Ice

[Cookie]

I figured my question belongs here. I got a Jeep outside which I can't get the doors open on, due to a couple of inches of ice. I tried scrapping, I will be there until, spring. Does anyone know of an easier way?

Also, my deck has got the same amount of ice on it, and I have been faithfully shoveling it. Can I use salt on a wooden deck? The weight has got to be getting heavy.

Thanks for your help.

[Cookie]

Just forget it folks, I got a snowball chance in hell of getting the ice off. I was just out there, my tires are like 4 big ice balls, I can't even see in the windows, and since, the better scrappers are stuck inside I am left with this stupid 98 cent thing which I would have better luck gnawing it off with my teeth.

But, what about the deck? Is there some reason I can't use salt? Or will it eat more than the ice...

Stay warm.

[Cookie]

Has anyone ever used warm water on the ice on their car doors? It is not that I want to go out into this storm, but, I am needed at work.

[Rancher]

Did you try the other side? ... Work, I thought you were retired?

How about a hair drier?

Mr. Heater on a propane bottle?

Garage it at night?

OK OK, we're having a cold snap here to, only expected to be in the 60's

Rancher

[Bob NH]

If you have so much ice on a deck that it is a weight problem (that should be at least 6" of ice, or at least 4 ft of snow) you could attack it with a sledge hammer. Unless it is preventing you from using your house, I would wait until it is removed by the guy that put it there.

The best way to deal with thick ice on a vehicle is from the inside. If there is any way you can get heat inside, warm it up and the ice will come off fairly easily.

[Gary Swart]

I think you can get a door open by using a hair dryer. Even better would be a heat gun like used for paint removal, but the hair dryer will work. Just keep it moving so as not to take a chance of blistering the paint. With it coated with ice as you describe, it will take awhile. Once you get it open and can warm the vehicle up, you can keep the doors from freezing up that bad again by covering with a tarp.

[T_Hartigan]

Has anyone ever used warm water on the ice on their car doors? It is not that I want to go out into this storm, but, I am needed at work.

Don't use hot water. The difference in temperature will crack your windows.

[geniescience]

well looks like i got here too late..

Your goal is to get a door unlocked, and then turn the car on. After that, you leave the car alone for many minutes, while it warms up.

(hot water will freeze within seconds when poured onto a large frozen object outdoors in subzero weather. It might give you access to the door lock.)

Where to pick at the ice? Depends on thousands of factors. Which door to work on is a good starting question. One side always gets less precipitation than the other.

How to pick or break ice off a car door is hard to describe since so much depends on the ice's consistency. I have kicked door sides, and successfully broken ice, using the flex in a door panel as my ally. Once you get down to bare metal anywhere, it is quite easy to slide anythin flat and plasticky under the ice and lever the rest off to get to the door lock and handle. You don't need to remove any more ice than what is on the handle; you just pull on that handle and the door will nudge open an inch or so and that will crack the ice around the perimeter of the door. You break that cracked ice up and VOILA the door swings open -- lots of laughs when you do it the first time and it feels like it weighs twice its normal weight.

Once the motor has been running for a while its heat will loosen up the ice, and you can slide off large pieces after cracking the ice shell with a few jabs with a plastic tool (or kicks).

hope this helps.

david

[TedL]

If you're interested in avoiding a repeat of the frozen door problem, get a can of silicone spray (Wally World or any auto parts place), spray on a rag/paper towel, and wipe it on the door gaskets and the body areas they contact. Repeat each Fall.