Best Way to Keep Ice Off Your Windshield

With the current arctic cold snap that has hit Vancouver by literal storm, many people are finding that decreased visibility due to cold temperatures is an everyday occurance. Driving amongst snow and ice are two of our least favourite things as British Columbian drivers, although you’d think we’d be used to it by now. However, it is a “cold” reality we must face each and every year.

With all the things we endure as Canadian drivers, the least favourite to traverse would have to be ice. While many people dread driving in the snow, it’s the ice that wreaks the most havoc on our roads, and on our vehicles. And if you’ve ever driven over the Port Mann bridge in the wintertime, you know exactly what we’re talking about…

When you’re driving along and ice is literally falling on your windshield, it can be alarming to say the least. Additionally, when you’ve been parked outside for long periods of time, and come out to find that your windshield is frozen solid, the last thing you want to do is wait 15 minutes for your car to defrost, while you still have to scrape the ice off by hand.

In this blogpost, we’ll cover some great ways to help keep the ice off of your windshield, while minimizing the amount of work you have to put in to keep it that way.

How Can I Keep Ice Off of My Car?

Metro Vancouver is a bustling city that has many bridges, tunnels, and viaducts that make driving incredibly stressful on a good day. Combined that with some snow or freezing rain, and you’ve got every driver’s worst weather nightmare.

However, thanks to amazing advances in the automotive accessory industry, there are many ways to keep your windshield free and clear from ice.

Whether it’s frozen from sitting, or from falling directly onto your windshield while driving, we have your solution.

How to Prevent Ice from Sticking to Your Windshield While Driving

When you live in Canada, you face a variety of adverse weather conditions day to day. However, if you live in Vancouver, you can often face those same weather conditions minute to minute. What starts out as a sunny day can quickly turn into a hailstorm or worse, freezing rain.

Here are some tips to keep your windshield clear from ice while driving.

1.Turn Your Defrosters onto High

Obvious, right? Although we Canadians are all too familiar with our car’s defrost settings, sometimes we don’t think about turning it up when faced with the sudden onset of ice on our windshield.

In fact, most drivers tend to turn on their wipers and spray their windshield with washer fluid to clear snow and ice away. This, unfortunately, will typically just create more ice to form, particularly when driving in extremely cold conditions.

2.Pull Over and Scrap Ice Off Your Windshield

Another suggestion that seems entirely obvious, but when you’re traversing Downtown Vancouver rush hour traffic, finding somewhere to pull over may be harder than you think.

Sometimes the ice is too thick for your defrosters to help melt it efficiently. If you’re driving in a busy area, and need better visibility now, just waiting isn’t always an option. When worse comes to worse, pull over, or simply stop and turn on your hazards. This way, you can exit your vehicle, remove the excess ice, and continue on.

It’s better to take a few minutes to at least scrape the driver’s side of your windshield while waiting for your defrosters to do the rest, than to cause a possible accident because you are unable to see the road properly.

3.Apply Rubbing Alcohol to Your Windshield

There are many everyday uses of rubbing alcohol, but did you know that it also helps prevent freezing on your windshield?

Applying rubbing alcohol to your windshield will not only help melt any existing ice quickly, but it will also help prevent new ice from forming, even while driving. Just apply a bit to a microfibre cloth or any cotton rag and rub it evenly across your entire windshield.

When choosing rubbing alcohol for your car, select one that has a higher concentration of alcohol than lower. Lower percentages of rubbing alcohol will still work at preventing ice buildup, but not as well in extreme cold and wet weather.

4.Turn on Your Windshield Wipers

As stated earlier, many people rely on their windshield wipers to clear ice before trying any other methods. While they can be effective, it’s better if you don’t use washer fluid alongside of them unless you have the –40 degrees Celsius solution for your vehicle.

Another important thing to remember is that if you haven’t yet used your wipers on this trip, make sure they aren’t frozen to your windshield. Turning on your wipers to clear ice can have adverse effects if they are stuck to your windshield and can even damage your wipers blades entirely.

5.Use Wipers & Washer Fluid Designed for Winter Weather

Thanks to the wonders of technology, there are windshield wipers and windshield wiper fluid designed specifically to function best during winter weather. Both the wipers and fluid is made to withstand extremely cold temperatures, and to help clear your windshield more effectively. Both of these products can be found at your local Canadian Tire, as well as the usual big box stores like Costco and Walmart.

