In frosty mornings I often see neighbours clearing windscreen using kettle of hot water .Dont know how hot the water is but could any damage be done to car using this method e.g. could rubber seals be damaged.
tab ( snipped-for-privacy@xxxxbtinternet.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
The windscreen could break due to the thermal shock, if the water is indeed kettle-hot.
I use tap-hot water, but I use the kettle to take it to the car.
If its too hot you could crack the windscreen!
ALthough nobody ever seems to have seen this happen.
"tab" wrote
If the water is too hot, the paint could be damaged I suppose. I wouldn't say it was a very smart thing to do in any case, and anybody doing it probably isn't going to do the side and rear glass which also need to be clear.
I use a proper ice-scraper, but a credit card is a commonly used substitute.
I would never use kettle hot water. I used warm water for a while, but found that it just froze and added more ice. Now I just let the car's defroster do its job.
Johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@clamp-spam-sizefitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
You may find that some cars have handy devices to help prevent that. It's a neat little system where you switch a control on, and these big metal and rubber blades sweep back and forth across the glass and remove any excess water.
They're really very good, and it'd be a good idea if they became standard on all cars.
Yes I know these things and do use them. However, the warm water freezes in a matter of seconds.
No, it's no problem - but don't use boiling water, just warm stuff from the hot tap.
Johannes ( snipped-for-privacy@clamp-spam-sizefitter.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Blimey, how long do your wipers take to get going?
Go out with kettle of tap-hot water. Start car. Put rear window(/mirrors) on. Put heater on full demist(/aircon on). Pour water on windscreen. Put wipers on. Go over windscreen again. Repeat for rear window. Pour over side windows. Put kettle back. Drive off looking through clear windows.
My experience was that the water turned into ice sheet immediately. Worse, the sheet was not complete so that a clear view through the windscreen was not possible. And, the subsequent ice scrapping was made even more difficult because now it was ice (clinking to the screen) not snow.
By the way, I have just found a de-icer made by a company called Car Pride -- it says on the canister, "a new formula" -- much better than the de-icers I had before. I think I got if from Netto, a special offer purchase. The ice sheet and frost 'dissolved' instantly on impact, unlike the Halfords' own brand one, for example, which took at least half a minute or so of 'soaking'. OK, this sort of thing is not exactly mission critical, but it was striking nevertheless as I found out for the first time this morning. I probably need to use it a few more times to be absolutely positive about the superior performance of this new type of de-icers.
I just keep adding more hot water until the windscreen warms up enough to not refreeze. Usually two three litre kettles is enough on most mornings.
I did it once to my Metro, first winter I had it. Used to use handhot water transported in a kettle after that till I got a car with a heated screen.
Chris, are you saying the windscreen cracked?
'Clinging', not 'clinking' to the screen! :)
Thanks for all replies.Hot water will do for me now
Yup, it propgated from an existing stone chip and spread across the screen as the surface heated and belled out
Many car insurance does include windscreen replacement. Does that cover breakage caused by this as well? How did you have your screen replaced?
Hee Hee, my paint gets hotter than that anyway.
I just fire the car up (diesel) and set all the heater controls to max, put the rear screen defroster on, pull the wipers off the ice, put them on intermittent, leave it on the driveway, wander back inside, make a cup of tea, have a smoke while watching the news. Glance out of window to see if screens are clear, if they are, go out and drive. Takes about 5 minutes, about as long as my petrol engined car did. Wish all cars had that Ford front screen thing. Mines a Pug 205D. Miss my old Volvo heated seats/mirrors/headlight wipe though.
-- Stuart
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