Your truck might have a 6.7-liter turbodiesel and eight hundred lb-ft of torque. It might have four hundred horse power and a serious five thousand pound payload to go with it. It might have all sorts of muscle that make it a workhorse on the job and the king of your driveway, but all of that muscle means nothing if it’s covered in ice – and everyone knows that February is just another word for cold, harsh weather. As much of a beating as your ride might take on a day to day basis, it’s important to make sure you protect it as best you can during the long winter months. Knowing how to properly remove ice without doing damage to the car will save you a lot of time and money in reparations once that spring sun begins to shine.

Hot Water is the Enemy: One of the most obvious solutions to an icy windshield would seem to be the application of some hot water. After all, if you can get the ice to melt then you’re as good as gold and we all know that nothing melts ice quicker than a bucket of piping hot water. What a lot of guys don’t realize, though, is what the temperature difference between the windshield and the water can do to the glass. Cold glass plus hot water can easily lead to the whole windshield cracking, and with a cracked windshield you have a bigger issue than ice on the exterior—you have snow in the car. Rookie mistake.

Thaw and Scrape: The correct way to deice a windshield might take a bit more time then a hot pot of water, but doing things right will keep you from doing damage to the car. All it takes is hitting the snooze button one less time and you’ll have those extra ten minutes to get the job done right. Begin by starting the engine of the car, set the heat on high and the defrost fan on low. Setting the defroster on low is crucial because if you blast the windshield with heat you run the risk of replicating the hot water dilemma—a cracked windshield. Next, apply a bit of deicing solution to the windshield. This can be purchased at any hardware store or made easily at home with a solution of fifty percent alcohol and fifty percent water. All that’s left to do now is take a windshield friendly ice scraper (or credit card if you’re desperate), loosen the ice from the glass, and remove. It’s that easy.

Body of Ice: When it comes to the body of the car, you should be extremely cautious because car paint can easily be scratched or damaged. Most of the time you’re going to want to remove all excess snow and ice while leaving a thin layer to melt in the sun so you don’t scratch the paint. In severe conditions, though, you may find that your doors are actually frozen shut and you need to put on the big boy pants just to crack open the car and get the heater running. Start with the lock. If it’s frozen, grab an oven mitt and heat your key with a lighter. A hot key should be enough to melt the ice as it slides in, and if not, your wife’s hairdryer on a high setting should do the trick. Use the sharp edge of an ice scraper to chip away around the seal of the door. If the ice is too thick, the hairdryer can be used again to soften up the job. If you’re too embarrassed to stand in the driveway with a pink hairdryer plugged into an extension cord, pour windshield-wiper fluid over the frozen areas to help it thaw.

A few more hacks. Crack open the door. Crank up the heater and you’re off to work.

TIP: If a car lock is tough to get into but not entirely frozen shut, WD-40® Multi-Use Product can be used to help slide the key in without having to melt the ice. Next time, prior to cold weather, you can even spray WD-40 Multi-Use Product inside your vehicle’s locks and door jams to prevent them from freezing in the first place.