A SIMPLE item you probably own already can be used to banish ice from your windscreen in seconds.
The household object can do exactly the same job as a specialist windscreen cover – and if you don’t have a spare one at home, you can pick one up for as little as £1.29.
The hack is to simply place a cheap blanket across your windscreen or back window ahead of a frost.
This will completely prevent ice build-up, and save you the onerous task of scraping your car.
Simply remove the blanket in the morning and you’re good to go.
The blanket trick is preferable to using newspaper, for example – as the soft material means it won’t stick to your windscreen.
Towels are equally effective – and can be picked up in a multi-pack for just a couple of pounds on Amazon.
Several motorists have been sharing the hack online, with one user taking to Reddit to sing its praises.
They wrote: “Been doing this for a few years and shocked it’s not more prevalent.”
Noting that “any thick blanket or even a towel should work”, they added: “Every time it’s about to snow I put one over the front windshield, one over the back, and drape over the front windows.
“All I have to do in the morning is take off the blankets and the windows are perfectly clean.
“It pretty much completely stops ice from building up and makes cleaning off the car 10x faster.
“All you gotta do is push the snow off the roof.
“Even if there’s a lot of snow weighing it down you can just knock off enough to make the blanket light enough to pull.
“You can also cover your whole car if you want but that can get potentially heavy to remove from the roof. Still helps prevent ice which is the worst part.”
Another expert referred to the trick on the Kwik Fit website, saying: “If you can’t afford a car cover, covering your windscreen with a blanket or cardboard will do wonders.”
However, they warned that the wind can easily blow off makeshift covers.
To avoid this, drivers should consider weighing down their blanket, being careful not to damage their windscreens.
The useful trick comes as snow storms across wreak havoc for motorists across the UK.
Amid a trio of yellow warnings by the Met Office, covering much of the East Coast, the Midlands and Northern Ireland, drivers in those areas have been urged not to travel.
Meanwhile, car owners were also warned to be careful about how they transport Christmas trees in the run-up to December 25 – or risk a £5,000 fine and a driving ban.