A 50p trick to defrost car windscreens has been praised by drivers, and it calls for just one ingredient found in virtually every household.
As temperatures in the UK plunge day after day, an increasing number of car owners are calling out for easy ways to free their windshields of ice in the morning.
One of the major annoyances of cold weather is the time-consuming burden of having to defrost the windows with a scraper before hitting the road.
Waiting for a car to warm up can take up to fifteen minutes, but experts at Leasecar.co.uk know a way around the problem, which does the job in seconds.
According to the experts, the most basic type of table salt – which costs approximately 50p in UK supermarkets – is a godsend for tackling frost.
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“This will dissolve the ice with a chemical reaction rather than melting it with heat,” the experts explained. They further clarified that “the ions in salt also lower the freezing point of water, making it difficult for it to refreeze”.
“Apply the solution sparingly, as heavy application could damage the glass.”
A spokesperson for LeaseCar.co.uk recognised that scraping the windscreen of a vehicle on a cold and frosty morning can be a maddening task before setting off to work.
“Every year it is almost guaranteed that drivers will use their credit card or an old CD to clear the snow from their cars, but this can cause lasting damage to a vehicle,” they said.
The safest way to de-ice a windshield with salt is by mixing two tablespoons with roughly two cups of water. Applying the mixture to your windshield should melt ice within seconds.
“Making sure the windscreen is covered with a tarp or some sort of sheet can help to ease the build-up,” added the experts. “And there are a number of homemade solutions that can be made that act as a great alternative to de-icer.”
Alternatively, drivers can use a vinegar solution in a spray bottle and apply it to their windscreen the night before. Diluting the ingredient with water in a spray bottle could also come in handy for cleaning purpos
