Confessions of a lazy scraper.
It’s true. I’m a Lazy Scraper. I don’t completely clear off my car every time it snows. I only scrape the windshield and occasionally the side windows. I use the defroster to take care of the back window. I’ve used windshield washer fluid to de-ice my windshield rather than scraping. I let the dusting of snow get blown off my car as I drive, tailgaters be damned.
I resent having to take time from my day to do this tedious winter task, so I only do it half-assed. I know I should be more diligent, but if I have to choose between freezing my hands off scraping and blowing some snow onto following cars, I’ll choose the latter!
Related posts:
So YOU
I’m really good about managing my blind spot. Ever since a blogger here gave a tip on how to adjust my mirrors, I’m good. I leave lots of room to change lanes. I’m more of a menace with the snow coming off my car in a big plume than cutting others off.
I’ve heard that in sub-zero temps, if you pour boiling water on your windshield, you could crack it because of the extreme cold/hot/cold temperature changes.
Some people put a towel or sheet on their windshield before it snows so they can just pull it (and the snow) off all at once without scraping. I wonder if it would get stuck to your windshield if it were a wet snowfall or freezing rain?
I’m kind of a lazy scraper myself. I can’t reach the top of my car very well (I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee), and I ain’t tryinna to scale the damn thing to get it all off. I swipe at it the best I can and that’s all I can do.
I do feel guilty about it while I’m driving, though. Does that count for anything?
Better than the towel/sheet idea on the windshield is to use one of those cardboard sunshields that’s made for the inside of the car. Just put it on the outside and anchor it with the windshield wipers. Voila, and it’s even the right size.
Have fun replacing your wiper motor/transmission/linkages if you keep using your wipers as an ice scraper.
They do also sell actual car covers, for ~$50. Five minutes to cover the car when I get home at night saves me the morning scraping.
That sounds like $50 well spent.
I’m what you might call a Minnesota native, at least I lived the best years of my life there and my parents are still there in the burbs. Now I’m in Holland where it never snows, just rains. And I never thought that I would think about trading riding a bike in the rain for scraping my windows…. Ah how I miss my car, and sometimes even the shitty morning after a large snowstorm, scraping those windows, and the bitter frost… It’s amazing what you miss about home when you are so far away.