Simple hack to defrost your car windscreen using an onion

24 November 2022, 12:02 | Updated: 24 November 2022, 12:12

You can defrost your car with onions. Picture: Alamy

Here's how to defrost your car windows with onions and potatoes...

With Christmas right around the corner, the temperature is definitely dropping.

This means many of us will soon be standing outside in the freezing cold scraping the ice off our car windows.

But now experts have uncovered an unlikely solution to the problem that affects drivers everywhere.

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Cold weather specialists from Iceland, Lotus Car Rental, say you can keep your windscreens frost-free using a simple onion from your kitchen.

Here's how to defrost your car with onions. Picture: Alamy

According to the experts, onions - which cost as little as 12p from supermarkets - can break down frost as soon as it forms on the window.

All you have to do is cut an onion in half and rub it generously all over the windows and windscreen the night before you need to drive.

Hopefully, this will stop frost from forming in the first place and means you won’t have to spend ages scraping it before heading out.

If you don't have an onion to hand, a potato should work in the same way, while a vinegar solution mixed with water can also help.

The experts add that vinegar is often used as a de-icer because its freezing point is lower than water’s so this means the water doesn’t have the chance to settle and freeze on top of the vinegar,

Onions can be used to defrost your car. Picture: Alamy

This comes after drivers were warned they could face fines of up to £40 for leaving their engine running to defrost their car's windscreen.

According to CarMoney engine idling is illegal under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, with The Highway Code confirming drivers should never leave their engines on for no reason.

The rule states: "You must not leave a vehicle's engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road.

If caught doing this, motorists may be hit with a £20 fixed penalty notice, with the penalty rising to £40 if the charge is not paid within a specific time frame.

Local councils may even add an additional fine on top of this, for example in London emission measures will bump this fine to £80.