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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think pouring water on your icy car is just selfish?

459 replies

7hup · 23/01/2019 09:19

Just fell on my face outside a neighbour who must have done this early morning.

So a stream of ice running across the pavement to the road which I didn't see

I fell hard. Am OK but if I were elderly or more fragile I could have bad injuries.

At least salt the pavement after!

OP posts:
OhDearGodLookAtThisMess · 24/01/2019 22:28

Frankly, it's nobody else's business how I de-ice my car, as I do it on my own driveway and at most there might be a couple of drips on the ground afterwards. As I have more than a couple of brain cells, I know to take care when walking anyway after a frost, so am fairly confident that I can avoid slipping over on any spills.

celticprincess · 24/01/2019 22:31

I usually run the engine whilst I spray the windows. The inside heaters take a while to warm up and the inside window is usually also frozen but wiping that makes it all smeary so I prefer the blowers to work their magic. I’ve never use warm water. Was also told never to do it because of cracking but also worried that the water would just refreeze and make it worse. I’v never had an issue with de iced. I switched from a scraper to de icer as the ice was often too solid to penetrate with a scraper

OhDearGodLookAtThisMess · 24/01/2019 22:46

Obviously, the AA and RAC are going to advise against using warm water to de-ice a car, because they have to guard against the sort of morons who can't differentiate between tepid and boiling.

Waspnest · 24/01/2019 22:56

Does nobody else see the irony about people saying de-icer is not good for the environment when they are talking about driving a frigging car?!

Rockbird · 24/01/2019 23:29

This thread is like watching Groundhog Day 405 times Grin

purplebunny2012 · 24/01/2019 23:38

I don't even use water because it's not a good idea. I use de-icer and scraper

Vivianebrezilletbrooks · 25/01/2019 01:04

If you have a large driveway and the water won't go onto the pavement then it's fine otherwise no, it is selfish. I've known of someone trying to scrape ice off their car with a garden fork. I mean the prongs. No it wasn't me but I was told said person was thick.I believe it now.Grin

ToftyAC · 25/01/2019 05:52

I do this. But I have a large drive and I’ve never made myself fall over. Can understand the ire if it’s on the road though.

Littlenic73 · 25/01/2019 06:34

My husband poured water on my car to deice it at about 4.30 one morning. I was not amused as when I left the house at 7.30 it had frozen solid and I had trouble even getting the door open, when all around me the neighbours were happily scraping their cars with ease. I prefer just to use the scraper and turn the heaters on full while I scrape. I think it is lazy using hot water and foolhardy although I didn't think most people used enough to leave puddles of ice

SoupDragon · 25/01/2019 07:16

you know that if you are walking anywhere that it could be slippy so just walk carefully with winter footwear like sensible people do.

No amount of "walking carefully" will save you on the invisible thin sheet of ice this can cause. It's not just "slippy".

Pawsandnoses · 25/01/2019 07:20

I haven't rtft as there's 17 pages, but for those that aren't worried about the cracked windscreen thing, I saw a post online the other day, where someone filled a freezer bag with hot tap water and rolled it over the windscreen. It melted the ice quickly, less risk of cracking and can be poured away safely. Personally I tend to use de-icer and/or scraper. I miss my old ford with a heated windscreen!!

PorkPatrol · 25/01/2019 07:21

I disagree. Me and my children have been have a long walk to and from school and I have warned them repeatedly to walk carefully, particularly past the houses, and that there could be patches of ice you can’t see. Often the patches you can see are more crunchy and snowy and not particularly slippy. No accidents so far despite lots of slippy ground underfoot.
I think you need to take SOME responsibility for yourself when you know conditions are icy. And from the detailed description the op has given to the patch of ice by her neighbours house it clearly wasn’t ‘invisible’.

Dongdingdong · 25/01/2019 07:30

Does nobody else see the irony about people saying de-icer is not good for the environment when they are talking about driving a frigging car?!

Ha ha!

