Spiny Norman Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Winter seems to have landed with a muffled thud over most of us this week. What does everyone use to keep the screens clear? I invested in some LIDL weapons grade screenwash when they had a deal on it recently and by fuck it's good! I also use warm water which seems to scare a lot of people, I keep getting told it'll break the screen but I've been doing it for years and it hasn't happened yet. Yet. So, assuming shiters don't have fancy modern cars with their fancy heated front and rear screens to take the hard work out of it, or a nice warm heated garage to keep the cherished chod in, what methods do we all use to defrost the car in the mornings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael1703 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 A fuck load of de-icer,got 15 Windows on my van to defrost,just been out with the dog,shrivelled balls o'clock already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makum101 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Cant fault that Lidl screenwash. Keeps my washers working at -5 degz Or smash all the windows...hey presto...no more ice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan84 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Bucket of cold water does the trick if de icer isn't available,and wont harm the paint. Another thing we do is plug in a fan heater about 10 mins before needing the car,so its warm inside,and all windows defrosted; saves on petrol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuvvum Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 If it gets really frosty I'll probably end up just taking the Sierra to work. No bugger's bought it, and enough of the heated front screen works that I should be able to see roughly where I'm going within a minute or so of firing up. The Rover is particularly shit at defrosting the windscreen - even with the fan on 4 the amount of air emanating from the dash-top vents is distinctly feeble. A couple of years ago I tried some of that pre-icer stuff that you can buy. It was useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M'coli Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Another thing we do is plug in a fan heater about 10 mins before needing the car,so its warm inside,and all windows defrosted; saves on petrolThis! It works a treat! The bucket of cold water/ any sort of warmish water's ok so long as the day looks as though it may be warm enough to let the water run away - 2 years ago, and it just froze to the road/driveway to be avoided later in the evening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Nexus Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Had to use a spare hotel room plastic card to scrape the windscreen yesterday, hadn't seen frost for quite a while and forgotten where I put my scraper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warren t claim Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Pissing on your windscreen is a handy substitute for de-icer. Works a treat for de-icing motorcycle carbs as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Believe it or not, when we moved to Cyprus I couldn't just throw away all my old scrapers (I know, I should de-clutter.... nah,, clutter is me) so when we moved back, I thought I'd be OK should we get a frost. Of course my scrapers are all in an assortment of boxes in a 20ft container in a storage yard. Handy - not! Fortunately, working in a bakery now, I've been issued with a plastic scraper/spreader, supposedly for spreading custard when we make the vanilla slices. Does well enough on windscreens too! This morning I'd just scraped one of the vans when the regular driver came out with a jug of hot water and poured it all over the screen (and my hand, and therefore my arm, thanks Dave!). Naturally it froze instantly, but you know, some people just won't be told. This particular van has a feeble heater too, which didn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M'coli Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Sometimes, though, the hot water is the only way to de-ice a windscreen properly. I've never found de-icer to be pleasant to use in the inside of a screen, and I've had enough cars with leaky floorpans to need this sort of treatment! These are better than nowt: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-M Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Start car, wait two mins, use heater. Seems to work just fine for me. Also, top tip. Ashtrays make magnificent ice scrapers, always seem to have a nice straight edge somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I'll agree with half of that, M'coli: de-icer is awful stuff inside the car. Again, the scraper comes out. I know it's work, but I'm a believer in scraping, for me it beats all the fluid options. Of course if you can get hot air on the screen, that's the best, but car (and van...) heaters take so long to build up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 As Pete M said I just start it and use a scraper. De icer is shite imo as it seems to make the inside of your screen mist up. Also I've found a safe way to get the worst of the salt off without making the driveway icy. I bought one of those 5L pumper spray things from B and Q a few years ago to clean the car at shows etc. But filled with hot water, you can spray just enough water on the lower body and under the arches to allow you to give it a quick soaping and then the fine spray rinses it just enough whilst only creating a wee line of drips round the edge of the car on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Any card in my wallet that I don't care about is my weapon of choice if I've left the scraper my Dad gave me at home. Then it's just hop in the car and wait for it to warm up. I've got one of those fancy working heated rear screens on the Maestro which actually de-ices and defogs the rear surprisingly quickly. If the heaters/blowers aren't doing the trick with the windscreen which can be stubborn to clear on the inside, I gain