R D S wrote:
I had a new job on top of my to-do list yesterday morning.

Ice and frozen snow on the screen, snapped my scraper jabbing away at
it, so I poured some tepid water on it and hit the wipers upon which the
blades promptly tore from the arms.

Nightmare.

One of the secrets, is the right kind of scraper. There are many items like
this that you can buy, that don't measure up to the name, including those
hand-scrapers that are just a bit bigger than your hand. These are made
with a wooden handle, which resists snapping. The brush on one end, you
can use that until the bristles curl up on it. The blade, hardly ever breaks.
Occasionally a corner will snap on one, if you try and score too-thick ice.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...4424p.html#srp

The other thing, is keep a Windex trigger bottle with this stored in it.
You can use this stuff, four seasons. But also put some in a used Windex
bottle, for deployment as necessary (like before fitting keys to ignition).
This stuff freezes at -45C. If the jets are frozen on the windshield washer,
your portable solution can get things started. The brand doesn't matter,
we have several colours and green is the one you want, pink and blue are no good.
Green is -45C, blue is -35C, pink is summer.

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/r...-0290005p.html

You don't want to go with anything too caustic, because of the potential for
damage to the drain channels or the frame around the windshield. There are
probably a few chemicals that would make great ice melters, that would not be
healthy for where the fluids drain. The green stuff is pretty tame.

As for using heated liquids on the windshield, that's pretty safe when
the windshield is still bedded down on the sealant. It's when the
windshield frame steel rusts and raises a "bump" under the windshield
and the rusty "bump" touches the windshield, that's bad. That will cause
windshield failures. Many lazy windshield replacement shops will ignore the
damage to the frame and not tell you. I had to go to a small family shop, where
the guy phoned me up while doing the job and told me what a mess it was.
And he sanded it down flush ("angle grinder") and put a new finish on
the frame, then sealant and windshield, and no more broken windshields
after that. That doubles the cost of the job. The idea is, the windshield
has to be "floating on sealant" to work properly. Then heated water
won't hurt it.

Paul