IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Defrost your windshield in seconds with this weatherman's genius trick

So there's a big winter storm coming, and you're worried about your car? Chill! You can easily prepare for icy windshields, frozen locks, foggy windows and more with items you already have on hand, like hand sanitizer, shaving cream - and a potato!
/ Source: TODAY

If you have to leave your car outside overnight, you know what a pain it is to defrost the windshield on those cold mornings. An ice scraper works, but it can take a lot of energy, time and frozen fingers. And using your car’s defrost feature is effective, but you’re bound to wait a while for it to work — and you'll waste gas in the process.

frost on windshield
Does your windshield look like this?Shutterstock

But one Knoxville, Tennessee, weatherman has a solution for quickly defrosting your car, and it just might change your life — or at the very least your mornings. Ken Weathers (yes, that's the weatherman's real name) of WATE 6 shared a recipe for a simple mixture that will get rid of the frost on your windshield in seconds.

The secret ingredients? Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol and water. Weathers explains the solution in a video that was originally posted a year ago but has picked up steam again in the past few weeks as we brace for another winter. (The video's been viewed more than 16 million times!)

Here’s what you do: Mix ⅓ part water and ⅔ part isopropyl or rubbing alcohol together and pour into a spray bottle. Spray the solution onto your windshield, and voila! You’ll see the ice disappear instantly.

“The reason why this works is rubbing alcohol has a freezing point of 138 degrees below freezing so you can always keep this mixture in your car and it will never freeze,” Weathers explained in the video.

Some commenters expressed concern that the alcohol could ruin the paint on the car, but Weathers said that it would only be small amounts that would actually come in contact with the paint. He also added that if you wash and/or wax your car when recommended (or when it is dirty) by your manufacturer, you shouldn't have any issues with most things that come in contact with the paint's surface.

This story was originally published Nov. 15, 2018.