Hi guys
How do you defrost your windscreen in winter?
I've been using hot water and an old card to wipe away the frost. Are there any tools you are aware of I could buy and keep them in the car?
Thanks for your help
Defrosting Windscreen in Winter
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Just can roll the windows down, put a large beach towel on the front screen, and roll the windows back up.
You can do the same for the rear windows, but you might need something heavy to weigh it down from the wind.
In the morning, just get those cold and wet towels off, and throw them on your porch to hopefully dry during the day-sun.You can find some for same on sights like banggood, gearbest, etc etc… but I've found towels work much better than those padded plastic thingys. Some people say rub some detergent (or a banana?) on the glass, might work, but would probably leave streaks and drive you mad. A cheap way is to use free newspaper, and toss it out like a bum, but I think its getting harder to find those in Oz.
I live near Canberra, and if you don't use warm water, it freezes to the vehicle and makes things worse:( Always used warmish water.
I use the old 'don't leave it outside' trick.
Right… and of those people that don't have the luxury of a garage or inside/underground car park… Your suggestion is to buy a house with a garage or an apartment with a car park.
Think I'll stick with a $5 plastic scraper and some warm water…
Just move somewhere warmer.
Tuck it in with a doona and teddy bear the night before.
And if you can't afford to buy somewhere else, listen to old mate Joe Hockey about getting a higher paying job. It's quite simple.
Will a car cover help?
No.
OOo a garage? well la di da Mr Frenchman.
I call it a car hole
You could try a product like this. No experience myself but I like some of their other products.
Repco has almost 40% off right now (see here) but it might be special order.
Scrape it off. Don’t use hot water
Don’t use hot water
yep, you can definitely crack your windscreen with hot water.
cold water still helps.
In Canberra it is often a noob error to check hot water on your frosty windscreen and crack it.
Best way to avoid it and cover it.
Otherwise scrape it with an old credit card. Or fire up the car and wait 10-15 min for it to heat up…
Don't use cold water either as that can refreeze and even harder to remove.
Don't use cold water either as that can refreeze and even harder to remove
yeah, depends how cold it is at the time of doing it.
In Melb using cold water is mostly ok.
I remember when my car's aircon stopped working while I was a student living in Canberra.
To get to my early morning class I used to have to drive with my head out the window.
Have had to drive a Campervan like this one cold morning in NZ!
^ this works for me too.
I've got an old heavy curtain that I keep around the side of the house for this reason. Throw it over the windscreen and front side windows and there is no frost to deal with the next day. Otherwise it's my old health insurance card to the rescue.
The other thing I used to do when parked in the driveway, is just go outside and start the car 5mins before I left with the heater on the windscreen etc.
Simple yet effective ;)
Bonus - the car is nice and warm when you leave.
Downside is that either (a) the police will issue you a find for leaving the key in an unattended vehicle or (b) some opportunist will jump in and drive off, worrying about the frosty windscreen later
nah
I use my spare key and lock it with my other key. we actually have a long driveway and the car is obscured from the road.
not worried about police in the slightest - I have heard of people having their cars taken when left unattended but usually the car is right near the street.
I suppose they could try and smash the window etc, but never happened. I have a garage now ;)smashed window?
No longer need to worry about frost accumulating there.
If you were worried you could use a wheel lock
A) road rule 213 doesn't apply to vehicles parked in driveways or the shoulder.
Not if you're a deputy commissioner of police.
You can always buy a wheel clamp here https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/anti-theft-wheel-clamp/ , i didn't even know you can buy such things…..
Or just use the remote start and remain warm and don't get a fine for lesving key in car. Haha
Heater costs fuel. So very inefficient and expensive.
How much does it cost to run the heater for 5 min?
In my car, at 10c it reports the idle fuel consumption at ~3L/h, which for 5min of running would be 250ml of petrol consumed.
At current prices for 91, thats 25c. Truly bank-breaking
perhaps put a plastic sheet or tarp or other such 'blanket' over windscreen?
.^ this
Where in Australia do drivers defrost their windscreens?
Blue Mountains on a frosty morning, probably a dozen or so times a year. Mostly in winter ;-)
Southwest Sydney during Winter
Canberra during winter
Melbourne during winter.
Tassie during summer
Adelaide a few times a year.
I used to do nightshift a a Hospital in Toowoomba right on the edge of the range. My windscreen would be icy occasionally in the winter. The other issue either going to work or leaving was heavy fog. It was a bad spot for it. One night i got totally disorientated as to where I was.
I was once driving and didn't realise it was -8 outside . There was a massive bug on the windscreen so I washed it off. Instant ice, now that's disorientation:p
Southern Highlands (1hr south of Sydney).
Ballarat
Northern Tasmania during winter
Asked like a Queenslander. lol
My car in Perth would get a frosted windshield a few days a year because it was in the shade til about 10am ,obv melted by then but if I drove it at like 730 to get to work it would have some frost on it.
