We’d like all of our fans to stay safe this season, and free from the annoying cold weather nuances that make driving in the winter a nightmare.   Below you’ll find all of the most ingenious car hacks to fight the cold weather rain and snow that leaves you pulling your hair out and late for work each morning.  

Eliminating and Preventing Windshield Fog:

1. Want to fix windshield fog without smudging up your windshield?  Use a chalkboard eraser!  

2.Turn on your AC (not your heat which in some cases just causes more fog).  The compressor takes the humidity out of the air.

If you want to prevent windshield fog:

1. Put shaving cream on the inside of your windows and then wipe it off. Shaving cream has a lot of the same ingredients that commercial defoggers have, and it leaves a layer on the window to keep the fog off.  Makes you really want to shave your face now huh?  

2. Fill a stocking with kitty litter which absorbs water and keep that in your car overnight.  This will prevent your windows from fogging. 

3. Don’t leave water bottles or other drinks in your car because as the water evaporates into the air, it adds moisture to your car’s interior which becomes frost on the inside windows of your car.

De-icing Windshields and Wipers:

1. Raise the wipers off of the windshield and point them toward the air for easier de-icing in the morning.  This also prevents them from freezing to the windshield. 

2. You can even use a pair of socks to cover your windshield wipers at night to keep the snow off of them. 

3. Using a rag, apply full-strength rubbing alcohol and wipe each blade. The alcohol will keep the blades from sticking to the window so they’ll function properly.

4. Whenever you can, make sure to park your car facing east. Since the sun rises in the east, it will naturally defrost your windshield in the morning so you won’t be stuck scraping ice in the freezing cold. 

5.  Can’t make it to Pep Boys?  Make your own de-icer.  Mix three parts vinegar with one part water and spray the mixture onto your windshield to prevent ice from forming.  

6. Forgot to get a de-icer?  You can use a plastic spatula.  (Don’t use metal… you’ll scratch your car.)

7.  Credit cards also work well as de-icers.

DO NOT:  Use hot water to de-ice your windshield.  You could cause it to crack… 


De-ice frozen car doors, locks, and handles:

1. Heat your car key with a match or lighter, then gently push the heated key into the lock to melt the ice as you apply pressure. Just be careful as that key will be hot!

2. Another option is to take a regular drinking straw and blow directly onto the frozen lock. The heat from your breath should melt the ice in no time.

3. Rubbing your key or door handle with hand sanitizer will help melt the ice.  The alcohol in the hand sanitizer will melt the ice and shortly allow you to unlock your car.

Keep doors, locks and handles from freezing in the first place:

1. Sometimes putting WD-40 in the keyhole before the winter will keep any ice from forming in there in the first place.

2. Cooking spray in the cracks of your doors and on the rubber will prevent them from freezing shut at night. Water that melts during the day runs in between your doors and freezes, but cooking spray keeps the water from resting in the cracks in the first place.

Preventing Icey Mirrors: 

1. To prevent ice from forming on side mirrors, cover them the night before with plastic bags secured with rubber bands or clothespins. When you remove the bags in the morning, the mirrors will be ice-free.

How to get your car unstuck in the snow:

1. If your tires are stuck, use cardboard to help them get traction.

2. Don’t have cardboard or you’re already on the road?  You can use your floor mats.  Place your front floor mats under your tires to give you some traction when on an icy surface. Just don’t forget to put them back in your car after you’re out of the snow.  

Increase Winter Traction on the Road: 

1. Keep keep a couple twenty pound bags of kitty litter in your trunk on snowy days. They’ll put some weight on your back tires — which is great for traction if you have rear-wheel drive — and if you do get stuck you’ll have something to provide a little traction. Just spread some under the tires and under your feet.

 2.  Check your tires.  Tires with low tread will send you sliding all over the ice and snow.  If you don’t know if your tires need changing use the penny test will tell you when it’s time to get new tires.  Take a penny and stick it in between your tire’s tread with Lincoln’s head closest to the tire.  If you can actually see the top of his head, its time to replace them before that big storm hits.