Drivers should follow bizarre wing mirror hack this winter, expert warns

Drivers are being encouraged to follow a seemingly "silly" wing mirror rule as the festive season approaches. With the aim of preventing mirrors from freezing and reducing visibility, motorists are advised to heed warnings about wing mirror care.

Iain Ferguson, an Automotive Lecturer at Glasgow Kelvin College, shared his insights: "De-icing your car is an essential safety precaution during the winter, but it's of course time consuming. Covering your wing mirrors with old socks can help prevent them from icing over, saving you time and even protecting them from potential scratching and cracking."

He also cautioned against a common de-icing error: "Popping on the kettle and using hot water to get frost and ice off your car is an easy mistake to make, but it is also a costly one," he warned. "This can crack the glass on your car, leading to expensive repairs – an icy window will be the least of your worries when you get that bill in."

For those dealing with frozen door handles, there are safer alternatives to hot water. An AA expert previously advised Birmingham Live readers, saying, "You can just pour water over these, but also a lot of the remote locks, they will also have a key that slides out of the key fob as well and you can turn that in the traditional way,".

"Often it's just that the handle has come a little bit solid, and you just need to pour some water over it because it will have just frozen up a little bit," reports Birmingham Live.

He explained. He also cautioned drivers today about the dangers of black ice as the winter season persists.

"The first thing I suppose is when people are clearing their windscreen the advice is not to use boiling water," he advised. "Our AA patrols are often called out to people because they have put a fresh kettle of boiling water across their windscreen, and it cracks windscreens quite a lot."

Instead of reaching for the kettle, his recommendation is to opt for anti-freeze or lukewarm water.

"Some plain, warm water or some anti-freeze spray if you have it - but not boiling water."