Don't scrape your windscreen to clear frost...

njb783

Instead, 10 minutes before you need to see through the windscreen, place one or two (to clear passenger's view and the driver's wider view) hot water bottles inside, on the dashboard (what is called the scuttle, in some circles).
Hot water bottles WITHOUT COVERS....you want them to quickly warm the air under the glass.
This method prevents damage and annoying scratches to the glass, keeps your hands warm, and when you go to drive away, you can stick the bottles on your seat - or share them with the kids if you are doing the deadly school run.
This is FAR better than running the engine for 5 minutes and polluting your neighbourhood, and it will save you fuel.
:beer:

BeenThroughItAll

njb783 wrote: »

Instead, 10 minutes before you need to see through the windscreen, place one or two (to clear passenger's view and the driver's wider view) hot water bottles inside, on the dashboard (what is called the scuttle, in some circles).
Hot water bottles WITHOUT COVERS....you want them to quickly warm the air under the glass.
This method prevents damage and annoying scratches to the glass, keeps your hands warm, and when you go to drive away, you can stick the bottles on your seat - or share them with the kids if you are doing the deadly school run.
This is FAR better than running the engine for 5 minutes and polluting your neighbourhood, and it will save you fuel.
:beer:

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I don't know what you're using to scrape your windscreen or if your windscreen's made of toffee, but I've never scratched mine yet, and gloves keep my hands warm.


Might not pollute directly, but you've got to heat the hot water somehow... gas, oil, or coal fired boiler?

JustinR1979

Isn't a bad idea to be fair
I put a sheet over if I remember, if not deicer - but then the inside of screen freezes. Or a pint of luke warm water if no deicer.
If I was a lot older I may have a couple hot water bottles knocking about!

OddballJamie

njb783 wrote: »

Hot water bottles WITHOUT COVERS.

So just hot water then?

Alternatively just pour luke warm water on the screen.

InsideInsurance

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

I don't know what you're using to scrape your windscreen

My money is on an angle grinder, certainly clears the frost quickly.

OddballJamie

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Isn't a bad idea to be fair
I put a sheet over if I remember, if not deicer - but then the inside of screen freezes. Or a pint of luke warm water if no deicer.
If I was a lot older I may have a couple hot water bottles knocking about!

I've got one of those windscreen, wing mirror and front side window covers and it works a treat.

Idiophreak

Just don't get it...sounds like insanely complicated way of achieving something very simple.

I've got a credit card sized ice scraper in my wallet..I get to the car, stick the keys in, get the heater on, rear screen heater....Gloves on my hands, takes less than a minute to do side windows, windscreens(leave til last) and wing mirrors. Rear's melted by the time I'm done. Get into car, get going. As BTIA says, I've never even thought about scratching the glass, muchless done so.

ETA: Actually, OP, that's a good point...is your method sufficient to clear the frost from all windows/wing mirrors, or does it just do the windscreen?

BeenThroughItAll

JustinR1979 wrote: »

Isn't a bad idea to be fair
I put a sheet over if I remember, if not deicer - but then the inside of screen freezes. Or a pint of luke warm water if no deicer.
If I was a lot older I may have a couple hot water bottles knocking about!

I live in a house with heating, so I've never felt I need a hot water bottle. Probably will in 40 years time or so though.


OP just read to me a bit like a Viz Top Tip...


"Annoying ice clouding the view from your Honda Jazz? Simply wait until you're 85 and use your hot water bottle to defrost the windscreen cheaply and quickly!"

JustinR1979

OddballJamie wrote: »

I've got one of those windscreen, wing mirror and front side window covers and it works a treat.

Mine's an old bedsheet
The one time I used it I got pulled 10 feet from home for a frozen screen.
Drips from deicing side window went across screen as I pulled out of drive, put wipers on, it froze, car behind was the police.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

She said I had to leave car running on drive until it was warmed up - being a diesel I pointed out that would take hours, and had a sheet in doorway frozen to the shape of my car.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

OddballJamie

That's where the -60 Lidl screenwash comes into use. Quick squirt of that sorts it all out, probably removes some paint from the following car too.

Tobster86

This is an awful suggestion for the majority of people who frantically scrape away with whatever is to hand upon realising that the ice threatens to make them late for work.

Quick clear windscreens fitted to Fords (the only thing I could compliment a Ford for) or old big-engined BMWs with more than one thermostat that heat up really quickly are better solutions!