Just be sure that when you swap over your wipers and fluid for winter, that you change them back come spring. Otherwise, you’ll find that your wipers and fluid may not be as useful during the rainy Vancouver spring season.

How to Stop Ice from Forming on Your Car When It’s Parked Outside

If you live in the Vancouver area, you probably are already more than aware of how hard it is to find parking.

Not only are parking wars a real thing, but finding covered parking during the day is even harder. Plus, if you actually live Downtown, then you know that you will rarely own a place that has its own garage. Thus, leaving you to park your vehicle outside every day.

Vehicles that spend a lot of time outdoors during the winter months are naturally more prone to having ice buildup on their windshield. Fortunately, there are steps you can take and accessories you can purchase to help reduce and even completely prevent ice from forming on your windshield while parked outdoors.

1.Treat Your Windshield

As mentioned earlier, rubbing alcohol is highly effective at preventing ice from sticking to your windshield. If you’re not a fan of using the rubbing alcohol on your vehicle, you can also purchase de-icing sprays at your local automotive store or even from many mechanics.

This works just the same as rubbing alcohol, however, you don’t need to do much wiping as it comes in a convenient spray form. Perfect for those who are on the go.

2.Used a Windshield Cover

You’ve heard of a car cover, well, there is also something called a windshield cover.

Just as they have screens to prevent the inside of your car from being overheated or damaged by the sun, they also have a cover for the outside of your windshield to protect it from ice and snow.

These are very handy for those who park outside while at work. It saves you from having to scrape your windshield after a long day, but also protects your wipers from potentially freezing to your windshield when it’s especially cold out.

Many of these accessories are waterproof on both sides and are made to be folded up neatly for easy storing inside your vehicle. Some even fold into themselves and become a handy travel bag!

3.Park in a Covered Location

Again, we know this isn’t always an option in Downtown Vancouver, or even parts of Burnaby, New Westminster, or Surrey. But if you can find a covered place to park your car, either during the day or overnight, you’ll be saving yourself the trouble of combatting the ice that builds up. There’s no better way to prevent ice buildup than to keep your car out of the elements.

4.Don’t Use Homemade Solutions or Hot Water

A mistake many people have made at one point, or another, is by trying to use hot water to melt the ice on their windshields. This can severely damage your windshield because when you apply extremely hot water to a very cold glass surface, science tells us that the windshield will likely crack, and badly.

Another thing many drivers have tried are homemade concoctions that someone we know has suggested. Or perhaps, even something we’ve Googled. However, vinegar solutions and other mixed liquids can cause damage to your windshield, to your paint, and leave a film that will further reduce visibility.

5.Allow the Car to Warm-Up Properly

We know how busy life can be in the Lower Mainland. With or without a family, many of us have a long list of responsibilities, and it seems we always need to be going somewhere in a hurry.

A mistake many of us make is failing to let our vehicle warm up enough to properly defrost the ice that’s on our windshield and back window.

We clear a tiny bit of the ice (enough to see out the driver’s side of the windshield), then assume that the defrost will do the rest shortly.

However, if your defrost malfunctions for any reason, or even if it’s extremely cold outside, it may take much longer than you anticipate. This can pose a risk to yourself and other drivers on the road when your visibility is reduced. Give yourself an extra 10 minutes to make sure your car is road-ready before heading out.

Thinking About a New Vehicle in Metro Vancouver?

If you’ve been experiencing problems with your car’s defrost function, the heater, or even alternator issues that are limiting your power supply, it may be time to get a new vehicle.

If you want to get into something new (or new to you), sell your car to Cash for Cars BC. We always offer the MOST cash for cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, and motorcycles. Plus, we buy vehicles in ANY condition.

Even if you have heating system issues, or collision damaged from a winter weather accident. We’ll buy your car for the MOST cash and can complete the process the very same day in as little as 30 minutes.

Sell Your Car in the Lower Mainland Today

No other professional used car buyers like Cash For Cars BC can offer you more cash for your vehicle. Whether it’s old, unwanted, has mechanical issues, has collision damage, or is simply costing you too much money to maintain, we will buy it from you.

We buy vehicles from $100 – $100,000+. From junk cars to supercars… We buy them all! Plus, with Cash For Cars BC, you don’t have to worry about bringing your car to a lot or dealership, because we come to you! Making the process of selling a car for cash that much easier.

If you want to sell your car quickly, easily, and for the MOST cash, sell your car to Cash For Cars BC. We handle all the paperwork, we come to you, and NOBODY Pays More!