How to Remove Ice from Your Car Windscreen in Winter

Whenever winter really bites across the country, drivers without a garage face the same fresh challenge every morning: getting rid of the ice that formed on the windscreen overnight.

Most people fall back on the usual routine - switching the wipers on in a panic, emptying the windscreen washer bottle in the hope the spray will melt the ice, turning on the front demister, or using the trusty plastic cards we all carry in our wallets to scrape the glass.

Yes, it’s true that some cars have heated washer jets to make the job easier, and others (such as Skoda models) even come with their own ice scraper. But what about everyone else who doesn’t have those little “luxuries”? The tips in this article are for them.

Hot water? No thanks

Before we share practical ways to deal with ice on the windscreen, it’s worth repeating a key rule: never pour hot water onto your car’s glass to melt ice.

If you do, the windscreen can crack because of the thermal shock. When hot water hits the outside surface, that side warms up and wants to expand. At the same time, the inside surface remains cold and contracted. This “clash of intentions” can be enough to make the glass split.

As for using credit cards and similar items, you’ll quickly end up with freezing hands - and you may also damage the cards, leaving them unusable for what they were designed to do.

Hand sanitiser: useful beyond pandemics

Now that the don’ts are clear, here are some options that can make windscreen ice far less of a headache.

Overnight prevention: covers and simple tricks

A straightforward solution is to fit a cover over the windscreen to stop ice forming in the first place. The drawback is that it sits on the outside of the glass, which means “friends of other people’s property” may take an interest in it.

Another approach is to rub a peeled potato on the windscreen the night before. It sounds odd, but the potato’s starch is said to make the ice easier to remove, and it may even prevent it from building up on the glass altogether.

DIY sprays: water with alcohol or vinegar

A Facebook post from the Guarda Nacional Republicana advises making either a water-and-alcohol mix (two parts water to one part alcohol) or a water-and-vinegar mix (three parts water to one part vinegar). Sprayed onto the ice that forms on the windscreen, these solutions help dissolve it, and the wipers can then clear it away more easily. One important warning: don’t put alcohol or vinegar into the washer reservoir.

Hand sanitiser - an unavoidable companion in everyday life over the past year - can also help in the “fight” against windscreen ice. The downside is that, while it breaks down the ice, it can also leave the glass dirty.

Parking position: use the morning sun

To speed things up even further, pay attention to where you park. If possible, position the car so it faces the direction the first rays of morning sun will come from. That simple choice of parking spot can save you a few minutes every day.