Frost is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has plagued driver’s windshields since the dawn of the automobile. Undoubtedly, any driver who is not able to keep his or her vehicle underneath covered parking or in a garage overnight has wrestled with defrosting his/her windshield on a cold morning.

While we can’t stop frost from happening, we can help you remove it and get you onto the road in less time than you probably do now. In this article, we will cover how to defrost a windshield in half the time.

But first…

The Science Behind Frost

We’ve all had to deal with frost at one time or another, but how many times did you stop to think about what it actually is?

Quite simply, frost is made up of a series of water droplets (condensation) that forms on your windshield and freezes on chilly winter nights; essentially, frost is the cold-weather version of dew that collects on your windshield during some summer nights.

The reason that frost (or even dew, for that matter) is able to collect on your vehicle is because of an over-saturation of humidity in the air — something many Missourians are familiar with all too well. When the humidity in the air exceeds 100 percent, the remaining moisture begins to attach itself to anything it touches: the side of your home, your lawn and even your car.

How to Defrost a Windshield Faster

Just as frost forms as a product of science, removing frost in a fast, effective way also requires a bit of scientific savvy.

Up until this point in your life, you have probably always believed that the point of using the warm defrost feature on your vehicle as a means to defrost your windshield is to melt the frost, right? Unfortunately, this is only a portion of the actual solution.

Taking into account the fact that frost is caused by condensation (i.e. too much moisture) on your windshield, the best way to remove said moisture isn’t to try to melt it; you have to soak up the moisture!

Therefore, when determining how to defrost a windshield faster, follow these three fast tips:

1. Turn Your Defrost Heat Up: Just like a hairdryer uses warm air to pull moisture out of your hair, a vehicle’s defrosting system will do the same for your windshield. Again, we’re not melting the frost; we’re not necessarily dehydrating it.
2. Turn Your A/C Button On: Yes, turn on your air conditioner button. We know, this button is typically reserved only for warm weather usage, but hear us out: a natural byproduct of all A/C units is the removal of moisture from the air. This is why your car drips water when the air conditioner is running during the summer; it feeds off of moisture in order to run.
3. Turn Off The Inside Circulation Button: Not all vehicles will have this button, but many newer vehicles do. The objective of turning this button off is to give your vehicle access to fresh, dry air as the air within your vehicle becomes saturated with the frost’s dissipating condensation.

Try It For Yourself 

So that’s it — everything you need to know about how to defrost a windshield in the quickest way possible. How fast is it, you ask? While the results may vary from vehicle to vehicle, it is estimated that you can reduce your defrost time by 50 percent.

So the next time you find your windshield frosted up on a cold Missouri morning, give these steps a try. Then once you drive to wherever you’re going (safely), share your defrosting experience with us on Facebook or Twitter. We want to know how much time you saved using this method (if any) and if you plan on sharing these tips with your friends and family.

Thank you, all! Drive safely.