Surprising substance which will open frozen locks in seconds – and it works on cars and homes

PICTURE this: it’s cold, it’s dark and you need to defrost your windscreen at the crack of dawn.

But you can’t get into your car because it’s so cold, the lock has frozen over. 

It’s not an ideal situation for those who have to manually open their car by turning the key in the lock. 

But there’s a surprising substance, that you may even have in your handbag, that’ll do the job.

Enter, hand sanitiser. 

The alcohol in germ-killing gel should melt the ice enough to free the lock. 

And because of the pandemic, it’s something many of us carry round in our bags or on our key chains. 

This hack also works if your front or shed doors find their locks jammed with ice as temperatures drop below freezing across the UK.

All you need to do is squirt some onto the lock and insert your key straight away.

Alternatively, you can squirt the gel directly on your key before slotting it into the lock. 

Move it back and forth a few times in the lock, then try your luck with turning it. 

The hack was shared on TikTok by winter weather expert, Home with Christina.

It’s particularly helpful with Brits facing travel chaos due to the -10C Arctic freeze in the coming days. 

The Met Office has warned “disruptive” snow will make it “bitterly cold” for us, prompting the closure of hundreds of schools. 

Drivers have been warned of difficult driving conditions today and tomorrow, with authorities warning drivers to plan ahead. 

Some rural communities have been warned the roads could be temporarily cut off.

Snow and ice warnings are currently in place for most of northern England and Scotland. 

Rain, sleet and snow will hit the north, with ice crusting on the roads in most areas. 

The south of the country is set to stay dry and sunny, even as the mercury sinks below freezing point.