How to remove frost from the windshield without breaking or scratching the glass?

Low morning temperatures cause windshields to become covered in ice, creating a visibility and safety issue.

Cold days have taken hold strongly in our country, especially in the early hours of the day, when sub-zero temperatures are repeated in different parts of the central zone.

These low temperatures cause a freezing process in car windows . The reason is simple. When the air temperature does not exceed the freezing point of water (0°C), the water vapor that is still in the air condenses and sticks to cold surfaces with small ice crystals.

Morning frosts with temperatures below 0°C cause this frost in the gardens and leave the pavement with less grip to circulate. Cars also suffer from frosting of their windows, a complication that can turn into a big headache if not careful but, after some expert advice, there shouldn’t be a major problem.

The first thing that must be taken into consideration, in order to solve problems with morning ice, is to have the wipers in good condition an element that is not used excessively during the year, but which is always good to check, because you do not know when it can rain.

If dirty areas are created on the windshield, you may not have good visibility. There, it is advisable to change them.

The other important thing before experiencing the freeze is to check the washer fluid. Do not try to cut costs with homemade solutions and refuel with a product containing antifreeze.

But, How to clean the windshield of frost without scratching or breaking the glass?

Bernardo Castillo Foix , professor at the Duoc UC School of Engineering and Natural Resources, Maipú campus, tells us that “above all, it must be said that it is better to prevent freezing by placing a blanket or cardboard outside to cover the windshield and so do not need to perform the cleaning procedure. But if you already have it, there are several processes, some better than others, to remove the ice without breaking the glass”.

Now, as the expert points out, if we already end up with a frosted or ice-covered windshield, a common scene with the cold mornings of the past few days, which IT MUST NOT BE DONE is “to use hot water or salt to clean the windshield with frost, because it can break or scratch. The windscreen wipers should not be activated either, because frost can damage the windscreen wipers and the motor must work harder to move and this can damage it.

Thus, according to Bernardo Castillo, the steps to follow are:

  • Using glass de-icing fluid: In the portal repuestado.cl these products can be found between $5,000 and $15,000.
  • Alcohol can be used alone or mixed with water directly on the windshield: This is a very good solution, since alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than water, now it works if the layer of ice is thin. Of course, do not confuse and pour alcohol into the wiper reservoir.
  • Use a putty knife or ice scraper to remove ice from the windshield .

On the last point of the scraper, there are models like the Skoda Fabia that include it and install it on the gas tank cover (pictured below), as we saw in the test we have performed on the Czech compact. Now, if you don’t have this expert-recommended item, a credit card could also serve you well out of the moment.

Finally, when you have already removed the frost, activate the wiper if it has antifreeze liquid and this will remove the small crystals that have remained.

As you can see, a simple and effective way to solve this inconvenience that occurs when temperatures are low and that cause problems with visibility and driving safety.

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Source: Latercera

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