Socks On Car Dashboard Hack Can Prevent Winter Frost

Dec 07, 2020 by apost team

When it gets cold out, you can’t just get into your car and take off down the road. Most of the time, you have to warm up your car with the defrost on blast just to be able to see out your windows. This can take up a significant amount of time. However, this can be avoided with a simple and easy trick.

Like all of the seasons, winter has its perks and downsides. Picturesque fluffy snow, a cozy atmosphere, and time spent indoors with those we love during the holidays are all perks of winter that many of us can agree on. But the downsides to winter are plenty as well—freezing temperatures, drastically reduced hours of daylight, and the havoc that snow can play on our streets and moisture to our cars are just a few of the things many of us probably dislike about winter.

The last point is especially annoying, as it slows down our commute times in the mornings since we're forced to defrost our car before we can set off and head to where we're going. New Scientist explained why frost forms on our car windshield in the first place, stating:

"The frost forms because the temperature of the windscreen has dropped below 0°C [32°F], and so water vapor in the air touching it condenses then freezes."  

Interestingly, frost can still form on windshields even when outside temperatures don't fall below freezing and that's because of heat loss by radiation. 

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Mother nature and the elements might be bigger than us, but what if there was something you could do to help the situation. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about defrosting every morning in the winter!? Here is a life hack that once you find out about it, you'll be telling everyone you know!

To get started, you will need a sock that doesn’t have any holes along with some cat litter. Try to get unscented cat litter so your car doesn’t smell like cat litter! Fill up the sock with litter and tape it shut. This is why tube socks are ideal. You could tie it shut if the sock is long enough.

Once you finish with this step, just put it on your dashboard when you park. You could also put one in the back window as well to prevent your back window from frosting up too. And so you don't forget to bring it with you each time, it's easiest to just keep the kitty litter-filled sock in your car at all times.

So why does this simple trick actually work?

While it's rather straightforward, this trick uses science to fight, well, science. For starters, cat litter is great at absorbing moisture. If you are a cat owner, you probably already know this. Condensation is what happens when moisture gets trapped in the air inside your vehicle. The litter grabs onto this moisture in the air before it settles on the window. The sock is there to prevent the cat litter from getting all over the place.

As we all know, condensation is especially bad in the colder months of the year because the temperature inside the car is higher than outside the car. For example, on a hot summer day, condensation has the same effect on a cold glass of water. The condensation builds on the outside of the glass because the outside air is warmer than the inside of the glass

Some tips on how to best execute your hack

While it's a simple trick, there are a few things to consider before trying it. Roslyn McKenna, a car insurance publisher for Finder.com, explained to Reader's Digest that not all kitty litters are created equal. “Non-clumping or crystal litters seem to work best instead of traditional clumping clay or pellet litter,” she says.

Next up is the sock you choose. McKenna recommends a sock that is high-moisture-wicking, so a sock from the athletic aisle will be the best for this experiment. Finally, the kind of tape you use isn't of major importance.

And that's how simple it is to keep your car from getting foggy and needing to be defrosted in the mornings. Try it out for yourself!

This simple trick can significantly reduce your time warming up your car in the cold mornings. Are you going to try it for yourself? Let us know how it works for you! And if you have any other winter secrets, let us know in the comments!