Firstly, ignore all the advice aboutboiling hot kettles. It may seem logical that hot water will melt the ice, butif the water's too hot it could cause your windscreen to crack when the extremetemperatures meet. Also, the water may spill on the ground and freeze, forminga dangerous ice slick.

Another frequently tried method isto simply sit in your car with the engine running and the fan on, waiting forthe heat of the car to de-ice the windows. Not only will this take a long time,but it wastes fuel and increases wear on the engine which could cause you totake out .

Sitting in your car and trying toget rid of ice or snow with the windscreen wipers is not a good idea, either,and will probably just lead to broken wipers.

The best method is to invest in acan of de-icer and a scraper. Spray the de-icer all over the windscreen andthen scrape off the melting ice with the ice scraper. Don't be tempted to use acredit card, CD case or any other such implement, as you could scratch yourwindscreen.

Most good screenwashes also containde-icer and can help clear the ice from your windscreen and prevent your washbottle and spray nozzles from freezing.

Make sure you defrost the entirewindscreen - not just the small area in front of the driver's seat - plus allthe other windows and the mirrors before you set off, otherwise your view maybe dangerously restricted.