Engineer Reveals Best Way to Clear Your Windshield of Frost/Ice

In Minnesota, and all of the Midwest for that matter, we know the pain of scraping our cars free of frost and ice on a cold winter morning. And while we haven't had to deal with that much at all this winter, we may need to this evening and tomorrow morning.

SNOW INCOMING: Winter Returns with Measurable Snow in Forecast

Well good news, I discovered a super easy way to clear your windshield of frost and ice just in time for the winter weather we have heading our way. And this life hack is based on science.

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Engineer Finds Best Way to Clear Windshield in Minnesota

There are many different ways to clear your windshield in the winter. You could scrape it. You could turn on your car, put the defrost to full blast and wait, or some people who think ahead put a cover on their windshield to prevent the frost/ice from collecting.

Those are all valid ways to clear your windshield, but mechanical engineer Suresh Dhaniyala has a better way.

Professor Dhaniyala is a professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at Clarkson University in New York. His work "studies how water vapor interacts with airborne particles under different atmospheric conditions" according to his article in The Conversation.

In other words, this guy knows what he's talking about.

In his article, he mentions the three best ways to clear your windshield of frost and ice. One is scraping and another is letting your car do the work by turning up the defrost.

But there's an easier hack he mentions that I'm going to have to try.

The Best Way to Clear Your Windshield of Frost and Ice

The best hack based on science for clearing your windshield is using a mixture of warm rubbing alcohol and water.

Well, can't I just use hot water?

No. Do not do that. Professor Dhaniyala says that if you use water that's too warm it'll crack your windshield. So to avoid this possibility altogether just mix some rubbing alcohol and water.

The rubbing alcohol has a lower freezing point than water so it won't freeze. And because it's warm it'll melt the layer of frost/ice that is on your windshield. Then all you have to do is run your windshield wipers to clear off the liquid and you're good to go!

I'd say it'd probably be easiest to just have some of this stuff in a spray bottle inside your house to keep it warm. Then when you need it, it should be warm enough plus the spray bottle makes it easy to apply to your windshield.