Ready or not, you’ll inevitably walk out to find your car or pickup wrapped in a new coat of ice and snow. Think safety and prepare ahead — and make the scrape job far easier with the following tips from AccuWeather and the American Auto Association.

Pack this winter gear
Make sure every vehicle is equipped with adequate winter equipment:

• Ice scraper with a brush

• Traction aids, such as sand, salt, non-clumping cat litter or traction mats

• Snow shovel — compact folding designs are easiest to store, but corn shovels will do.

• Blankets to keep warm if your vehicle breaks down. Mylar emergency blankets are lightweight, easy-to-store and reflective. Microfleece is another option.

• Warm clothing, such as gloves, hats and boots — just in case

De-icing preventives
Take proactive measures to head off having to de-ice your car:

• Parking under cover is the obvious first precaution to take.

• Cover the windshield with a tarp, large towel or old sheet folded a few times. Or purchase a commercial windshield cover. Those’ll do for light snowfalls or icing. Heavy snow can make removing a cover difficult. Use weights, bungee cords, etc. to hold them down.

• Damp cloth covers pre-soaked in a saltwater solution (one tablespoon salt to one quart water) can help prevent icing. Store that damp towel in a plastic bag for reuse.

• Pretreat the windshield the night before with a commercial ice and frost “shield” product, though these can be expensive at around $15 a quart.

• You can make a homemade pretreatment with a mixture of three parts white vinegar to one part water. However, glass professionals caution that vinegar can cause glass micro-pitting over time.

• Be sure your windshield washer reservoir is filled with a “de-icer” fluid that won’t freeze in cold weather. It may aid in ice removal.

• When ice and snow is predicted, place a piece of wood or other object under the wiper arms to hold the rubber blades off the windshield — or raise the arms to the position used for replacing them.

• While you’re in preventive mode, squirt a little high-viscosity lubricant, such as Liquid Wrench, into door lock key holes.

After the ‘Iceman’ cometh
Too late for preventives. Now, you’re into a scrape job. These tips will make it easier:

• First, pray for patience. Then start your engine. Set the heater to defrost and the temperature control to maximum. If you have a newer vehicle with an electrically-heated windshield, use it. It’ll quickly clear the ice.

• Apply a commercial glass de-icer spray to the windshield. These products generally contain methanol, the best alcohol for de-icing. At about $15 a quart, they’re expensive. Some contain ethylene glycol, which is poisonous to pets.

• You could make your own mix (one-to-two parts) of isopropyl alcohol and water in a spray bottle. Isopropyl alcohol ranges from 50% to 90% purity. Remember: the higher the percentage, the better the de-icing capability. Methyl alcohol is still a superior melting product. Commercial deicers may also contain additional ingredients to expedite ice melting and removal.

• Use a plastic scraper, soft bristle brush or squeegee to remove ice as it melts – not a metal scraper. The latter can scratch or gouge glass. Also, do not use hot water. It can crack the glass via thermal shock, and it’ll quickly refreeze as it cools.

Source: AccuWeather and AAA