Posted by Traffic Reporter on January 7th, 2010 in General

Warm water melts ice.  And hot water melts it faster.  But if the hot water hits the cold glass, you better watch out for a shattered windshield. 

Best is to prevent ice from getting on your windshield in the first place.  Next is starting your car and turning on the defrost on high with enough time to do the job before you go.  And the least preferable is to use water.  But, if you must, after scraping off as much frozen stuff as you can, then pour warm water on slowly, making sure you pour it on the ice and not the windshield glass.  And remember that it even if you pour it on the ice, it can run downward onto exposed glass and still be warm enough to cause cracking – or even shattering. 

It is the rapid change in temperature which leads to cracking.

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