Winter is here and with it the pitfalls for drivers. In addition to slippery roads, icy windscreens are a particular problem. If you don’t remove the ice thoroughly, you can even be fined. It is particularly annoying if the windshield also ices up inside the car, which can happen in cold temperatures. If you also have to scrape ice from the inside, it often feels like it’s snowing in the car and the dashboard becomes a miniature ski slope.
How can this be prevented? First of all, anything that binds the humidity in the car or prevents it in the first place is helpful. So it’s best to shake out wet floor mats in the evening and give the car a quick airing. But there are also a few other “insider tips”, some of which sound strange but really work!
Tip 1: Newspaper
Place newspaper on the dashboard – this absorbs the moisture in the air and keeps the inside of the windshield free of ice.
Tip 2: Salt water
Wipe the windshield with salt water, vinegar water or washing-up liquid using a sponge the evening before. Such mixtures prevent ice from forming in the first place.
Tip 3: Cat litter
Yes, that’s right: simply place a small bowl of cat litter in the car – this also binds the humidity (of course, there are also car dehumidifiers for non-cat owners that fulfill the same purpose, but are more expensive).
So happy is he who has a cat! But joking aside, the lucky one is the one who has a garage! Because then the annoying ice scraping in the morning is no longer an issue anyway.
Prefabricated concrete garages have an excellent indoor climate
Garage owners can simply get in their car early in the morning and drive off, while others first have to clear their car of snow and/or ice (by whatever method). Prefabricated concrete garages are particularly inexpensive compared to brick-built versions. They also have a better indoor climate – especially in winter.
“On the one hand, the concrete walls keep some of the cold away from the car – even if the garage is not heated. Secondly, the humidity in a prefabricated concrete garage is lower than outside, which also prevents icing,” explains Markus Hölzl from ZAPF GmbH, one of the leading manufacturers of prefabricated concrete garages in Germany. The garage specialists based in Bayreuth have been producing prefabricated concrete garages for over 40 years and know that the issue of frost, along with other advantages of a prefabricated concrete garage, is an important argument. The solid building material concrete reacts very slowly to temperature fluctuations, so even in extreme cold and heat, the prefabricated concrete garage has a very good climate balancing effect.
Lower humidity
In modern prefabricated garages, such as the garages from ZAPF, sophisticated ventilation elements also ensure a permanent exchange of air and that moist air is transported out of the garage. “Even if the car is parked in the garage when it is wet or covered in snow, it can stay dry overnight,” explains Hölzl. This not only protects against ice formation, but also prevents rust and corrosion. In addition, the solid reinforced concrete is particularly weather-resistant and can also withstand high snow loads on the roof.
