Any good windshield ice "hacks?" - there HAS to be a better way

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Aunt Carol

Aunt Carol

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Feb 25, 2021
Same story as everyone: park outside at work, drive home in the wee hours, lazy.

I know about putting a blanket or something over the window before it freezes. I do that when I'm home, but my car already collects moisture so I worry about throwing a damp towel into the back while I blast the heater. Keeping a wet blanket in a sealed container is just starting a mold farm.

It's not bad enough here (and I'm not lazy enough) to call for that spray-can de-icer, especially not every single night.
 
Solution
A Cardboard Box
To help prevent moisture buildup, use rainx or some other hydrophobic sealant. If you don't have any or are too poor (not judging, I get it), cut a spud in half and rub the exposed inside part on the windshield. The sugar and starches perform a similar, if less effective, function as the rainx. Canned or bottled deicer is a scam, make your own. I do it in big batches, 2 quarts of isopropyl alcohol to 1 quart water. I do this because it's cheaper to buy the bigger bottles of alcohol and the one quart ones make the most sense. Mix well and just fill up any spray bottle you have and go to town. If you live in an area like I do that receives ice storms and frequent freezing rain in the winter, and you encounter an extra thick sheet of ice...
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Throw water on it to insta melt the ice then turn on the wipers to remove the excess and then spray it with wiper fluid as the wipers are running to keep it from refreezing. Most blue wiper fluid contains a healthy portion of methanol which has a very low freezing point. Deicing wiper fluid is the same shit but dyed a different color. Alternatively just go out to your car and crank it up and blast the defroster a good while before you leave.
 
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Just trade your car in for a Kia, after being parked outside for 5 minutes it'll get stolen and then you won't have to worry about icy windshields at all.
 
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When I lived in a much colder place, I took a bottle of rubbing alcohol, squirted it on the windshield outside, and scraped off the ice with a scraper. Worked every time and was fast.

I did that in the mornings before work. My guess is to keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in your car along with a scraper?
 
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If all else fails try quitting your job and selling your car to live in a box, then you never have to worry about it again.

I learned that trick from my uncle Jerome. Clever guy, little grabby though.
 
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plumbing_tools_and_equipment4.jpg
 
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naaaaiiiiillllll!!! said:
When I lived in a much colder place, I took a bottle of rubbing alcohol, squirted it on the windshield outside, and scraped off the ice with a scraper. Worked every time and was fast.

I did that in the mornings before work. My guess is to keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol in your car along with a scraper?
Click to expand...
Driving alcohol
 
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You can buy spray cans of deicer, a few will last an entire winter. It’s basically the same shit that they use on airplanes and it works instantly.

This is cheaper tho: 3FF7142F-590F-4B36-BCF2-3C76BC2E68A8.jpeg
 
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To help prevent moisture buildup, use rainx or some other hydrophobic sealant. If you don't have any or are too poor (not judging, I get it), cut a spud in half and rub the exposed inside part on the windshield. The sugar and starches perform a similar, if less effective, function as the rainx. Canned or bottled deicer is a scam, make your own. I do it in big batches, 2 quarts of isopropyl alcohol to 1 quart water. I do this because it's cheaper to buy the bigger bottles of alcohol and the one quart ones make the most sense. Mix well and just fill up any spray bottle you have and go to town. If you live in an area like I do that receives ice storms and frequent freezing rain in the winter, and you encounter an extra thick sheet of ice, take your (God willing, plastic) ice scraper and make deep, horizontal scores in the ice along the entire windshield before spraying, this will allow the deicer to penetrate much deeper into ice before running off, maximizing melt.

It goes without saying that using the defroster helps in any situation.
 
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Solution
Step 1: Boil some water then dump it onto the windshield to soften the ice.

Step 2: Take a hammer and break the softened ice into small chunks. Be aggressive.

Step 3: Piss on the windshield. The warmth and salinity will melt the rest of the ice.
 
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