No ice scraper? No problem
Credit cards and CD cases work. We don’t recommend hammers, hot water or Jesus Jones.
I f your car is/has been/ will be parked outside, among the elements, there’s a good chance you’re going to find it with a nice crust of ice covering everything. This is annoying. Particularly when the ice covers your windows, making your view of the outside world resemble a surrealist perspective of the planet.
It also makes driving quite difficult.
And good luck trying to get an ice scraper in the local auto shops. A worker at one told us this morning they don’t often stock them, before selling the final two in the store. So, how do you get this ice off the glass? There are ways, my friend, there are ways.
1. HEAT
This is the most obvious, and easiest, solution. Turn on your car, set your heating system to defrost and blast the car with temperatures fit for a tropical getaway. Give it, like, 15 minutes and the ice should be melted. There’s just one problem with this option — you have to keep the defrost on, like, full blast when/if you drive so you don’t accumulate more ice. And if you’re driving more than, like, 15 minutes, you might need to pull over periodically and break the ice off your windshields. Yes, winter weather is annoying.
2. SCRAPING
Again, good luck getting a scraper. If you have one, you know what to do.
3. MAKESHIFT SCRAPING
Assuming you don’t have an ice scraper, there are things that can be substituted.
Credit cards can work, but hold them near the tip of the scraping edge so you don’t break them.
CD jewel cases. These things get quite brittle in the cold, but if you can get the bottom edge against the glass, they can do the job against ice. Most of the time. Jesus Jones CD cases seem to work well, mostly because no one cares if they get destroyed.
Anything else with flat, thin and sturdy edges could do the trick. Be imaginative. Just don’t use anything valuable. Or priceless. Or made of spaghetti.
Do not use metal, keys, hammers, rocks, ice picks or hatchets to break the ice off the windshield. This doesn’t end well. It’s either going to scratch your windshield or smash it into oblivion. And driving without a windshield in this weather isn’t fun. Trust me.
4. HOT WATER?
This seems like it would make some sense, right? Wrong. NEVER pour hot water onto a windshield covered with ice. The clashing temperatures could crack your glass. Again, you kinda want a windshield in this weather.
Good luck out there. And please don’t email me talking about how much you love Jesus Jones’ music; I’ll be busy enough scraping ice off vehicles.