Waking up on a frosty morning to find an icy windshield is one of winter’s less charming surprises. And if those winter months are going to drag on, knowing how to safely remove ice is important.

The best way to melt ice off of a windshield is with a mixture of two-parts rubbing alcohol and one-part water in a spray bottle. The mixture has a much lower freezing point than water, so in turn, it ...