Clearing the car off...

[Trekker4747]

So it's Winter and in much of the US that means snow and if you live in the midwest like I do it means that there's been a severe polar shift and, somehow, the midwest has become the Klondike with high temperatures in the single digits, -30 windchills and snow that falls and sticks around for two weeks after falling.

So, anyway, when you clear your car off how do you do it? Do you clear off just the lights and the windows? Do you clear off just the windows you "use" (the windshield and probably the doors and let the defroster handle the rear window), do you clear off the whole car?

Reasonable argument could be made to clear off the whole car (the roof and hood) so snow/chunks blowing off your car doesn't disrupt traffic behind you, but, me, honestly I don't clear off the surfaces of the car unless the snow is thick enough then I might clear off most of it. Otherwise I just clear off the windows and the lights and I free wht wipers. I don't clear off the paint surfaces so my brush/scraper doesn't scratch the paint of the car. But I see the argument of clearing off the surfaces.

But, anyway, for the most part my carport prevents me from having to worry about doing this too much.

So, how does your car-clearing go?

 

[K'Ehleyr]

For the last 45 mins I've been watching my neighbours try to dig their car out! It's hilarious. The chap started by shovelling the snow backwards and then realised he was just making a bigger mountain of snow. Then decided to throw it sideways but realised he was just putting it behind other neighbours cars So girlfriend has appeared to help but they still have no idea. Now all they have done is build up a big wall of snow around the car At least if they go on like this they may clear the whole car park

Fabulous entertainment for a Saturday afternoon!

 

[kes7]

Sit tight, wait for it to melt.

Failing that, and I actually have to go somewhere, I have my husband clear it off. Since he's an engineer to his core, I'm sure he has some whole complicated system. I don't know what it is, though.

Before I got married, I just climbed on top of my car and shoved the snow off the windshield, rear window and driver's side window with my arms. (I'm obviously not an engineer.)

 

[May 20]

Right now, I'm parking on the driveway because the garage is still a storage bin from the move. Ugh. I miss parking in the garage. We use a push broom to brush off most of the snow from all the window, lights, and door seams. We also brush off the top, though not as thoroughly.

This is good incentive to make my garage car-ready.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I give mine the traditional snow-shave, i.e. clean the windscreen (including underneath the wipers, which can freeze up like anything given time), all side windows, rear window, the headlights, indicator lights and all rear lights, and both licence plates, and make sure there's enough washer fluid in the bottle.

If there's a significant excess then I also clear the side mirrors, otherwise I let the car's heating system clear the frost away there. I then make sure the mist clears by starting the car and warming it up for about five minutes, including rear window heater, then once things are OK, set off.

I don't usually clear off the bonnet unless it is very thick with snow, and I let the small snow pieces fly off at speed, occasionally rehydrating the windscreen which is usually rendered desiccated by the cleaning process.

 

[Gertch]

Have to clear the whole thing off or you can get a ticket. My car is easy but my wife's van can be tough to get it all and I usually don't.

I haven't bought into the growing trend of pulling the windshield wipers out. The parking lot at work looks so funny with them all up in the air.

 

[Canadave]

Sit tight, wait for it to melt.

Here, that would mean not taking your car anywhere until April.

As for me? I just take the bus.

 

[KimMH]

always from the side of the drive nearest the house towards the side of the drive away from the house! And from back to front so I don't have to drive over the mini-drift on the way back into the drive. have lots and lots of practice and do have a system . . .

 

[tharpdevenport]

I thank everyday fucking cold Winter day that I haven't lived in, and never will live in, areas where it snows. I think one time, while I was in nothern Georgia, I saw some brief light flurries, but that's it. You couldn't pay me to live any further north. If the lower part of Florida wasn't so fucked up, and not being hit by hurricanes all the time, I'd move further down south.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

So it's Winter and in much of the US that means snow and if you live in the midwest like I do it means that there's been a severe polar shift and, somehow, the midwest has become the Klondike with high temperatures in the single digits, -30 windchills and snow that falls and sticks around for two weeks after falling.

So, anyway, when you clear your car off how do you do it? Do you clear off just the lights and the windows? Do you clear off just the windows you "use" (the windshield and probably the doors and let the defroster handle the rear window), do you clear off the whole car?

