Former NASA engineer's tips give quickest way to defrost windscreens as frosty mornings approach

Former NASA engineer Mark Rober has uploaded a video explaining how to defrost car windows using the power of science - and four straightforward steps.

Forget newspaper, or de-icing spray or snapping your credit card in an attempt to scrape ice off your windscreen - there is an easier way.

Step 1: Turn ON the heater at full blast - hot air can hold more moisture.

Step 2: Turn ON the air conditioning - this will help soak up the remaining moisture from the air.

Step 3: Turn OFF inside air circulation - winter air doesn’t have much absorption so keep it outside the car.

Step 4: Open the windows ever so slightly - for a few seconds, this will help exchange humidity in the car for the dry air outside.

If that’s too ordinary, and you’re a fan of MacGyver, Rober also has methods involving cat litter and shaving foam.

The full six-and-a-half minute video explains the science behind the four steps.

Rober was at NASA for nine years, seven of which were spent working on the Curiosity Rover. He left NASA and began creating ‘wearable tech’ Hallowe’en costumes - you may remember that he was behind the ‘hole in the torso’ costume, which used two iPads to create the illusion of a gaping hole in his body.

Happy windscreen-clearing!

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can now subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, for 26p a day.