Hack for de-icing your car.

rosie1959

Tend to start mine leave the heating and blowers on go and do something else usually clear within a few mins.

Be careful if doing this - my DILs brother had his car stolen when he 'nipped back in to lock up' - thieves patrol streets in the morning watching for an opportunity...! He lost a lot of important items 😵

I bought my husband (well, both of us use the car so..) a stocking filler for Christmas, which I thought had potential.

It was a solar powered vibrating magnet (steady Gnetters, don't get the wrong idea🤣).
It gauges the temperature, then vibrates to excite water molecules which then heat up and melt.
It sits on the dashboard.

I dont know if it works as he has lost it!😂

Dh read about this de icing tip a few months ago and it does work .
Our house is 1930s and the garage is small and narrow , only a Smart car would fit. So our cars live on the drive .
DHs car is popular with car thieves but we have a post at the end of the drive .

My little Corsa has always lived in the garage. It’s an 04 plate, sotwenty years old so no problem with ice. DH has a plastic windscreen cover that goes over the screen and tucks inside the two front doors, so held in place when you shut the door. This works really well.

I knew there was a reason I kept my Sparks card 😂

Certainly not for the m&s offers.

what is sparks card ?

Sparks card this morning after 10 minutes with the engine/heater/blower on.
Worked - which is more than can be said of the Sparks card anywhere else!

LisaP

I used the ziplock bag with warm water this morning.. worked a treat but it was -8 so the melting ice just froze again.. out came the good old scraper.

I did exactly the same, but next time I will try wiping the windows dry in the hope it doesn't refreeze.
Worked tho thanks for the tip.

I used the ziplock bag with warm water this morning.. worked a treat but it was -8 so the melting ice just froze again.. out came the good old scraper.

Well! The warm/tepid water in a food bag worked a treat this morning, will deff use again (plus kept my hand warm at the same time.

It did soon go cold so I could have done with another bag to do all the way round ( the inside was frozen this morn)

most of us find we are busy enough dealing with husbands, without adding boyfriends to the mix.
reported.

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I happily discovered by chance that my newish (to me) car has heated front and rear windscreens so happy.

mamaa

My car lives in the garage- its a double garage but due to all of Mr M's cr*p, sorry I mean necessary bits and pieces which will come in useful, maybe, one day...his car lives on the drive.

New problem now though, I opened the automatic garage door to get something out of my car boot a couple of days ago, and it got stuck- wide open. Husband managed to close it, but said it needed 'assistance' to close.

I'm on child care duties this afternoon and will need the car- problem is what happens if I can't shut it after getting the car out? Husband is out all day and I can't just drive off and leave garage wide open as it has got expensive items and tools in as well as his accumulated rubbish!

Get the car out of the garage before husband leaves.

My car lives in the garage- its a double garage but due to all of Mr M's cr*p, sorry I mean necessary bits and pieces which will come in useful, maybe, one day...his car lives on the drive.

New problem now though, I opened the automatic garage door to get something out of my car boot a couple of days ago, and it got stuck- wide open. Husband managed to close it, but said it needed 'assistance' to close.

I'm on child care duties this afternoon and will need the car- problem is what happens if I can't shut it after getting the car out? Husband is out all day and I can't just drive off and leave garage wide open as it has got expensive items and tools in as well as his accumulated rubbish!

RosiesMaw

Unless the car is on your drive you may also breaking the law.If the Police catch you de-icing your car this way, you could receive quite a hefty fine, so it's definitely best to avoid it. Stationary idling means leaving the engine on while the car is on the road but not moving (and it is also a serious traffic offence).27 May 2021

Definitely on my drive & even rarer to see a police officer lol

Unless the car is on your drive you may also breaking the law.If the Police catch you de-icing your car this way, you could receive quite a hefty fine, so it's definitely best to avoid it. Stationary idling means leaving the engine on while the car is on the road but not moving (and it is also a serious traffic offence).27 May 2021

I live in a quiet cul-de-sac in a village. Last winter a neighbour across the road had his car stolen when left on the drive with the engine running to de-ice the windows. Apparently there are gangs of car thieves who take advantage of the opportunity.

welbeck

i didn't say it was unusual.
i suggested it was risky, which it is.
insurance would not be swayed by usualness; they might well say steps were not taken to secure the vehicle from theft.

I live in a very quiet street in a small market town and I do keep an eye on the car whilst it is defrosting.

Alternatively you could use the dog. (Is it a dachshund?)
BTW did you know that dogs’ body temperatures are higher than ours and primitive man kept dogs not just for hunting or for protection, but to snuggle up with at night?
So Rosie assures me

To keep the dog warm , I bought a long thin hot water bottle. Now I use this on the inside of the windscreen .
Given a bit of time it warms it up.

My car is lucky enough to live in the garage every night. She prefers it.

GrannySomerset

House dates from 1967, car (Fiesta) from 2018, so garage too narrow for small modern car, though presence of upright freezer doesn’t help. No good putting the car away if you can’t actually get out of it.

I would agree. Luckily one of us can get out in the garage so DH's car goes away as it is the most vulnerable. Our garage is as long as the house but narrow so the freezer and worktop with drawers is at the top near the kitchen door.

We always put our car into the garage every night.
House built 1968, so perhaps we are lucky that it is wide enough.
Ping pong ball also deployed.

House dates from 1967, car (Fiesta) from 2018, so garage too narrow for small modern car, though presence of upright freezer doesn’t help. No good putting the car away if you can’t actually get out of it.