My wife just called to say that the windscreen wipers are frozen to the windscreen. Its probably the result of some freezing rain, which has been predicted for this part of New Jersey.
Can anybody suggest any way to unfreeze them, other than the obvious run the engine and turn on the heat?
Um, uh, use a window scraper and simply dislodge them???
A pan of hot water always works for me.
For the four miserable years I lived in Massachusetts I kept a bottle of windshield washer antifreeze in the car. Pour it along the wiper, start the car and run the defroster for a few minutes.
...Jim Thompson
At Home Depot the other day, right near the checkout, they had some sort of deicer product that was meant to be put on windshields to prevent ice from forming and to prevent the wipers from getting iced up. It also said that it could be used to deice windshields and wipers. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the product but if you have a Home Depot near you, you might want to check it out.
My brother in law /used/ to do that. ;-) The last time the windshield cracked.
-- Mark
My wife tried that but she has rotator cuff injuries and can't put much force into it.
I was looking for something more hi tech, but I think she should be able to arrange that. Thanks!
We get this all the time up here in Montreal.
I just make sure that the motor is running with the defroster at max, and use the scraper to work around them, without directly slashing at the rubber. Eventually by scraping the ice along them, and sort of banking on the support stem with my hand (not excessively hard), they will get freed up. It is a good idea to look in to having the heavy duty winter type wipers for your car. The summer ones are not very good, especially in the winter time. The winter ones are very heavy duty, and are worth the extra cost. They will also clean the snow off the windscreen while driving on the highway during a snow storm.
Before using the wipers on any car during the winter, make sure that the windscreen is clean from frozen snow and ice. This can put excessive resistance on the wiper motor, wiper gearbox, and arm assemblies. If you are lazy to clean the snow and ice off the windows manually before using the wipers, you may shortly find yourself replacing a lot of parts.
When it is about -20 and colder over here, I would love to see what a pan of water will do on a nice cold windscreen. I would make sure that there is nobody sitting inside, or anything of any value the car first!
I once tried that stuff, and it didn't work all that well all the time. Also, when it did, it didn't last. The best thing is to start the car with the defroster on full high. Then start scraping and cleaning all the other windows first. Most of the time, by the time you get to the front windscreen, it is starting to be warm enough to be easily cleaned.
I would try sufficiant quantities of normal temp water... even from the cold tap.
the cooler water will still add heat to the system and melt the ice... it'll just take more of it.
just be careful...putting localized heat on the window blades might cause stress cracks in the window. the lower temp water will still stress the window... just not as much.
this isn't that complicated..for a buck fifty buy a can of de-icer which they have at any auto store or hardware store. spray it on and go to town!
It's probably too late now, but cold water is safer for the windshield, and works nearly as well. The correct answer is still to turn on the defrost, and wait.
In future, if freezing rain is forecast, I suggest you raise the blades so they are sticking up. Less freezing rain adheres to the blades this way in my experience. You will still have a problem if you have summer wipers - get winter ones (they are encased in a rubber jacket so that the joints don't get jammed with ice).
With the blades up it is easier to knock the ice build up off.
The winshield will break with hot water on it and it doesnt have to be
-20 , + 30f and it will break
35 years ago we lived on an Air Force base in Illinois, where freezing rain was common. After the first episode each year, you would see a lot of the newcomers out there with a cracked windshield from pouring hot water (a teapot was common) on it. Of course, windshields today are a lot thinner, so perhaps the hot water would not damage them.
You don't want to put much force into it. If you do, you might tear up the blades.
The best scrapers have brass blades. They are very hard to find - last time I saw some, I bought two and won't lend them out. The brass is hard enough to dig into the ice without scratching the glass. It is also thin enough to bend to the shape of the windscreen. Much tougher than plastic scrapers.
If you work at the ice slowly, it'll give up a chip at a time. Once you've cleared the ice at the base of the blade, _carefully_ sliding the scraper into the wiper blade will dislodge it. You want full contact at low(ish) force repeatedly so you won't break the wiper. You want to slide the scraper along the glass so that you don't break the windscreen.
It doesn't matter what kind of gadget or de-icer you get, some day you may have to fall back to chipping it clear. A good scraper should always be in your car.
Mike
Keep a spritzer bottle of IsoHeet in the car. It's pure isopropyl alcohol and won't damage paint or rubber, but does a number on ice very nicely. Get the product at any auto parts place. Does pretty well on frozen door locks, too. HTH
Joe
Just run the engine and turn on the defroster until it melts. I fyou pull them away from the glass they can easily tear. Next time move the wipers off the windshield. Some of the de-icer sprays could damage your car finish.
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