them soon!
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 3 Dec 13 at 12:54
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So if it's say -6 deg C out and blowing.... side windows don't freeze then? How did my previous cars freeze up badly in these conditions?
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If the water can't stick to the glass what is it freezing to ? Did the Mazda have water repellent glass ?
I've left my car out down to -20C and never had a problem but then my 9 year old car came from the factory with that glass.
Last edited by: gmac on Fri 15 Nov 13 at 21:35
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Don't do what I did once, use water to unfreeze a lock, get out down the road to attend to something with engine running, close the door - and yes, the lock promptly refroze!
As the car was a diesel and it was well sub zero it would never have defrosted until morning. I think I got in via the passenger door but it was the cause of naughty words at the time!
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This is wear us smokers benefit!
Hold key in the flame of the lighter until very warm, insert key in lock and hey presto, job done.
Pat
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>> This is wear us smokers benefit!
>>
>> Hold key in the flame of the lighter until very warm, insert key in lock
>> and hey presto, job done.
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>> Pat
>>
I am not sure that is a good thing to do to a modern" plip key which also has an immobiliser chip in it.
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My locks have little shutters that slide across when the key is withdrawn. I don't see how water can get in.
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>> If the water can't stick to the glass what is it freezing to ?
If it's the wind itself helping bring the moisture though. I've parked up a car without any moisture on the windows and come back in semi Arctic type conditions to find it very frozen the next morning.
>> My locks have little shutters that slide across when the key is withdrawn.
My current car (VW) has plastic caps over the locks of the two front doors. Except the one on the passenger side is blanked off. The only key is the emergency plastic key in the key fob. It will only open the car if it is not deadlocked.... and it deadlocks by default (one press of remote).
My wife's car on the other hand has the plastic flaps.... and in the bad winter of 2009/2010 the one on the driver side broke off so it will freeze more easily. So much for plastic flaps. :-)
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In the days when we all used the key, and freezing locks seemed to be the rule rather than the exception, I took to blasting WD40 into the keyholes with the little tube.
I'm sure that's a bad thing to do for some reason, but it never caused any problems and I never had one freeze up after that.
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Even better is EasyGrease, usually available at Poundland and similar outlets in aerosol form. It's actually non-greasy, although an excellent lubricant - I use it on the car locks and also on the double-glazed doors' locks and hinges, as if any gets on clothes there's no harm done but they open and shut smoothly.
Used to use Silicone50, a similar type of product, but doesn't seem to be around these days.
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De-icing windscreen - henry k
