# Home-Made Car De-icer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854 "2015-02-16T20:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/1 "2015-02-16T20:39:56Z")
3 parts Vinegar to 1 part tap-water, in a used spray bottle (never toss those, if they still work). BTW–bump this, to keep it handy for Dopers in frozen need. Damn that Elsa. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/2 "2015-02-16T20:50:46Z")
Eh. I just picked up one of [these](http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/files/M9A1-7_Flamethrower.jpg) at Harbor Fright Tools. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/3 "2015-02-16T21:34:39Z")
I don’t get it. Don’t you fill you washer fluid reservoir with de-icer? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/4 "2015-02-16T21:46:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t get it. Don’t you fill you washer fluid reservoir with de-icer? 1. Only works on front windshield 2. If you didn’t (or can’t) raise your wiper blades, your liable to damage the blades if you activate the “clean your windshield” lever. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/5 "2015-02-16T22:36:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Eh. I just picked up one of [these](http://www.thespecialistsltd.com/files/M9A1-7_Flamethrower.jpg) at Harbor Fright Tools. I just kicked out my windows. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/6 "2015-02-16T22:54:43Z")
Sounds like a nice go-to formula in a pinch: Save an old Windex bottle & fill with water & vinegar. There was a thread the other week here with another nice go to formula of vodka with rock salt as an ice melting formula too, but I have no idea which of the two would work better than the other through a squirt bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/7 "2015-02-17T01:12:01Z")
I’ve lived in Canada most of my life and no one, absolutely no one, uses any of these concoctions, which leads me to believe they’re not effective. If they were effective at least someone would be doing it. The freezing point of this douche compound appears to be just below the freezing point of plain water. And the acetic acid in vinegar could eat you paint. Why bother? All anyone does here is start the car and let it warm up (if possible) and get the scraper out. Sometimes I’ll let the windshield washer and wipers clear the windshield, but nothing beats warming the car and scraping. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-made-car-de-icer/712854/8 "2015-02-17T01:20:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’ve lived in Canada most of my life and no one, absolutely no one, uses any of these concoctions, which leads me to believe they’re not effective. If they were effective at least someone would be doing it. > > The freezing point of this douche compound appears to be just below the freezing point of plain water. And the acetic acid in vinegar could eat you paint. > > Why bother? All anyone does here is start the car and let it warm up (if possible) and get the scraper out. Sometimes I’ll let the windshield washer and wipers clear the windshield, but nothing beats warming the car and scraping. Fine, withdrawn. I haven’t used either, but if you say its crap, I won’t disbelieve it. I do know that a Lot of people buy the Engine Block Warmer option on cars where they plug it into an out-door house socket before start up. I’m not saying it often gets down to “crack the engine block” cold, but please remember that this Same technology means that, properly pre-warmed, your defroster will blow hot onto your windshield right at engine start up without having to wait 10 minutes. \*Still, please do unplug before you roll away from your house… \*