I've read a lot of other forums/heard a lot of ideas for how to prevent icy windshields and how to clean them off.
But how reliable are these ideas.
With winter fast approaching (for some, for others it's either already here or not gonna come), I thought this might be a nice thread to start.

I've heard warm water, plastic sheets or covers the night before, rubbing baking soda on with a damp rag, water and vinegar spray (1 part water, 3 parts vinegar or a 1:1 ratio, heard both), alcohol mixtures, some dish detergent, rain-x, of course the garage scenario (not all of us are blessed) and the handy-dandy scraper.

What have your experiences led to?

 

Warm water will freeze faster causing more ice. Best i would say is rain x or something like that. Windsheild washer fluid would work, doesnt freeze until -40 c

 

I always use rain x and it helps during icy weather. You can scrap off the thick stuff, then run the windshield wiper fluid and it comes off just like that. Leaves slushy ice on the sides of the windshield after using your blades

 

installing remote start and stting the windshield vent on . also the scraper always works

 

If you believe it, I had thick ice on my windshield here in Ca. The scraper works bests, the windshield wipers has a tendency to get frozen stuck on the windshield. Also, I will warm up the car so I can run the defroster with the AC at high heat.

 

If you know it's going to be a frosty or snowing morning, you can lift your windshield wipers off the hood the night before. I've also heard that if you stick washcloths or rags underneath them at night it'll help prevent them from sticking, possibly breaking the motor or doing damage to the rubber.
But I wasn't sure if I believed that...if the cloths got wet, wouldn't the wipers just freeze to the rags?

 

Putting a tarp over the car or at least the windshield will stop the ice from forming. The scraper is simple and cheap in the long run. Always lift the wipers to be sure they aren't frozen in place before you get into the car. My dad broke a windshield once pouring hot water on it trying to defrost it.

 

yep, im with the scraper crowd, if not that, a credit card. teamed with a remote starter shouldnt take more than a couple of mins to clear the windshield, and car will be toasty

 

I buy a can of de-icer. It doesnt cost too much. It beats being out in the cold scraping.

Even thick ice, just walk out and spray the whole windshield, turn on the wipers and you're done.

 

Whatever you do, DON"T USE HOT WATER. hot water on a frozen windshield is one of the fasted ways to a cracked or even shattered windshield

but I live in Texas so I don't really have to worry about ice very often