DreadfulSister · 25/01/2019 07:41

My neighbour does this, last year I fell and broke my arm on the ice from their water! He was very apologetic and stopped for a about 3 weeks......after his wife fell an twisted her ankle!!!! It guess what he stares again this winter. I spotted him doing it the other morning, I asked him not to and reminded him of my broken arm and wife's twisted ankle last year. I think he wanted to die of embarrassment to be fair

OhDearGodLookAtThisMess · 25/01/2019 08:25

Fgs, has someone really objected to this because they "think it's lazy?!"
So you hand wash all clothes down by the river because "it's lazy" to use the machine?"
And walk everywhere because "it's lazy" to drive? (Ironic on this thread).
There might be many arguments in favour of faffing around with a scraper for 10 minutes in the morning but fear of being thought lazy for a faster, more efficient method would not be one of them.

ManOfKent · 25/01/2019 08:54

Not selfish, but thoughtless yes.

But is someone who knows the dangers, having already slipped on the ice, more thoughtless and selfish by posting on MN BEFORE they've put salt on the ice?

If an elderly person slipped and broke a hip in the six minutes between your first two posts on this thread how much responsibility do you share for that persons injury?

Just askin'.

EmeraldShamrock · 25/01/2019 09:06

I think you can sue a resident if you had proof. In a business you can.
In work a few years ago, a younger lad used water to defrost the screen, left.
An older man arrived, parked slipped and broke his arm and damaged his legs, he got 30,000 euro compensation from the company it was on cctv.

Ellyess · 25/01/2019 12:06

Update on my de-icing practises:

I have invested in some silver things - versatile can be used against sun in summer - to put on back and front windows of my vehicle to stop them getting iced-up. ( It's a little camper van used to transport my disability buggy.)

I will no longer harm the cats with evil de-ice spray!

Thank you for informing me about the nasty spray.

Ellyess · 25/01/2019 12:17

Forgot to say- you can get things to wear over your shoes to prevent you slipping. Might be useful for people walking a lot to school like PorkPatrol for example. I have some. In Norway they do not grit or de-ice the road or pavements and of course it is dark all day in the North especially. But people all wear hi-viz and these crampon shoe ice-grippers. When you go in a shop there is a big mat by the door and people take them off there. The cars etc have winter-wheels on them with spikes in the tyres.

Oh wow. I love that:
Rockbird
This thread is like watching Groundhog Day 405 times Grin
Exactly!
oh.. here it comes again...
This thread is like watching Groundhog Day 405 times Grin

JellySlice · 25/01/2019 12:37

I have something similar, but with coiled wires rather than studs.

They're not all that useful against this problem, though, because they are only effective on softer surfaces such as snow, mud or solid ice. On concrete, tarmac or paving the metal grippers do not grip - they make you skid! I wear mine only when the majority of my walk is likely to be icy or snow-packed.

On icy days I generally wear my walking shoes with Vibram soles and deep cleats.

stayathomer · 25/01/2019 13:04

I've done t his the odd time when runn i ng late and in a hurry as I know you have to crawl along the road due to ice. Sorry you fell, it's an awful shock on ice but if someone left a note like that for me I'd secretly think they were moany and still do it when I had to. Oh and great thread to find out how many moany, judgy, holier than thou people are on MN!

53rdWay · 25/01/2019 13:24

I'd secretly think they were moany

What, for telling you that you’d caused her to fall over and hurt herself? That’s ‘moany’ to you and you’d still carry on doing it? Christ.

stayathomer · 25/01/2019 14:24

If she said don't do that as opposed to just to let you know, then yes, and from the tone that wouldn't have been the case

Ellyess · 25/01/2019 14:25

stayathomer

if someone left a note like that for me I'd secretly think they were moany and still do it when I had to

Do you know what you are? Here are some words to help:

Selfish, thoughtless, only concerned about yourself, perhaps a narcissist? unable to see other's point of view, very inconsiderate, unaware of the needs of others, thinks everyone is as fit and young as you are - so don't care about the disabled, infirm, elderly.. likes to tell everyone you don't care about others. thinks nasty things about people without bothering to see that you have injured them and are planning to do so again. A mean person only living for herself.

There are lots more helpful insights but you'd need some therapy to be able to take them on board.

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