If you live in an area that gets brutal winters, you surely know all about icy sidewalks and snowy driveways. You probably turn to the usual fix — shoveling the snow and then putting down some store-bought salt or other ice-melting product — but we’ve got another de-icing option for you, and it only requires a few everyday items to whip up at home.
This simple DIY ice-melting solution calls for three common household ingredients: warm water, dish soap and rubbing alcohol. That’s it!
To make the solution, combine 1/2 gallon of warm water, six drops of dish soap and 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol in a large container, like an empty milk carton. Then, simply pour the solution on the icy area that you’re looking to melt.
Not only are these three ingredients safe for your driveway and sidewalk, but this concoction is also likely cheaper than most ice melts you can find at the store. WYFF News 4, a local news station in South Carolina, put the recipe to the test in 2014, and as you can see in the video below, the ice begins melting almost immediately.
If you don’t have dish soap, you can also simply pour rubbing alcohol on ice or mix it with water in a spray bottle. According to home improvement expert Bob Vila, rubbing alcohol has a lower freezing point than water, so it speeds up the melting process.
Vila says keeping a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle can be a quick solution if you have a car door that’s frozen shut or a frosted-over windshield.
Ken Weathers, a meteorologist from a news station in Tennessee, seconds that trick for defrosting your windshield, suggesting you mix 2/3 parts rubbing alcohol with 1/3 parts water in a spray bottle. Be sure not to use hot water, as it can cause the windshield to break. You can see this trick in action in this YouTube video from Weathers:
Have you ever made a homemade solution for melting ice at your home? Will you be trying this one?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
