As someone who will walk literal miles in the snow to avoid driving in it, I will try any sort of winter driving life hack sent my way. So when I heard that how to defrost your windshield using things that you probably already have sitting somewhere around your house, I was obviously intrigued. Because, duh, who wouldn't be? Apart from people who live in Florida. Or Hawaii. Or, like, anywhere where it's blessedly warm year-round. Whatever.
In a video from January 2016 which has gone viral several times over (including right now, again), Ken Weathers (which is his real name, and honestly, the idea of a weather man named Weathers will never stop being amazing) of Tennessee’s WATE 6 News showed viewers an incredibly simple trick for combatting frosty windshields. For those of you who park outside during the winter, you know, truly, the struggle of adding 20 minutes to your daily morning routine trying to gain enough visibility so you can actually see the road.
Previously, the options have been to either leave your car running — which feels wasteful because it is wasteful — or brave the elements and use an ice scraper while your hands quickly become frozen and numb and red and cracked. But no longer. Thank you, Ken Weathers, for freeing us from the cruelty of frost.
So what's in this magic solution? Two ingredients, both of which you probably already own: Water and isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). Step one: Combine one-third parts water and two-thirds part rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Though this may seem counter-intuitive, you should not make the water hot. Warm water can lead to cracks in your windshield.
Step two: OK. That's it. There's only one step.
I mean, technically, Step two could be, "Spray it on," but I assumed you would know to do that since you're combining ingredients into a spray bottle. There's no wiping, no scraping, no keeping your car running for half hour. How did we not know of this before?!
The reason why this solution works is because isopropyl alcohol has a freezing point of -129 degrees Fahrenheit. This also means you can store it in your car indefinitely (at least during the colder months). Isn't science great?
One thing is for sure: Ken Weathers, Windshield Solution Extraordinaire, has changed the lives of over four million people. And counting.
