How to Make Your Own De-Icer

Here are two very easy de-icer recipes using ingredients that you probably already have in your house. They are extremely easy to make and will help you save on store-bought items as well as time as you wait for your car's defroster to do the job for you. One recipe is used to prevent ice from forming. It doesn't work if there is a lot of snow on the car, or if temperatures are extremely low. The other is to help you get all that ice off in the morning. It doesn't melt the ice, but once you spray it on and leave it for a couple of minutes, it helps to get the ice to slide right off without the hassle of scraping in the freezing temps.

To prevent, you can spray a quick mix of vinegar and water on your car windshield, wipers, windows, etc. the evening before. Vinegar does have a very low freezing point. So if you are in an extremely cold area where temps are going below 0, this won't work. For the majority, it will work just fine.

To treat, day of, you can use a mix of 70% rubbing alcohol and water. You can use 50% alcohol too, it really just doesn't work as well though. Just spray on liberally and it will come right off with little to no fight.

This will save you a lot of money on expensive de-icer's. If you go to a home improvement store you will probably spend around $8-$10 on a bottle, while this costs mere cents and the spray bottle you need to store it in. You also save on gas since you won't have to leave your car idle while you wait for all the ice to melt with your defroster. Another huge perk? You are helping rid the world of more toxic chemicals that would have been sprayed on your car and eventually gone into the soil and water system. Here are the recipes…

Prevention:

1 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 cup water

Mix and add to a spray bottle. 

Treatment Day-of:

3 cups 70% Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol

1 1/2 cups water

Mix and add to a spray bottle.

Don't forget to label!