To think people can defrost their cars without running their engine all morning?

[shinysnowman]

I start work in a couple of hours. I have been awake since 5am, due to a steady flow of neighbours who have sat in their car with their engine running, one actually revving their engine constantly, waiting for their car to defrost. The first at 5am, each for a good 15 minutes each. It's been the same every day this week.

Don't people scrape their cars anymore? Is it wrong for me to be annoyed and think that they are being inconsiderate?

(Apologies to those with DC who are dragged up with them at this time!)

My old banger mists up so much it freezes on the inside I have no choice but to run my engine plus I hate the use of toxic antifreeze

All the people that say scraping is an alternative to leaving the engine running.....I'm sure no one just runs the engine without even trying to remove or scrape ice but ashes been said about 6 times per page, the inside of most cars clears better with engine running and heating on. I tried scraping the inside yday, within a minute it misted up again so I had to wait a few min with the heater on for it to clear(for the benefit of the pendants here, I was in the car, it was on my drive but I was more like 5pm as I dont need to use it for work) . wiping the inside windscreen makes it really smeary and difficult to see out of.

You don't drive yourself do you?

Depending on the car sometimes they require to be left on to demist. Most people (unless they have money to burn) will scrape ice from a car rather than wait for it to melt. The mist on windows is the issue, and a dangerous one at that, esp in low winter sun. Some cars will get rid quicker than others and no - using a cloth or kitchen roll doesn't always cut it. I recently had a Corsa that took a good 10-15 mins and couldn't hear it from inside my house less than 3m away. Do you have your window open?!

The revving - some folk do that on older cars if they're having radiator/airlock or other engine issues. Excessive revving at 5am would get a bit annoying but I'd imagine they don't.

Also, I have a toddler who gets in the car for drop off before I work and I sure as hell ain't putting her in a freezing car so will continue to run until warm. You don't know why people are doing what they are but YABU to expect them to use freezing cold, misty cars so you can sleep I'm afraid!

Ha! No one ever suffers as much as the complainer ....

I don't own a car, don't need one, so can feel guilt free for once!

For those who haven't read the whole thread, put a hot water bottle on the dashboard of your car about 20 minutes before your due to use it and when you get in there will be no mist on the inside and the ice will be melted on the outside. So much easier than wasting your time sitting in a car with all the heaters on for however long and scraping ice off.

Move bedrooms....we sleep at the back kf the house. So peaceful

When I was a child, our next door neighbour nearly killed my brothers doing this - his car exhaust was right up against the airbrick in our bungalow and the fumes went straight into my brothers' bedroom. Luckily my mum went in to wake them up in time, but they were nearly unconscious.

I scrape the outside but the inside mist just comes back a few minutes after wiping unless you have hot air coming out of the blowers. Better to wake one or two sleeping neighbours than potentially kill another neighbour just down the road by driving unable to see or constantly trying to wipe the windscreen. It's just a fact of winter. YANBU to find it annoying but they anbu to be making sure they can see when they drive.

It’s just one of those things in winter. Better than those idiots who clear a tiny hole to see through and drive with the rest of the windscreen iced up.

I run my engine to demist the inside of my car and the outside as I have heated windows. I do put de-icer on. I don't scrape my windows unless I have to but it's not at 5am it's at 6.45 and only for about 5 mins

On Monday I was using de-icer and scraping, the car was still frozen outside and was frozen inside too. I needed to run the engine.

Scrape the windscreen? crikey!

Same as @NearlyOutedMyself, older car and although I scrape outside, the inside of the windscreen has thick condensation which I wipe down with a thick cloth but it is not enough even with window heating. We have to run the engine for several minutes to clear or it would be too dangerous to drive.

Reving the engine is stupid - it's not going to clear the car frost any faster!

Or minty you could live nearer your place of work? (Rather than everyone else moving to a mountain)
I realise this isnt aimed at me, but just wanted to point out, quite a lot of people start the working day in a different site. Each and every day. Do you expect them to move house every night?
So you know, the plumber, the electrician, the gardener, the gas meter reader etc. Not everyone works from a static site.

I have no opinion on the demisting of cars, cos currently I walk to work. If and when I have to drive again, I will have a comment I'm sure.

Get some ear plugs!

I'll try that @pipnchops

@purplebunny12
No I'm not breaking the law! It's only illegal if it's on the public highway. My car is on my drive.

I don’t use de-icer, but this morning the ice on my car would not budge. It took 12 plus minutes of scraping with my car running to clear it.
Personally I have sympathy with anyone having to get up to actually leave their house at 5am.
Revving the engine is a no no, it makes little difference surely.

@shinysnowman reviving engine is likely to be a battery thing to charge it as if you only take short journeys you can run it down. To be honest I don’t really see how you can hear that much of cars, I have two main roads to the back and side of my house and am in a busy city but cant hear cars running that much through my windows.

Re THE LAW that people keep darkly commenting on.

It's a fixed penalty fine of £20 which is levied only if the keeper refuses to switch off their engine when asked to do so by an authorised person.

Somehow I can't see a massive police crackdown happening to people just doing their best making their cars safe to drive to work...

To be honest I don’t really see how you can hear that much of cars

This is not just any old hearing though.

It's MN hearing, where a sparrow yawning 3 miles away will disturb someone to the extent they won't be able to get back sleep for another 12 days.

(But apparently it's ok just as long as all the deliberately callous offenders act suitably contrite about it)

*ReTHE LAWthat people keep darkly commenting on.

It's a fixed penalty fine of £20 which is levied only if the keeper refuses to switch off their engine when asked to do so by an authorised person.*

Police : I'm sorry I could not attend your armed burglary, I was busy fining Buzzshitbag as she left the engine running unattended when she travelled 4 metres inside her house to make a hot water bag and get her rubber gloves on.

OP must be one of those people who insist on sleeping with the window open all year round. I find a shut double glazed window cuts out most car noises.

Only need the engine to run for a minute or two to start the ice softening so it can be scraped. Quickest way of doing the inside is to open the front windows. I have an older car (2005). It tends to get slightly damp so that the windscreen fogging is a major problem, opening the windows is the best answer I’ve found. And before anyone says that makes the car too cold, I’m in Bavaria and we regularly have -10 to -20 in midwinter. Having the windows open for a minute really doesn’t make the car any colder than it’s already going to be from having stood out all night

I have to run mine as my 5 year old has juvenile arthritis and her joints are agonizing. I wrap her in a blanket though and only run the car for no more than 5 minutes. I did however explain this to my neighbour and it's at 7.30am no earlier.