The Life-Changing Hack for Defrosting Your Windshield

cleaning car from snow concept of bad weather, snow storm
The Genius Hack for Defrosting Your Windshield Vladimir Zlotnik - Getty Images


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There's plenty to love about the winter season — shimmery snowfalls, crackling fires and fuzzy socks, to name a few. But those of us who live in cold climates know there's one thing that is the literal worst: scraping the ice off your car after an overnight or early morning freeze.

Not only is scraping your car windows a messy, cold job, but sometimes despite your best efforts, the ice just won't budge. Plus, most car defrosters just aren't speedy enough when the clock is ticking to beat the morning rush hour. Thankfully, though, we just discovered a new hack for melting away ice on car windows thanks to good old Reddit — and an expert we talked to says it's actually a very smart idea.

According to Reddit user Luisquin, to melt ice, put windshield wiper fluid in a spray bottle and apply it directly to your icy car windows. "There's no risk of cracking the glass like using hot water," the user wrote in the Lifehacks subreddit, which received over two thousand upvotes. "A lot easier than scraping the ice."

Sounds pretty straightforward, but does it actually work? According to a professional car testing expert we talked to, the answer is a resounding yes.

"This is definitely a trick I’ve seen used and used myself," says Gannon Burgett, an associate testing editor at Hearst Autos. "I actually tried it out after seeing a friend that worked at a dealership use it to clean off some of the cars in the lot."


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Depending on the brand of windshield wiper fluid used, Burgett says the methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and glycols, or a combination of these ingredients in the formula, can help lower the freezing point of the ice, making it an excellent defrosting agent. Burgett's favorite windshield wiper fluid to use is Prestone AS658 Deluxe 2-in-1 Windshield Washer Fluid, which is formulated to melt ice and frost.

The biggest thing to keep in mind, however, is that this hack works best when the spray bottle is kept inside your house or office when not in use to keep the contents from freezing.

"Most windshield wiper fluid is usually freeze-proof down to low temps when in larger quantities, but when you put it into a small spray bottle, it is possible for it to freeze inside the smaller tubes of the sprayer, which usually results in the sprayer breaking," Burgett advises.

So there you have it, a hack from the internet that actually works! It sounds like it's worth stocking up on windshield wiper fluid if it means saving you time in the cold.

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