After roughly 10 inches of snow blanketed much of Ohio area this week, many drivers turned to social media hacks to dig their cars out and warm them up faster.
But while some winter car care advice is good to follow, others are best skipping.
We found drivers across the region using various techniques to deal with the snowy conditions.
Jordan White, who was shoveling out his truck in Newport, relies on letting his engine do some of the melting work.
"For sure, I'll start it up and let it run while I clean it off," White said.
Clint Copenhaver also warms up his Explorer before hitting the road.
"We actually had it on for about 20 minutes first to try to get everything off it," Copenhaver said.
Melanie Hansbauer and her daughter, meantime, take a preventive approach by flipping their wipers up when snow is forecast.
"This is her car here, and the wipers are up," Hansbauer said.
They know someone who uses a more questionable method: boiling water.
"She puts warm water on it because she thinks it makes it go faster to warm it up. That's risky, because they say you can crack the windshield, " Hansbauer said.
Watch drivers talk about which cold weather hacks they use on their cars:
Which tips are good to follow, which tips you should ignore?
With help from AAA and Garage Living, we checked out some common cold weather myths to separate fact from fiction.
- Warming up your car: Four or five minutes are fine, but longer periods waste gas and aren't good for the engine.
- Deflating tires for better traction: Don't do it. This hurts handling and leads to increased tire wear.
- Putting sandbags in the trunk: Only helpful for rear-wheel drive pickups or older vehicles, like dad's old 1978 Buick. If you put sandbags in the back of a front-wheel drive vehicle, you'll actually take weight off the front drive wheels, making it less safe on snow and ice.
- Flipping wipers up: This is OK occasionally, but mechanics say doing it too often can damage the springs.
- Pouring hot water on the windshield: Never do this. You can crack the glass if the water is too hot. Blue windshield wiper fluid, or a spray de-icer such as RainX, can do a better and safer job.
- Only clearing snow off the windshield and rear window: Terrible idea. Clear your entire car, especially the roof. Ice can blow off the roof and hit the car behind you, and in Ohio, that can result in a fine.
The bottom line: Clean off your entire car, especially the roof, to be courteous to fellow drivers. And don't throw hot water on your windshield if you want to avoid costly repairs.
That way you don't waste your money.
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