Defrosting the car

[DustyLee123]

It really winds me up when people leave the engine running for ages, and windscreen wipers going full pelt, instead of just defrosting the car with water/scraper and going.

So what exactly are people meant to do? Yes it's technically an offence but so is driving without being able to see. I get it's annoying but there's no magic way to demist the car.

Noisy for neighbours, true
but for diesel engines driving off straight from cold isn’t good for them
YABU

I have a much bigger issue with the 20+ cars that idle for half an hour every day waiting for kids to come out of school.

Our car is old and the air con no longer works but we don't leave the car idling. Scrape and spray the outside, engine on and whilst it warms up a bit we wipe the windscreen with those highly absorbent cloths to soak up all the moisture. The first mile or two drive with the windows open a crack to help stop them misting up again. If your car is really bad for misting up suggest try to reduce how damp it is inside, with the crystal pillows as someone said.
If it's going to be really frosty we put an old blanket or just newspaper on the windscreen night before.

I love my Tesla for this. Press a button on the app and it heats and defrost the car whilst it's locked and on drive with a notification when its ready. The heated steering wheel is bliss this time of year.

@Sk8erboi I'm with you 100%

I’d never do it. I remember the car that was left unattended with engine running with baby asleep inside it and someone stole it. Baby was asleep in the car so they’d left engine running. Thankfully all fine in the end.

Reminds me I need to buy one of those windscreen covers as I regularly finish at 2am at work and it takes ages to defrost.

We used to have a ford focus which had a heated windscreen. It was great and I miss that!

If the car i on the public highway it's technically illegal to leave it running unnecessarily .

It's -6C outside so I'm turning the engine on even if it enough OP.

No need to apologise if you live in my road.

Man next door but one drives a noisy diesel 4x4 and leaves for work before 6am, and the man in the corner house leaves around 6.20, and makes loads of racket.

I doubt if anyone at my end of the road gets to sleep past 6 unless they're deaf.

It’s not unnecessary if it’s done so you can drive safely though.

Ah yes there are billions of gallons of oil being burned every day by planes, factories etc but how dare an average person warm their car up for a few mins in the morning before work?

Exactly. I'm sure there are a few people who do it for longer than needed, but the majority of people running their engines are only doing it for as long as it takes for them to be able to drive safely.

It's unnecessary- it stinks - a hot water bottle inside the car cab help though -

Cars stink in general 🤷‍♀️

I could use a hot water bottle inside my car but it would take much longer and I’d still need to run the engine to activate the heated windscreens anyway.

So she needs to get a new job that doesn't require her to leave her house at school run Time? Seems legit

This thread just goes to show that people will complain about absolutely anything.

Demisting is necessary you need to be able to see

As well as what others have said, in cold weather it's actually healthier for the car to idle for a bit before setting off. Gives the engine time to warm up. But also, demisting can't be done with a de-icer. The engine needs to be on. It's not that noisy OP, most people do it at the same time they'd be driving to work anyway! It's not their fault if you're in bed 😅

Also I'd rather hear an engine than horrible scraping sounds of ice being scraped off a windscreen, personally.

Thanks for reminding me to keep my key beside my bed so I can remote start my car tomorrow morning....mmm....get it nice and toasty.

It gets down to -14 at night where I live. You bet I'm starting that car before.i go out to it. Especially with my newborn baby riding in it.

Sort of YABU. Mine has ice inside the car so I have to sit there with the blower on for 5 miserable minutes wiping the ice and water drips, to let that defrost and dry. I have two of those moisture traps but the inside is frozen.

Only on a road though. Idle a car on your own property to your heart’s content.

I have a dehumidifier in the car which means there is a bit less inside the car to clear but I still need the engine on to fully clear it. Also allows for the hotline to work to clear the back windscreen and wing mirrors quickly.