The problem
Ice-coated wintry landscapes look beautiful, but ice-coated cars? Not so much.
When warmer temperatures turn fluffy snow to rain, and colder temperatures turn that rain to ice, windshields suffer. While most people’s weapon of choice is an ice scraper, we wondered: is there a better solution out there? According to online forums, there is, and it’s called rubbing alcohol. With a freezing point of -89 C, this solution has been hailed as the magic bullet for icy windshield issues.
We tested it on two surfaces: a car windshield and a frozen glass dish of ice.
Test 1
The tools
Spray bottle, cloth rag, isopropyl rubbing alcohol 70 per cent USP (note: this drugstore rubbing alcohol contains water, changing its freezing point), water, car.
The method
To create a man-made ice, I sprayed water on my car windshield and let it freeze overnight. In the morning, I cleared the snow off my windshield, filled the spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, and sprayed a liberal dose on a patch of windshield. After one minute, I wiped it off, then repeated four times.
The result
The patch of windshield I sprayed was completely ice-free after four tries. It should be noted: there was only a thin layer of rain droplet-sized spots of ice to begin with.
Test 2
The tools
Spray bottle, isopropyl rubbing alcohol 70 per cent USP, cloth rag, glass dish, water, freezer.
The method
I filled the glass baking dish with water until it was at a level five millimetres thick, then put the dish in a freezer and left it overnight. In the morning, I coated the icy surface with rubbing alcohol and let it sit for 10 minutes.
The result
After draining the dish, about half the ice was still remaining.
Takeaway
This method works, but it takes time. You’re probably better off sticking with the old ice scraper.
Note: While some online forum commenters raised concerns about rubbing alcohol damaging car paint, John Connery of Connery’s Custom Paint in Toronto said alcohol shouldn’t cause paint damage. A representative with Axalta Coating Systems also confirmed rubbing alcohol won’t harm paint.
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