Removing Ice / Frost from windshields and/or windows. Share your methods.

During college, my roommate and I (from Florida) bought a beat up Datsun to drive up to school in Philadelphia. We knew it had no A/C, but we found out when winter rolled around that the heater didn't work either (don't ask why...I don't know!) After the semester, we were driving home and had bad weather with freezing rain. If we drove over 30mph, the water on the windshield would freeze over. The defrost mode wasn't working, so we couldn't melt off the ice. We tried using the little pop up cigarette lighter but no use. Finally, we stopped the car and used a cassette tape case (Yes, that long ago!)to scrape the ice off!
 
BigJimZ28 said:
what does the type of glass have to do with anything?

(you know the laminate is between the glass right)





what car is it bad for it to warm up ... Please tell me
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Not all glass is the same. The laminated and tempered glass they use for cars is pretty tough so like i said it is probably unlikely he will scratch it with a scraper. I used one for years and never had a problem.



It's bad to let my bmw warm up because it has a secondary air system. "Do not allow the engine to warm up by leaving it running while the vehicle remains stationary. Instead, drive off immediately at a moderate engine speed."
 
If I am in a hurry I use luke-warm water. It has been only hitting around 20 F at night here though, not very cold, and that usually gets rid of it quick. That or I just use my bare hand.



Once it gets cold enough to not frost it's just a matter of keeping the screen free of things that will freeze to ice it up, snow stuck in the wipers, etc. I usually just clear the windshield by hand to get rid of that crap before I drive. I also park with the windshield facing the sun in th e morning, albeit if you have a big enough driveway that you can do that.



I got 476 on mine right now and it seems to frost up much less than my sisters untreated.
 
[quote name='BigJimZ28']what car is it bad for it to warm up ... Please tell me
Technically, its tough on the engine in the cold (30 and below) to cold start and then idle for long periods of time (5-7 mins and above) because the oil is cold and the internal parts are not yet well lubricated. Will it destroy your engine, probably not, but you never know what problems it may cause down the road (or at least contribute to).



Additionally, its not good for environment as your cat is not yet heated, it is as well a waste of gas.



However, I do it all the time.
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NickelPlated.45 said:
Not all glass is the same. The laminated and tempered glass they use for cars is pretty tough so like i said it is probably unlikely he will scratch it with a scraper. I used one for years and never had a problem.



It's bad to let my bmw warm up because it has a secondary air system. "Do not allow the engine to warm up by leaving it running while the vehicle remains stationary. Instead, drive off immediately at a moderate engine speed."
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I Know all glass is not the same

but I think a scraper is safe on any auto glass



I Would like to have some more info about the seconday air system in you your BMW

if you have any info or links that would be great

thanks for the info
 
Technically, its tough on the engine in the cold (30 and below) to cold start and then idle for long periods of time (5-7 mins and above) because the oil is cold and the internal parts are not yet well lubricated. Will it destroy your engine, probably not, but you never know what problems it may cause down the road (or at least contribute to).



Additionally, its not good for environment as your cat is not yet heated, it is as well a waste of gas.



However, I do it all the time.
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I do it all the time also and my 81 has 400,000 miles

and my 97 DD has over 100,000 miles



so it can't be that bad
 
I use rain-X, have a remote start and oil pan heater on a timer. That combo helps make scraping easier. (Plus even if it doesn't help the car, it does reduce emissions to have the plug-in in-line heater.)



I have been using a plastic scraper this winter without ill effect. Metal edged scrapers can be a different story. I left some scratches on my windshield last winter when I used my trusty old metal edged scraper on my new car windshield. I had never noticed a problem using it on my old car, but the truth is I probably didn't care enough to look. Now that I'm cursed with caring, I've learned my lesson. Wish I had thought first.
 
All vehicles are bad to let just sit and warm up. First off it pollutes the environment because the cat is not warmed up at all. Secondly, your engine will take a lot longer to warm up when idling instead of putting load on it while driving.



The water temperature/oil might be warm when you start driving, but the rest of your components are not, meaning more wear. The best thing to do is let your car warm up for about 30 seconds or less and drive off normally, driving conservatively and not doing burnouts and redlining gears until the operational temperature has been reached.
 
My garage does fairly well.:laugh: But, when the car is outside the scraper seems to be the most handy, after a small dose of windshield washer de-icer. The rear window is the pain. No rear window defroster on my car.
 
