Can you help me de-ice my car?

AGuru loves a good chemical, and can see no reason why you wouldn’t just squirt aerosolised ethylene glycol on your windscreen (cans go from about £2) and be done with it. You can also cut a potato in half and rub it on your glass the night before – the glycerol within should cut down on the frost, although you’ll end up with a potato-coated windscreen.

If you must have toys to play with, though, first be wary of temperatures and the difference thereof. Take a freezing windscreen to super-hot too quickly, and you’re liable to crack the thing, so Guru won’t recommend anything too extreme.

Try something mild like the 12vconnector-powered RoadPro RPSC-818 (£17.50), a combination de-icer and hairdryer that, in conjunction with a 12v extension lead, will give your glass (and follicles) a good going over with warmish air.

Be warned – online reviews suggest that it might not last long before transforming into a puddle of melted plastic and smoke, so you may wish to stick to the magic spray.

above “Seriously, we really need to fix the heating in the garage”