From Old Wives’ Tales to TikTok tips, people have come up with just about a gazillion unique ways to winterize your home or vehicle. But can you trust every tip to work? Probably not. Our winter adventurers have tried some pretty crazy methods, though, and surprisingly, many of them were successful in beating back the chill. Read on to find out how they did it.
Eden Cheng, Founder of WeInvoice.
7 Insane Winter-Proof Tips that Work
1. Vinegar on Car Windows If you are looking to keep your car windows from frosting over, one of the craziest tips I have ever been told about is to ice-proof my windows using a solution mix of water and vinegar. The reason that this works is that vinegar contains acetic acid, which essentially keeps water from freezing. You can also apply this solution when your windows are already frozen through, which should melt the ice.
2. Shaving Cream on Your Windshield This is a useful tip because it helps protect your windshield from fogging. The reason why it works is because shaving cream contains several similar ingredients that can be found in commercial defoggers.
3. Car Wax on Your Headlights This is another weird, but very handy tip that can help reduce poor visibility at night. This is because car wax is made up of special water repellents that do well to keep any messy smudges or dirt from piling up on your lights, and the extra protection should also last for weeks.
4. Cooking Spray-On Car Doors Applying cooling spray on rubber seals around your doors can help prevent the likelihood of waking up to frozen car doors because the oil will essentially prevent water from melting into the door sealants and freezing overnight.
5. Rubbing Alcohol On-Screen Wipers If you are struggling with squeaking windshield wipers, then one of the best ways to prevent that is to apply rubbing alcohol on them. This solution will do well to remove any buildup of grease and grime, which are often what cause wipers to function improperly.
6. Hand Sanitizer on Frozen Door Locks You can apply a hand sanitizer on your door locks to help unfreeze them because they contain alcohol, which a very common ingredient used in many commercial de-icers.
7. Your Floor Mat to Unstick Your Tires If you have ever woken up to find that your car simply won’t move from its spot because the tires are completely frozen to the ground, then this is a convenient method. Just shut off the car, place the rubber side of your floor mats under the frozen tire. You can then restart the car and pin your foot to the pedal, which should easily provide you with the extra grip you need to get moving.
Replace Your Engine Coolant with Water? NO!
Somebody once said replacing your engine coolant with water for the winter will work because the coolant will make your car too cold for the winter. This is a ridiculous tip because coolant is part antifreeze, so it will continue to do its job at cold temperatures while water will freeze.
Melanie Musson is a vehicle expert with CarInsuranceComparison.com. Abby Hao, Head of Marketing at Ourpcb PTY LTD.
And Now, for Something a Little More Sane ...
• Use a programmable thermostat with energy-saving setbacks • Test the rubber gaskets of your refrigerator to avoid warm air from entering • Check the humidity level according to the outside temperature • Pay close attention to the water pipelines to protect from cold temperatures and harsh winds • Recheck your windows and fill the gaps with weather-stripping • Make your gutters clean • Cut off any tree branches present on the top of your home to avoid snow buildup
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