January is the month of the post-Christmas slump, and of falling temperatures. One of the consequences of the cold will appear on our windscreen in the form of ice. Prevention is key.
It happens when a vehicle spends the night outside, exposed to the elements: the chances of a layer of ice covering the windscreen increase. In this situation, you need to take preventive measures with a few home-made tricks – in case you have a garage or parking space – but also learn how to remove that ice. It is also worth knowing at what temperature the car’s glass freezes, above all in order to prepare it for a particularly cold night. It happens when the temperature drops to 0 °C; that is when tiny droplets of water form that mist up the various surfaces and which, once below this limit, turn into frost.
Among the home remedies for removing ice from the car is a mixture of water and vinegar (three parts vinegar to one part water), if you have no choice but to leave it out in the open. When the vehicle spends the night under cover, the best thing is to cover the glass with a blanket or pieces of cardboard, held in place by the car doors. Car covers are another option. Rubbing a peeled potato on the glass is another household trick that works, as it creates a film that prevents frost.
If morning finally comes and you find ice on the glass, it is best not to be in too much of a hurry to set off:
- Frozen overnight dew can be removed by starting the engine and switching on the heating, directing the air towards the glass.
- Although de-icing products exist, you are perhaps more likely to have alcohol at home. This can be applied to the windscreen if the layer of ice is not very thick.
- If the layer is thick, there is no other option but to scrape it off with a plastic scraper (a plastic card or ID card also works, but a spatula is more suitable). Scrape towards the centre of the windscreen, first from one side of the vehicle and then from the other.
- Once we have removed the ice, we can switch on the windscreen wipers (the screenwash should contain antifreeze).
- If the headlight glass freezes, we will have to clean the headlights too (unless they are halogen: in that case it is enough to switch them on for a while).
- If we pour hot water or salt on it because we are pressed for time, we run the risk of breaking the glass or, at the very least, scratching it. So, this is strictly forbidden!