This week we are expecting a major winter storm system to move through Western and Southern Michigan.

Meteorologists are telling us to expect that the storm here in Grand Rapids will start with ice overnight on Tuesday, then move to snow. While it's fairly easy to remove snow from your car without a lot of work, ice is a different story.

If you find yourself with a popsicle of a car, here are a few tips to help prepare and then defrost your vehicle easily before you head out.

One of the preventative things you can do to protect your vehicle from getting covered in hard to remove ice is to cover your windshield before the storm starts.

Howcast / Youtuve
Howcast / Youtuve
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By limiting the area the ice can attach to your windshield, you allow yourself the opportunity to avoid having to de-ice it to start. You can either buy a cover at your local auto supply store, or if you have a blanket you don't mind to leave outside, that will also work.

However, if you can't cover your windshield covered in ice, don't panic! You can make a de-icing spray out of things around your home if you don't have one already handy.

Here's what you need:

Howcast on Youtube / Canva
Howcast on Youtube / Canva
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This spray combined, can help you break down the ice on your vehicle and windshield to allow you to get going faster than breaking the ice and waiting on the defroster to break through a thicker layer of ice before you go. And if you don't have a spray bottle, no problem: just pour it onto your car.

Howcast / Youtuve
Howcast / Youtube
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And if you catch yourself thinking, "hey, i'll just pour hot water on my car instead" you're going to find yourself in regret, because the quick temperature shift could cause your windshield to break. So, in order to best protect your car, try this mixture.

Howcast / Youtuve
Howcast / Youtube
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While there are many ways to prevent ice from ruining your commute, we hope these options help. Do you have any solutions we missed? Leave them in the comments.

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