Almost anywhere west of the blue mountains.
New England region of NSW for half the year.
Ballarat. Already had to do it last week.
Believe it or not even western sydney on the coldest winter nights.
Flashbacks to when i had to leave home at 5am and discovered frost on my car windows.
Usually wherever their car is located.
A lot of places. Stupid question!
Dandenong Ranges just out of Melb.
Pee on it
Righteo, steady on there Bear Grylls… :D
No, he would drink it
Pee into a sock-covered cup of grass and rocks to filter it, drink it, pee it again onto the windscreen.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Let's the thieves know who's boss.
Put a beach towel over the outside of the windscreen and trap the sides in the front window or door jams.
Wow. I’ve never had to worry about this living in brisbane.
That's what I was thinking. Noosa here.
That's what I was thinking. Sydney here
Seen a lot of southerners posting, but I even had to defrost my windscreen sometimes in Ipswich.
Ipswich cold tho
The tool between your legs helps to piss off any frost
Must work… it's "Warm" white.
Get an ice scraper off eBay and/or windshield washer fluid. Fluid will clean it up quick enough.
I read an article that recommended 1/3 water 2/3 metho in a spray bottle spray on the window to remove ice as the metho freezing point is well below zero,note I haven't tried it as i have a garage
Have you tried mixing bi-carb soda with warm water and applying that? Not sure of the ratio, Try one teaspoon of bi-carb to one litre of water.
Never do this, bicarb soda is abrasive and will scratch the glass.
Don't use warm or hot water. You could crack the windscreen. Just scrape it off.
When I was driving coaches and went to Canberra on tour, I used to put old newspaper on the windscreen, when I was done for the day.
It used to lift off straight away in the morning…I suspect it was the ink in the paper that stopped it sticking to the glass.Old towel or blanket over the window overnight, heavier the better so that it doesn't blow off
DO NOT USE HOT WATER
Im from a country, where 15-20c below zero is very commom in winter.
There are a few methods we use:
1. easiest and cheapest method we use has been mentioned here a few times already - cover outside of the windscreen with (thin) blanket and trap the sides in the door jamb. Keep the wipers off the windscreen.
2. Use a windscreen scraper. But that will scratch your windscreen over time.
3. Keep your car garaged or as close to the house as possible (house walls radiate heat and should keep your windscreen clean even with a few minus degrees.- Warm up the vehicle with the heater on full for 5 min before driving.
And if you go back inside while you wait somebody can borrow it.
You should probably move if you're worried about someone stealing it in the morning.
Heater costs fuel. So very inefficient and expensive.
Op asked for how to defrost. Heating is the most effective way to get a clear view on all windows both inside and outside.
Old Beach towel works well
Why does it have to be old?
Why has nobody mentioned the defrosting mechanism front and back with aircon on full mixed with windscreen wipers?
Have you ever tried it with a proper thick frost when the temperature is below zero and/or it is sleeting/drizzling outside? It doesn't work
Great way to stuff you wipers
When the ice is thick, even using wipers for 5 minutes straight does not work even with defrosting.
Stop! you will wear your wipers out! do you even know how expensive wipers are! /s
Having lived where real frost will seize your doors closed I can tell you that a credit card can often be enough but it will eventually break. Forget about covering with newspaper or using water (hot or cold) and go with the earlier suggestions of a plastic scraper. The ones that look like a giant sized Gillette razor. Any hardware store will have them. Remember to clean the entire windscreen and not just a hole to see straight ahead (safety first). Also your side windows to allow for clear vision (more safety). Keep it on the car so you have it handy when you need it. You don’t need to be a chemist of a physicist to do any of this. Remember to use your internal demisters front and back as well.
Move to Darwin. Never had that issue.
Don’t use hot water.
Also lived in a place where they advised against activating the handbrake overnight. No idea if urban myth, not mechanically savvy.
Just drive off with the frost. It will melt away in a few
Not when you cannot see anything on the road. It does not melt when you are driving on 0 degree morning.
it was a joke :-)
Position your car so that the sun hits the windshield when it comes up in the morning.
In the UK, I used warm water, because otherwise it would refreeze or mist up and freeze on the inside, engine would not get warm enough to defrost for a good 30 minutes of driving (diesel even longer). A towel or sheet would freeze solid to the window. Same again when you came out of work, because it was dark and below zero by 3pm.
Heated front screens were fantastic, but never had a car with one.
Never had a windscreen crack in 20 years of using WARM water.
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I’ve got a plastic scraper the size of a credit card but thick. It is for spreading silicon that glaziers and tilers use.
Otherwise, cold or tepid water. Hot/boiling water can crack the screen.
I have seen copper or brass scrapers in the USA for this, as the softer metal doesn’t scratch the glass.