Scraping your windscreen adds extra time on to your morning every winter's day but now, for just 12p, you can speed that process up.
Ice and snow is on its way in the UK as the frosty mornings creep in. Many people have their own ways for clearing their windscreens before setting off to start their day.
Some may sit blasting the air conditioning, while others pour water on it. But there is a safer, more environmentally friendly and cost effective way to do it - using an onion.
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Frosty windscreens aren't just an annoyance, but can actually land drivers with a £100 fine and three points on their licence. Luckily, cold weather experts from Iceland, Lotus Car Rental, have revealed an incredibly clever and bizarre hack that should keep your windscreen from freezing over using a staple item from your kitchen, reported The Mirror.
The item in question, which costs about 12p from most supermarkets, is an onion. According to the experts, onions can break down frost as soon as it forms on the window.
Simply cut an onion in half and rub it generously all over the windows and windscreen the night before you need to drive. This should stop frost from forming in the first place.
If you don't have an onion, a potato should work in the same way – and at least it won't make you cry in the process.
Vinegar works in the same way too, so you could spray a vinegar solution mixed with water on your windscreen the night before. The experts explain that vinegar is often "used as a de-icer because its freezing point is much lower than water’s, meaning the water doesn’t have the chance to settle and freeze on top of the vinegar".
If using vegetables doesn't appeal to you, there are a few other tricks and tips you could try out. For example, you could try putting a bed sheet or large piece of cardboard over the windscreen to avoid it freezing over night.
Another tip is to use a de-icing fluid, which can be bought at most supermarkets and petrol stations. While homemade alternatives can be effective and cheaper, this will most certainly do the job and is handy to keep in the car for when you need it and if all else fails, you could try to fill a bag with warm water and run it over the windscreen for a quick result.
The experts warn: "It may sound obvious but it’s always worth mentioning that you should never pour boiling hot water onto your windscreen. While one in five of us have admitted to doing this, even pouring lukewarm water can cause car windows to crack, especially if they are already chipped.
"Instead, pour some warm water in a zip lock bag and then rub the bag over your windscreen. This hack went viral on TikTok last winter because it takes the ice off in seconds!"
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