I saw on TV some interesting way to prevent car windows from icing up. So, the night before a big freeze, you take half a potato or half an onion, and you rub it on the windows and windshield. This will prevent frost from forming on the glass. So, here is the question: why does it work?
8 thoughts on “No more scraping off ice, potato to the rescue! Why?”
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This seems very cool. Curious to know why potatoes and onions would help prevent a car window from icing up. Also curious as to why someone would use an onion or potato in that use in the first place; was it an accident? Pure coincidence? Pure chance? Or pure science? It may have been a mixture of all of the above. I may not drive as of yet, but hopefully, in the future, I will get my turn at the wheel and would like to remember this tip. As for my dad who drives, I’ll be sure to notify my him the next time I see him.
Very interesting indeed. I love DIY’s. It is a very inexpensive way to stop your windshield from freezing up! With a closer look at the compounds that make up a potato, you would see that potatoes have glycerol in them. Glycerol is found in many of the everyday products we use. First and foremost, based on the topic; glycerol is also found in anti-freeze. So, naturally you would have to cut a potato and rub it on the night before the big freeze. If companies knew about this cheap alternative, they would fight to ban the sale of potatoes because they would be out of business. (that was a joke!) Interesting topic!
Does this method only works for car windows or other things to?
I guess that would be an interesting experiment to conduct on several other surfaces.
I think its pretty cool that potatoes have the ability to prevent iced car windows. According some studies, when you rub the sliced potato on the windows, it cleans and leave a layer that will prevent condensation from forming in the window. it gets pretty annoying especially for my dad during the cold winters when we have to deal with foggy and freezed up windows. We and sometimes i would have to take time to scrape the ice off or get rid of the fog. Using a sliced potato is definitely something i would have to consider for my dads car.
This is crazy if it actually works! i never heard of this method. If it does then many people will have a huge hassle solved. Many people hate snow because of the ice they’ll have to scrape later on when it gets hard. It can damage your car as well. Not to mention the time it consumes. I’ve had this issue before as well. I have scratched my car because i’ve had to scrape ice off it. The force i put on to scrape the ice lead to scratches on my car. I will try this next time there’s a snow day. I appreciate the method you shared with us. Will definitely try this out and give you feedback!
This is crazy if it actually works! i never heard of this method. If it does then many people will have a huge hassle solved. Many people hate snow because of the ice they’ll have to scrape later on when it gets hard. It can damage your car as well. Not to mention the time it consumes. I’ve had this issue before as well. I have scratched my car because i’ve had to scrape ice off it. The force i put on to scrape the ice lead to scratches on my car. I will try this next time there’s a snow day. I appreciate the method you shared with us. Will definitely try this out and give you feedback!
Potato has the ability to defrost your window because of the sugar that they contain, serving as an agent and barrier on your window. It could be used as both an anti-icing and de-icing method. Both onion and potato have the same properties. That is a very interesting hack to have in case anyone is trying to find a easier way to defrost windows.