Reasonable argument could be made to clear off the whole car (the roof and hood) so snow/chunks blowing off your car doesn't disrupt traffic behind you, but, me, honestly I don't clear off the surfaces of the car unless the snow is thick enough then I might clear off most of it. Otherwise I just clear off the windows and the lights and I free wht wipers. I don't clear off the paint surfaces so my brush/scraper doesn't scratch the paint of the car. But I see the argument of clearing off the surfaces.

But, anyway, for the most part my carport prevents me from having to worry about doing this too much.

So, how does your car-clearing go?

Just the lights, mirrors, windows and windshield. The other stuff will blow off. As the first rule of Italian driving says..."what behind me....no matter!"

 

[Shikarnov]

Where I come from, we clean off the whole car. Not only does it just make good sense (it's dangerous to drive with a foot of snow on your hood), but it's the law. Besides that, unless the car is encased in ice, it only takes like 5 minutes more. Big deal.

 

[Trekker4747]

Where I come from, we clean off the whole car. Not only does it just make good sense (it's dangerous to drive with a foot of snow on your hood), but it's the law. Besides that, unless the car is encased in ice, it only takes like 5 minutes more. Big deal.

Yeah, but as I said I don't clear off the roof/hood because of the time it takes but because I don't want the brush from my snow-brush to possibly scratch my car up.

 

[Shikarnov]

Unless you're one of those types that likes a car shiny enough to blind opposing traffic during sunset, then it's not much of an issue. I've brushed my car for years, and never had the paint get messed up. Just keep it waxed, use a relatively gentle brush, and you won't have any problems with the paint.

 

[Lindley]

The brush won't scratch your paint unless there's ice frozen into it. The ice scraper might.

I usually just clear off the windows I need to see out of. If there's enough snow on the hood to impair visibility I'll clear that a bit too; but I don't worry about what's on the roof, or about getting every little bit.

This is the first I've heard of it being illegal not to clear everything in some places. Heck, if Vermont allows it, everyone should.

I also leave the car running while I'm clearing it, to get a head-start on heating the engine.

 

[Amaris]

I use a Libman dust mop to clear the snow and clear out as much ice off the windows as possible. From that point, it's ye olde ice scraper and the defrost inside the car.

 

[RoJoHen]

Turn on the engine. Brush off the windows, headlights, and hood. Go inside and wait for the inside of the car to warm up so I'm not freezing as I'm driving. I don't clear off the roof because I have a minivan and trying to get everything off the top is a huge pain in the ass. That said, a few times, on the slightly warmer days as the snow starts to melt, I've had the snow from my roof slide forward and come crashing down on top of my windshield.

 

[Shikarnov]

I use a Libman dust mop to clear the snow and clear out as much ice off the windows as possible. From that point, it's ye olde ice scraper and the defrost inside the car.

I never use the scraper. Just brush off the snow while the car is warming up with the defrosters on maximum. 15 minutes later, the ice on the windshield is melted away, and the side windows can be cleaned with a few strokes with the brush.

 

[Lindley]

That said, a few times, on the slightly warmer days as the snow starts to melt, I've had the snow from my roof slide forward and come crashing down on top of my windshield.

Yeah, but it always does so in amounts managable by the wipers, and typically when you're coming to a stop anyway.

I never use the scraper. Just brush off the snow while the car is warming up with the defrosters on maximum. 15 minutes later, the ice on the windshield is melted away, and the side windows can be cleaned with a few strokes with the brush.

If the car's been sitting in freezing rain, it can easily have half an inch of ice on every exposed surface. Sometimes defrost is only good enough to make the scraper's job easier.

 

[Amaris]

I use a Libman dust mop to clear the snow and clear out as much ice off the windows as possible. From that point, it's ye olde ice scraper and the defrost inside the car.

I never use the scraper. Just brush off the snow while the car is warming up with the defrosters on maximum. 15 minutes later, the ice on the windshield is melted away, and the side windows can be cleaned with a few strokes with the brush.

Lindley's answer is mine as well. We usually get freezing rain with our snow, and we end up having an inch or two of snow, then half an inch of ice underneath. I don't have the requisite 30-45 minutes for that defroster to break through half an inch of ice and melt it away.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I clear off everything with the extend-o-brush. I don't know if there's a law or not, enough people do the "lazy" thing and drive around in a snow drift.

I have a Grand Cherokee, so I don't bother shoveling around it. Even if I'm plowed in, I can put it in 4WD low and blast out.