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!)

Not read all the thread but I spray my car with de-icer without even turning engine on. Then turn engine on put windscreen wipers on for a few goes, wipe inside to get rid of condensation and I’m off?! Takes about 3 minutes and very little noise. Not sure why engine has to run for a while!

I would rather lie in a nice warm bed listening to a car engine than be out there scrapping my car (with the engine running) at 4:30 in the morning. You need to get over it.
As for children breathing in fumes unless you never walk along any roads they will always breath in fumes. Like we did, like our parents and grandparents did and it wasn't always clean air there was awful smog in London when my grandmother was young. Buy your children a mask or be willing for them to hit by a car driver who can't see.

I drive, wipe constantly, and turn my AC plus heat on full blast. About five minutes into my trip I have a clear windshield on the inside. Outside is often a different matter. I have a spray to coat my windshield on the outside if it's going to freeze overnight but if it rains and then freezes over, I am sunk.

That hot water in a bag would not only result in a quick refreeze but the bag would be stuck to my windshield with the new ice.

Me again, banging on about hot water bottles 😂 but I am so happy to read up thread of people who have tried this and it's helped 😁 for the person who it didn't work for who was wondering why not (sorry I don't know how to tag or quote you) make sure the water in the hot water bottle is boiling fresh out of the kettle, not just hot water from the tap. Put the bottle on your dashboard inside your car for at least 15 or 20 minutes before you want to drive. If that doesn't work then maybe it's just super cold where you are, I live in the south west but I know its colder the further north you go! And obviously if you have a new and very efficient car with heated windscreens that demist and melt ice in a few minutes then of course that's less faff then the hot water bottle trick, but the op was about people sitting in their cars for 15 minutes with the engines on waiting for them to defrost which is just madness when you can pop a hot water bottle in your car, go back inside your house and enjoy a nice warm cuppa. Happy hot water bottling everyone, I'll shut up now!

I scrape and use deicer but the windscreen inside just doesn't clear until the car warms up. I have a sponge and do wipe but it usually just smears and mists over right away. Im sorry but safety comes first and I’m not driving off with poor visibility so a neighbour can get more sleep. Its not an issue on my estate though as we can’t hear very much outside if the windows are shut.

I have to run mine as my 5 year old has juvenile arthritis and her joints are agonizing

Aww.. poor little soul! I have that bloody Arthur and its a bit of a sod but the ibfuprofen keeps it reasonably at bay but i'm some 60 odd years on from her!

Will she grow out of it can you say Hippiechick? .

I used to do this as I have raynauds and my hands would be too painful in the cold to scrape it

Btw is anyone else now seeing adverts for ice scrapers everywhere? If this one actually works as well as the video depicts, it’s amazing!
www.onlineaholic.com/products/hirundo-magical-ice-scraper?variant=31205997510753

The solution we found is to fill hot water bottles (or empty milk bottles) with hot water.

15/20 minutes before we leave we lay them on the dash board.

When we come to the car the windscreen is defrosted and the children have something to put on their knees to warm them up until the beating kicks in.

Dear me. HEATING

We don’t warm them up with beatings 😂

Ah I see I should have read the full thread 😂😂

It’s ILLEGAL to leave engine running in parked car unless in queuing traffic.

It produces enough toxic emissions to fill 150 balloons per minute.

Get up five minutes earlier and learn to use the ice-scraper. If that’s too complicated for you, buy de-icer spray.

You have to scrape the ice off plus run the engine to clear the inside otherwise it's too misty OP.
At least you are tucked up nice and warm in bed. Some of us have to get up 5.30am every day to go to work (and don't get back until 9pm).
Enjoy lying there in your bed listening to everyone going to work and think how much they would prefer to be still in bed!

@Rosebel why should people buy masks to protect themselves from pollution when it’s caused illegally?

It's not necessarily illegal:

YouMUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running - i dont leave it unattended, I am beside it scraping the windows or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road - I would say it is necessary to have clear windows before driving off

Leaving an engine idling is an offence
The Act enforces rule 123 of the Highway Code, which states: "You must not leave a vehicle's engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road."

It’s an offence

But to me it is necessary

Apart from which it’s anti social www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-48132490

Yes there is it's so simple.

Not read the full thread but the other day it took me 45 minutes to deice my car. Had to have the engine running and used the bit scrapers we have. My arms still ache.

We had freezing rain and my car was covered in inch thick ice, so was extreme but if anyone told me to turn the engine off, I'd have given them a scraper to do it too. But everyone else had the same problem so no one was going to say anything.

@Mycatwontstopstaring

I don't know how to say this in smaller words but here goes... Ice on outside no problem. Mist and ice on inside problem. Fan needs to run to remove mist.

I can squeegee and still have water running down the windscreen. It takes a while to dry it off.

Clearing your windscreen before driving is most certainly necessary. I can't actually believe people admit to being the idiot who starts driving without being able to see properly!

The armchair lawyers on this thread, my god...

Anyone heard of a car cover?

Car covers?

Nope, no not one single mention of them in over 500 posts. Not one. Odd.