You might be getting cold feet - and even colder wheels - about travelling around this weekend as we're faced with the age-old nightmare, defrosting our cars in the morning
And as Kristin Hawthorne has been learning, slipping and sliding isn't the biggest pitfall to make when it comes to ice and your vehicle.
And as Kristin Hawthorne has been learning, slipping and sliding isn't the biggest pitfall to make when it comes to ice and your vehicle.
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TVTranscript
00:00Onions, toothpaste, potato juice, what do all these things have in common?
00:05Well, these are all weird and interesting ways you can apparently de-ice your car.
00:11More well-known methods include pouring boiling water on the screen or using a card to scrape off the ice.
00:17But these are also myths that can in fact damage your windows.
00:21So to find out the best and most efficient way to de-ice your car, I spoke to the AA.
00:27We are all about basically back to the basics, not trying all these myths that are out on social media, things like that.
00:34We've seen people using hot water in bags, boiling water over the windscreens, everything like that.
00:40No, just your standard ice scraper, start your vehicle, get your heater fan on, get it de-misted that way is the safest and best way to do it.
00:50The biggest worry, if you're using all these myths to try and clear your windscreen, you're putting all sorts of potatoes all over it, toothpaste, stuff like that.
01:00You are going to smear it, you are going to put your greases over it, juices over it.
01:04So when you do come to use your windscreen wiper, it's just going to smear whatever you're trying to clear.
01:09It's just going to be like an oily substance.
01:11Another thing that a lot of us like to do is leave our engine running with the hot air on while we go to the front and scrape the windows.
01:18But if you're on a public road and you leave your engine running, this is actually illegal.
01:23So what are we meant to do?
01:24Go out to your car, get it started.
01:27Firstly, make sure you've got plenty of petrol and diesel or if you've got an electric car, make sure you've got plenty of range for your journey.
01:32Get the engine started or turn your EV car on, get the heaters on, start the de-misting process.
01:39And then what you can do or what we're asking drivers to do is not shut the door because we don't want keys getting locked in the vehicle.
01:46And to not walk away from the vehicle either because leaving a vehicle running, it can be illegal to do that.
01:51So do these, go do your other checks while you're waiting for your car to de-mist.
01:56They were saying stick to the basics, a little ice scraper, wear gloves if you need to because obviously we understand it is cold while you're doing it.
02:04But yeah, definitely don't be trying these myths out.
02:07What we're advising drivers to do is obviously, you know, no one predicts a breakdown, no one expects a breakdown,
02:13but just be best prepared for if the worst was to happen.
02:16So make sure your vehicle's packed correctly.
02:18So to conclude, the safest and most efficient way to defrost your car is by keeping it simple.
02:24Using a de-icer spray, putting the air on with the engine running, gently scraping off any snow or excess ice
02:31and doing some car checks while waiting on the windows to clear.
02:34So good luck out there.
02:36Kristen Hawthorne for CAM TV in Gillingham.