Tips to open a frozen car door

CINCINNATI - A mix of rain and sleet overnight has left a solid casing of ice in many parts of the Tri-State, especially on secondary roadways, driveways and around the home.

And Tri-Staters are waking up to encased cars that will need a few more minutes to safely prepare to drive. Here are a few tips to open that pesky frozen car door:

1. Push on your car door with pressure by leaning on it and pushing as hard as you can. The pressure could break the ice around the door's seal, enabling you to open the door.

2. Utilize a commercial de-icer product to open your car door. Spray a de-icer on your frozen door and handle. De-icers contain chemicals that help melt the ice. How thick the ice is on your car will dictate how much de-icer to use, and how long it will take for the ice to melt. It can take about 10 minutes for the de-icer to melt away enough of the ice so you can open your car door. Windshield washer fluid make a good substitute to use as a de-icer. It contains alcohol that helps the ice melt.

3. Use an object like an ice scraper or small hand tool to break the ice around the door's seal and on the handle.

4. Use a hair dryer to blow hot air onto the frozen areas. Place the hair dryer's setting to the highest temperature to help melt the ice quicker. Using Hair dryers with battery-operated units is more convenient and safer to melt the ice on your car door, rather than an electrical hair dryer that requires a cord.

5. Sometimes the whole car doesn't become iced over. Check the other doors to see if you might be able to open them. If you can open one of the other doors, then crawl through your car and push the door open from the inside.

And for the future, when you can anticipate a significant icing, you can help prevent a frozen door by spraying de-icer on the car before the freeze hits and/or covering your door with a sheet of cardboard.