Some stiff I've either done or seen:

-Spray de-icer

-Covering over windshield->can be an old sheet even. Tucked between your doors and the windshield beam. I would try to avoid plastic/tarps, as I would imagine they would scratch the paint as they got brittle and blew in the wind.

-Interior heater that plugs into the lighter. Can aim it right at the windshield before you drive, and can mount it (If you don't care about your dash) to blow when driving, if your car heater/defrost is weak.



I've read of using straight rubbing alcohol, but haven't tried it or seen it in action.



Has anyone tried the "new" anti-frost sprays? I've seen one from Prestone (yellow) and another was called Ice Free (blue).
 
BigLeegr said:
Has anyone tried the "new" anti-frost sprays? I've seen one from Prestone (yellow) and another was called Ice Free (blue).
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Not quite in the same vein, there are some windshield washer "de-icing" fluids, that have propylene glycol or ethylene glycol added to a regular windshield washer mixture (water, alcohol, detergent) to act a bit like airplane deicing agents.



I try not to use my windshield washers, but I take care of a couple of ladies cars who do, and after a lot of agonizing in the aisle at Wal-Mart (I was looking for their store brand winter mix windshield washer that I had done a freeze test on with a bottle in my freezer)

and wound up buying some purple Peak "Premium Windshield Wash". Haven't loaded it yet tho. They had a Prestone version and also a Rain-X, I think.
 
ZoomBoy said:
All vehicles are bad to let just sit and warm up. First off it pollutes the environment because the cat is not warmed up at all. Secondly, your engine will take a lot longer to warm up when idling instead of putting load on it while driving.



The water temperature/oil might be warm when you start driving, but the rest of your components are not, meaning more wear. The best thing to do is let your car warm up for about 30 seconds or less and drive off normally, driving conservatively and not doing burnouts and redlining gears until the operational temperature has been reached.
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off topic, but relevant.



are you sure about this. most cars will rev high for the few minutes on cold mornings, ie, my honda idles at 1500 for about 2 minute and then drops to 1000 - 700 is normal.



one of the problems is the strain on the transmission if you don't allow the car to warm up especially on an auto. switching from P to D on a cold morning with 1500 revs is very bad for the trans.
 
I never let my Jeep idle for more than 5min. I also use 5w-30 in the the winter to help with cold starts and lubrication.



Idk what is so complicated about scraping the windshield. I can scrape it in less time than it takes to get a sheet out of the doors or whatever.
 
dazzerjp said:
off topic, but relevant.



are you sure about this. most cars will rev high for the few minutes on cold mornings, ie, my honda idles at 1500 for about 2 minute and then drops to 1000 - 700 is normal.



one of the problems is the strain on the transmission if you don't allow the car to warm up especially on an auto. switching from P to D on a cold morning with 1500 revs is very bad for the trans.
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Your vehicle revs higher on cold starts to move more oil throughout the block. Once it has warmed up you'll see the idle drop, my Honda does this as well.
 
This info on NOT letting your car warm up before you drive is 180 degrees opposite of everything I've ever been told or read. Even my mechanic who is a Toyota master tech has told me it's better to let the car warm up for 5 minutes before you drive it.:confused:
 
eddie926 said:
This info on NOT letting your car warm up before you drive is 180 degrees opposite of everything I've ever been told or read. Even my mechanic who is a Toyota master tech has told me it's better to let the car warm up for 5 minutes before you drive it.:confused:
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Read your manual. I bet it says to just let the car idle for 20 seconds and go.
 
ZoomBoy said:
Read your manual. I bet it says to just let the car idle for 20 seconds and go.
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Actually, my manual says...



"If the weather is below freezing, let the engine warm up for a few minutes before driving"
 
He is right. Always give your car at least a minute or two of run time before taking off. This goes for any season.



As for removing ice...



Aquapel seems to help. Rain-X does , but you have to immediately re-apply the crap.



I use a long ice scraper that has a rubber edge, a hard plastic edge, and a broom.



I get the heavy stuff off with the plastic, brush off the detritus, and then finish up with the rubber. NICE!



Also many times I can simply use the rubber wiper to do the whole job. Much easier on the glass. Cleaner final look too.
 
When it's real cold, I'll let my car run for a good 5 minutes or so. 2 of my cars are turbo'd and I don't need to screw a turbo because I didn't let it warm up well enough. After the car warms up for 5 minutes I'll take an ice scraper to the windows. The wrx has heated mirrors and windshield wipers so that really helps!!
 
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