Drivers can prevent frost on windscreens using four household items – or risk £100 fine
JANUARY can typically be a very cold month, and mother nature can often intervene with your morning commute - particularly by frosting up your car.
Now that the new year has arrived many workers will be trying to rush off in the early hours, only to be met with frozen over door handles and fogged up windscreens.
There's even fears that snow could be on the way, which brings its own bought of treacherous conditions for drivers.
The country is likely to get blizzards, gale force winds and widespread ice, with temperatures plummeting to as low as -3C.
But attempting to speed off your driveway in these conditions before properly clearing your crucial viewing points like windows or mirrors, could be a bad idea.
You may even be faced with a fine of as much as £100, according to the AA.
There's the chance you'll face three penalty points on your licence for driving with an obscured view of the road too, so it's an important step to take each morning.
But for those on a budget, the good news is that you don't necessarily have to invest in the latest tech to keep your car safe and roadworthy.
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A number of household items can do just as good a job.
Plus sometimes it can be as simple a step as planning your parking right.
If you park in the right direction the night before, with your car front window pointing east, it'll be in the direct line of the sun rising – that way nature will do the de-icing work for you in slowly melting frost built up.
But household items can also be used as a quick DIY fix to stop your car frosting over before you have to rush off to work in the morning, or an emergency fix if you're already running late.
Check them out below.
Towels
Your windscreen is where you'll spot frost building up the most, but it's also the most important part to clear in the morning.
You can use any towel you have lying around at home to stop this happening in the first place though.
Place one over the windscreen, keeping it secure under the windscreen wipers so it doesn't blow away during the night.
You could also trap the top two corners in the car doors to keep it secure.
The towel will take the brunt of the ice, meaning your windscreen will be clear underneath when it is removed.
Summer may be over, but it doesn't mean that beach towels are made redundant.
You'll need something like this as the towel should be big enough to cover the windscreen and should make sure all areas of the glass are covered.
If you leave even a slight gap you could still find the car frosts or fogs up come the next morning.
Plastic bags
The next thing you'll want to watch out for is your wing mirrors frosting over.
But another simple solution is to cover them with plastic bags.
Place any bag that you might have lurking under your kitchen sink over the mirror and tie it with an elastic band to protect the mirror from the outside elements.
That way in the morning, the mirrors should be free of ice as it'll build up on the bag instead, which you can easily remove again before setting off.
Make sure you remember to take that last step before you rush off though, otherwise you'll have just as poor visibility with the forgotten bags still clinging onto your mirrors obstructing the view.
Vinegar
If you forget to take those measures the night before, you might be looking for a quick fix the next morning to clear the ice off your car.
You can use store-bought windscreen de-icer, but if you want to save a few pennies, make one yourself with what you have in the cupboards.
You can make one solution with three parts vinegar and one part water, according to car specialists
Just pop the mixture in a spray bottle and cover the screen before using a squeegee or soft bristled brush to remove the ice.
The solution has a lower freezing temperature than water so it won't cause ice to build up as quickly if you give it a spray the night before too.
But don't store it in your car for next time as this will lower the temperature and make it less effective.
The tyre and vehicle experts warn that you should NEVER use boiling water on cold car windows, so don't be tempted even if you are in a rush.
The glass of the window could crack as the material is very sensitive to sudden temperature changes - if it shatters as a result, you could be forking out more to replace your windscreen.
Cat litter
Even if you've managed to remove or prevent all the outside frost on your car, you still may be faced with a fogged up interior.
But it's good news for pet owners, as another household item you may have in abundance will prevent the problem from occurring.
You'll be wanting to reduce the moisture that builds up inside the car as temperatures drop, especially if you've got sneaky gaps in the cars seals and windows or it's just a particularly damp and dreary morning.
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If you have a cat, fill a sock or cloth bag with cat litter to soak up the moisture.
Several silica gel packs will work just as well if you have these left over from any packaging – that way you can reuse them instead of throwing them out.