OT: Snow Removal From Your Car Before Driving

[Chin Diesel]

I'm finishing up another trip home to Connecticut.

Was fortunate enough to see the snow and enjoy winter. Cue the Progressive commercial. I got to shovel the driveway three times over the weekend.

I am somewhere between interested, curious, and intrigued at the different levels of effort Nutmeggers put in to cleaning snow off of car before they hit the road.

There is a range from pristine cleaning of frint windshield down to barely a square big enough to see through. Some leave the snow on the roof, some don't bother cleaning off the passenger side. Some don't clean the rear window, they just let the wiper or rear defrost do what they can.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.

I try to park in the sun or a garage if my car has ice and/or snow on it, even if it is a longer walk, because the sun will do a lot of the work for me. I don't park in the spot right next to the building if it is in the shade, because I risk re-freezing whatever melting happened up to that point.

 

[noelle]

my car has remote start and defrost on the app which is pretty decent.

 

[Windham4th]

Car wash does wonders for removing excess snow that sticks after brushing. I have a unlimited pass because I run through it almost every time I am near by. Probably 10x/month. I have a truck and the roof is a pain to clear. I use a big shop broom to do that and the tonneau cover. Gets most snow off in 20 seconds tops but leaves enough that the car wash clears no problem.

 

[bdbdbdbd]

Always clean everything off, for good visibility and safety. There's not much to be gained by trying to teaching other people a lesson if it risks an accident or damage to another vehicle.

 

[CL82]

My car is typically garaged so often I don't have to deal with the issue, but when I do, I scrape the windows clear and clear the snow from the top of my SUV, which admittedly is a PITA. I don't want it to come off in one big sheet and cause an accident behind me.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Remove all loose snow and scrape windows, mirrors, and lights. Don't need to go nuts on ice outside of those areas, but make sure license plate is visible

 

[temery]

I use my leaf blower for everything but the heavy wet snow.

Use a spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol/water (2:1) to defrost windows.

 

[NJHusky]

It’s dropping to 49 tnt in Sarasota. Please pray for us. My wife can’t find her hat or gloves.

 

[Lafayette]

NJ this AM car was whitewashed with snow so like some others remote start with front/back winshield defroster on while I shovel out from plow and others dumping snow front and back.

By the time I am done shoveling and salting (use pet friendly) car is dripping so easier to make sure all windows, roof, hood, all signals/lights are snow and ice free. Any excess is around wheel well or underpanel which comes off easy when driving but is minimal.

 

[MJKI]

Where I live, Jessica’s law states you must remove all snow before driving. Snow still on the car becomes a projectile that can cause serious harm. I’ve seen sheets of ice fly off the back of pickups and almost total cars

 

[NJHusky]

NJ this AM car was whitewashed with snow so like some others remote start with front/back winshield defroster on while I shovel out from plow and others dumping snow front and back.

By the time I am done shoveling and salting (use pet friendly) car is dripping so easier to make sure all windows, roof, hood, all signals/lights are snow and ice free. Any excess is around wheel well or underpanel which comes off easy when driving but is minimal.

Dealt with snow until 2017. Actually miss it…for a day. Luckily we had a few inches over Christmas holiday. I’m not missing that forecast for single digit low temps

 

[superjohn]

It’s dropping to 49 tnt in Sarasota. Please pray for us. My wife can’t find her hat or gloves.

Not too bad here, high of 5 yesterday with -25 or so wind chill. Supposed be to be -9 on Friday with -35 or so wind chill. I love the winter.

 

[Lafayette]

Dealt with snow until 2017. Actually miss it…for a day. Luckily we had a few inches over Christmas holiday. I’m not missing that forecast for single digit low temps

Wife is loving the idea of retiring to St. Croix and having a CT house for the summer.

Doesn’t bode well for my seeing huskies games in person but there’s always satellite tv

 

[NJHusky]

Wife is loving the idea of retiring to St. Croix and having a CT house for the summer.

Doesn’t bode well for my seeing huskies games in person but there’s always satellite tv

And a visit for 2 weeks

 

[HooperScooper]

Wife is loving the idea of retiring to St. Croix and having a CT house for the summer.

Doesn’t bode well for my seeing huskies games in person but there’s always satellite tv

Doesn’t the Virgin Islands have regular cable where you’d get Fox, FS1, ESPN, etc.? The hotels do so I’d imagine the residents can also. Anyway in today’s world there are streaming services so not an issue getting UConn games.

 

[80shusky]

I always clean as much off as I can. But I do see a fair amount of folks with one swipe across the middle of their windshield like a sherman tank and wonder how they're capable of drawing breath without help.

 

[Kolumbo]

Where I live, Jessica’s law states you must remove all snow before driving. Snow still on the car becomes a projectile that can cause serious harm. I’ve seen sheets of ice fly off the back of pickups and almost total cars

Right, you gotta clean off all the snow. All windows and especially the roof.

 

[CL82]

Not too bad here, high of 5 yesterday with -25 or so wind chill. Supposed be to be -9 on Friday with -35 or so wind chill. I love the winter.

How much snow this year?

 

[HuskyHawk]

My car is typically garaged so often I don't have to deal with the issue, but when I do, I scrape the windows clear and clear the snow from the top of my SUV, which admittedly is a PITA. I don't want it to come off in one big sheet and cause an accident behind me.

Same. I find the snow Joe broom is the right tool for the roof. But I end up using it on my daughter's car which sits outside.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Snow-Joe-2-In-1-18-in-Foam-Head-Telescoping-Snow-Broom-Ice-Scraper-SJBLZD/203580290#overlay

 

[Zanzman]

Used to clean hood windows front and back alomd with all lights
Simce I got pulled over last year I shovel the roof off also

 

[husky429]

Same. I find the snow Joe broom is the right tool for the roof. But I end up using it on my daughter's car which sits outside.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Snow-Joe-2-In-1-18-in-Foam-Head-Telescoping-Snow-Broom-Ice-Scraper-SJBLZD/203580290#overlay

My mother swears by this. I've never understood why not just use a push broom. Works fine for me.

 

[Ha Who]

Depends on how tough it is to clean. I will always wipe down the windows and wind shields and head out, although I will let the defroster do the work on the side and rear window if they are icy. Modern defrosters are pretty effective, so why risk getting covered with snow or scratching the car? I don't go too crazy on the top of the car, especially if I am in business attire.

3 inches is my over/under to deal with snow on the roof. Less, and I feel like if someone is driving close enough behind me that snow coming off my car is a problem for them, they should stop tailgating. If it is more than 3 inches, I will brush the top layer off to get it down below 3 inches. I don't like running the brush along the roof because the brush can scratch.

I try to park in the sun or a garage if my car has ice and/or snow on it, even if it is a longer walk, because the sun will do a lot of the work for me. I don't park in the spot right next to the building if it is in the shade, because I risk re-freezing whatever melting happened up to that point.

Not clearing the roof can lead to a lot of damage to the car behind you. Many times I’ve seen it fly off and I even saw it shatter the windshield of a car that was just in front of me.

 

[superjohn]

How much snow this year?

We haven't had any major snow storms but we've had around 2 feet of snow total. We don't usually get much snow, we've already had a lot more than last season.

I would prefer more snow and less cold.

 

[JwittersPAC]

Doesn’t the Virgin Islands have regular cable where you’d get Fox, FS1, ESPN, etc.? The hotels do so I’d imagine the residents can also. Anyway in today’s world there are streaming services so not an issue getting UConn games.

Most of the islands now have full cable packages or you can buy internet package and just stream. I spend a lot of time offshore and use VPN to watch USA sports.