man points by winding the front window down and letting the cold air wake me up and clear the screen as I drive along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooSavvy Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 ..and enough of the heated front screen works that I should be able to see roughly where I'm going within a minute or so of firing up. Oohh! Didn't Fraud get into trubble with driving away an Escrote with 'frosted side windows', whilst extolling the total visibility of a 'melted front screen' Ewf 'n Safety, don'tcha know! tooSavvy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmicro Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I just start the Rover, turn the fan on screen and feet at 2,HRW, lock the door with the spare keys and go back in the house for 10 minutes. The Rover's heater is excellent, and not having a big coolant capacity means it heats up pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I have never found a screenwash fluid that isn't useless in low temperatures, not least because none of them seem to mix with water. I used to use Methanol antifreeze, which was cheap and effective, but I've not seen any for years. Most screenwashes have some kind of chart telling you to increase the amount as the temperature decreases, which suggests A)nobody with so much as a CSE in Chemistry has been involved and B)the numbers given on the chart are totally made up. To de-ice the windows I run the engine for a few minutes and scrape. If the windscreen isn't warmed up it will just freeze over again as soon as I set off. On a car with no heater at all, which I haven't had for a while thankfully, I put a hot water bottle on top of the dashboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter9000uk Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Fill hot water bottle with boiling water, place on top of dash. Go back indorrs, have cup of tea. Go back out and hey presto melted ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Pouring hot or warm water on the screen is no-no for me. Got away with it for years then cracked the screen on my work's Transit and never did it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Buy a ford with a heated screen for the cold weather! I fired up the focus this morn as it was frosty and white over, and it was defrosted in a minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket88 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 If you know it's coming, couple of sheets of newspaper trapped under non parked wipers the night before works well.........advisable to remove newspaper before driving off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Loving the hot water bottle idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catsinthewelder Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I'm a fan of warm water, the last BX had me worried with it's battlescarred screen but even that didn't crack (gripping wooden desk as I type) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mike Oxgreen Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Pissing on your windscreen is a handy substitute for de-icer.Yeah, but I don't like getting the old chap out when it's sub-zero - so I piss out of an upstairs window onto the car below. Works for me. Smells nicer than most screenwash as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
face Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I have an access card for work. It is 2-3 times the thickness of a credit card. In 23 years I have never found a better de-icer. It's ace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Depends on the car. ZX - Generally gets turned on, heaters on full, de-icer on all windows, flick wipers drive off. If it snows then I scrape and drive. I plan to keep an old dustpan brush in the boot to brush the snow off Meriva - ATM the missus is still on maternity so by the time she gets up and about the car's de-iced anyway. When she used to work I de-icered her car when I did mine, then hoped it wouldn't re-freeze by the time she got in it. I used to be all protective over the Puma's paintwork, so limited the de-icer. I know now that that was a stupid thing to do, and wasted many cold hours gently scraping the glass and wiping snow off with my hands. Someone at work has a 57 fezza with heated screen, which is great apart from 5 lines of the element are broken due to a stone chip right in her line of sight. She often moans about it, I often laugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverapid Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 No de-icing windscreen necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
face Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Spot the difference: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-IN-1-12V-AUTO-FAN-HEATER-COOLER-DEFROSTER-DEMISTER-CAR-CERAMIC-HEATING-COOLING-/270836294410?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories&hash=item3f0f19e30a Price:£99.95 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-IN-1-12V-150W-CERAMIC-CAR-HEATER-COOLING-FAN-WINDSCREEN-DEMISTER-DEFROSTER-/230847022319?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35bf8e04ef Price:£9.97 CUNTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSparrow Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 But the 99.95 bloke has sold 65 of them. Fair play to him if people don't know how to use the sort function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Those 12v heaters are absolutely bloody useless. As you'd expect for 12v. I always use warm (never hot) water. Can be tricky to get the temperature right. Err on the side of caution too much and the water you applied will just instantly freeze. I just splash a bit on all of the windows, then use a wiper blade to quickly clear it away. I don't like scraping as it's a lot of effort and always makes my fingers freeze. I don't like de-icer either, as that often just makes the inside of the windscreen steam up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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