De-Icing Tip

joec

joec

New member
OK coming from S. Florida were it never snows or really gets cold you might find this new to many that live in states with real winters. For years I've seen people buy these little cans to unfreeze locks. I found early on that you can simply buy a bottle of rubbing alcohol from your local drugstore, pour it in to any spay bottle and it works better than the little lock freeze things for a lot less money. Having a storage business and dealing with tenant's locks they always seem to be shocked when instead cutting off a lock for them I simply spray it with alcohol and it works. Even the Snap-on tool guy wasn't aware of that when he came in to have me cut his lock off his space because it was frozen today.
 
Thanks for the tip! :thumb: Are we talking pad-locks or just any type of lock? A couple winters ago, when Austin got a big freeze, DH and I used hot water on our car door locks, and it worked well but often left us vulnerable to freezing up again later. Needless to say we didn't drive around during the freeze, much, but it was nice to get into our car when we needed to. :smile:
 
It works on anything. Today for example I freed up my glass ash tray stuck to my glass top porch table. I smoke but not in the house, I also hate cigarette butts all over the ground so I keep and ash tray which I dump constantly in the garbage. It had frozen to the glass top table, sprayed a little and it came right off. It also works on the chain on my electronic gate. The chain will sometimes ice over and not work. I walk down it spraying a bit as I go. By the time I'm done the length of the chain (about 10') the gate will open just fine.

Now I've also used it on car door locks but wipe it off pretty quick. I don't know what effect it will have on paint so us caution.
 
would potable alcohol work?

if so, then you could carry a flask around with you, and if the cops ask, you could say it was for de-icing, lol.

i guess you'd want to stay away from alcohols with sugar in them. go with vodka.
 
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