# home made de-icer?



## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

i believe the majority of anti-freeze is just alcohol? i have a courtesy car for a week which doesn't have G1 glass coating, so if i pour warm water over the screen, it melts the ice, then freezes again (usually, warm water melts it which then just runs off the screen)

and i have some neat IPA, and was wondering if i dilute it to about 50-60% with de-ionised water and put it in a spray bottle, whether it would make a decent de-icer?

cheers


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## big ben (Aug 25, 2009)

scraper? £1 de icer can? :lol:


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

My boss in work fills his skoosher bottle with 5050 Meths/water and it never freezes. The smell off it when you're in the car and he cleans the screen is mental man. Powerful stuff the meths. Not too sure about how good it is ofr his screen rubbers etc, but he insists it's never done his car any harm. Not so good on his lungs...


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

wee_green_mini said:


> My boss in work fills his skoosher bottle with 5050 Meths/water and it never freezes. The smell off it when you're in the car and he cleans the screen is mental man. Powerful stuff the meths. Not too sure about how good it is ofr his screen rubbers etc, but he insists it's never done his car any harm. Not so good on his lungs...


Where does he park his car overnight, on a bench?


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Shiny said:


> Where does he park his car overnight, on a bench?


:lol::lol: Wouldn't surprise me, he's off his trolley the old boy


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

big ben said:


> scraper? £1 de icer can? :lol:


fair point :lol: just wondering if it could be done though? a can of de-icer doesn't last very long, but if you diluted 100ml of IPA to make 200ml, that's last longer (or be even cheaper and easier  )

so....in theory, would it work, or no?

thanks


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## PhillipM (Jun 7, 2007)

IPA works fine, it's what's in most screenwashes.


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

PhillipM said:


> IPA works fine, it's what's in most screenwashes.


might try diluting some IPA to 50% with de-ionised water, putting it in a sprayer and see how it compared to normal de-icer.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

IPA and Butane are the 2 main ingrediants in aerosol de-icers


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

-Mat- said:


> IPA and Butane are the 2 main ingrediants in aerosol de-icers


so it should work then? might give it a go tomorrow morning and see how it goes!


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

just for the hell of it, i tried it....

it works! really rather well too actually! i had about 70% IPA and sprayed it on the screen, the ice instantly melted away


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

Then put a match to it and your car will be properly de-iced.


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## Mini 360 (Jul 17, 2009)

Did you invent copper wire by fighting over a penny it with one of us scots? Honestly just buy fecking deicer and away you go. Not hard or expensive!!!


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

and tomorrow we reinvent the wheel :lol:

Surely your homemade concoction is more expensive than deicer? If not then fair play to you fella :thumb:


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

Mini 360 said:


> Did you invent copper wire by fighting over a penny it with one of us scots? Honestly just buy fecking deicer and away you go. Not hard or expensive!!!


i live in the sticks and the nearest halfords is about 10 miles away and the local petrol station about 5 miles, but they want about £5 for 500ml! i got 1 litre of IPA for less than £3 which will make 1.5-2 litres easily so even if 500ml costs £2 it's still cheaper, it'd cost more in petrol getting there than it's worth.

diluted IPA also works out cheaper. though i admit, it's cheaper than something that's already cheap so it makes no difference :lol:

sorry for having a thought of trying something different!


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## Mini 360 (Jul 17, 2009)

You must be a scot :lol:


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## E38_ross (May 10, 2010)

Mini 360 said:


> You must be a scot :lol:


:lol: south england, but i'm in wales at the moment :driver:


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## ajc2306 (Sep 20, 2006)

I used to work for a company who made screenwash and de-icer along with many other products. As mentioned de-icer is basically just a mixture of IPA, Water and some blue dye! Screenwash usually made with IMS (Industrial Methylated Spirits), Surfactant and Blue Dye. So generally the cheaper de-icers just contain more water, hence a good idea to but some IPA and make your own.


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## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Cold water:lol:


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## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

just a thought on the above, Whats the chances of the IPA mixture staining/affecting the plastics that usualy sit at the bottom of the windscreen as it will no doubt spend along time sitting there as it's not rinsed or wiped off?


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## Darlofan (Nov 24, 2010)

Wife thought i was tight for discussing the idea of making de-icer. I got wound up when i got one in Tesco for£2. A week later wife asked me to get her one while shopping, Tesco had put it up to £2.50 so i refused to buy it on principal.
Whilst we are on subject of being tight- i have the ambi-pur air freshener(type with glass bottle). When it runs out of liquid i re fill it with essential oil used for oil burners pot pourri etc, much cheaper than buying a refill and a lot more scents to choose from.


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## Red_Cloverleaf (Jul 26, 2009)

Darlofan said:


> Wife thought i was tight for discussing the idea of making de-icer. I got wound up when i got one in Tesco for£2. A week later wife asked me to get her one while shopping, Tesco had put it up to £2.50 so i refused to buy it on principal.
> Whilst we are on subject of being tight- i have the ambi-pur air freshener(type with glass bottle). When it runs out of liquid i re fill it with essential oil used for oil burners pot pourri etc, much cheaper than buying a refill and a lot more scents to choose from.


Tightwad! It must be something to do with being Northern (like me)!! :lol:


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