You hate it! You sleep through your alarm, and now you're running late. You get dressed, pretty much in the same clothes you wore yesterday. You grab your keys, wallet, and phone (no time to make breakfast or brown bag your lunch today), and you are out the door. You walk to your car, only to see that you can't see out of it. "OBSCENITY" you scream out and disturb your elderly neighbors because they're already awake at this early hour for no reason. You don't have time to scrape your windows. What are you going to do? Well, DON'T scrape ONLY a little view hole and drive slow while your car warms up. That is very dangerous and, in some instances, illegal. You'll have to suck it up and be even later and scrape your car. But here are some tips to help you out and make tomorrow's defrosting faster.

6 Tips for Defrosting Your Car & 4 Ways To NOT Defrost Your Car

First, we'll do some of the Do's, and then we'll cover some of the DON'TS! Thanks to internet memes, an idea might sound great but isn't.

So the immediate things you can do when you are in the above situation is to start your car and turn on the defroster. I know this sounds like common sense, but a wise man once said, "common sense is hardly ever common." I've seen friends see their car and just start scraping. Make your car work too!

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While the car is warming up, start scraping the side windows. The back one (if you started the defrosting) will usually take care of itself. When you get to the windshield, scraping should be much easier.

If your windshield is still frozen over, the other side of the ice scraper usually has little teeth (pictured below). That can cut through the ice and makes it easier to scrape using the normal side.

tsm/Timmy!
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tsm/Timmy!
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WHAT IF YOUR DOOR IS FROZEN SHUT, AND YOU CAN'T GET TO YOUR SCRAPER?

If your car is totally iced over and you can't even get into it to start it or grab your scraper, get some lukewarm water and pour it over the door handle and along the door's seams. DON'T pull on the door handle too hard because you could break the car.


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PLAN AHEAD FOR YOUR CAR WITH FROSTY TEMPS

Store-bought de-icing sprays are found at most car supply stores or car sections of department stores. Heck, you can even make some yourself with a spray bottle and a saltwater or alcohol mix. NOTE: If you use the salt method, use it sparingly since it runs the risk of damaging your windshield. For the alcohol method, mix one part water and two parts 70% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle. These mixes will help dissolve the ice so you can scrape it off.

The easiest method to help speed up your car defrosting is simple. Put a dry towel on your car's windshield the night before. In the morning, pull the towel off, and boom. Your vehicle will still be cold and might start fogging up while you're driving, but that's why we have heaters. I've also seen this idea used with a giant plastic sheet to cover your entire car. That can be handy for snow. Keep in mind your car's antennas. Also, make sure to pull the snow off in the opposite direction your vehicle needs to travel. IE: pull the plastic with the snow off the front of your car if you need to back out so you're not driving over all the snow.


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WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO TO DEFROST YOUR CAR

It might sound tempting and make sense in your head, but do not use a hairdryer or portable heater. You run the risk of electrocution and cracking your window. Breaking your window is risky if you pour hot water on a frozen windshield. I also recommend not using anything metal to scrape your windshield. No keys, no spatula, and even though you just got done shoveling the driveway, don't use the shovel to push off the extra snow. TRUST ME!

This last warning is the most dangerous but also the most entertaining. Don't use a flame thrower. It looks cool, and technically it can work, but the risk is too great. Just watch this video of an inventor who changed his windshield washers into flame throwers!

Do you have any tips? Tap the App, send us a message and let us know!

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