Atlanta TV journalist’s attempt to de-ice his car live on-air goes hilariously wrong

An Atlanta TV journalist set out to show viewers how to de-ice his car during a live broadcast, only for the plan to hilariously backfire in real time.

As Storm Fern made her way across North America over the weekend, causing nearly half of US states – including Georgia – to declare a state of emergency, Atlanta News First sent investigative reporter Andy Pierrotti to show viewers how to properly de-ice their cars Sunday morning.

Residents of Atlanta and Georgia more broadly are not often hit with winter storms as severe as the one that has just roiled the country, leaving at least 16 dead and causing estimated damages north of $100billion.

In Atlanta specifically, freezing rain caused thousands of power outages and widespread flight cancellations.

The freezing rain also encased cars in ice, a problem Pierrotti exposed his lack of familiarity with when he unsuccessfully tried to use ice fighter spray on his vehicle.

In a live news segment, Pierrotti showed that his car was totally covered in ice and said, ‘I’m gonna show you what you could do if you happen to have the right equipment,’ while holding up a can of Prestone ice fighter spray.

He then said: ‘I’ve never used this. We’re going to try it out. According to the directions, all you have to do is spray.’

The investigative reporter then used the spray on his windshield and explained that the directions said to wait 15 seconds.

A TV journalist from Atlanta tried to de-ice his car live on the air, but his attempt to spray and scrape the ice off his windshield went hilariously wrong

A TV journalist from Atlanta tried to de-ice his car live on the air, but his attempt to spray and scrape the ice off his windshield went hilariously wrong

Although the reporter said he could 'already' hear the product working, when he tried using the scraper attached to the can to start removing the ice, it had humorously little effect

Although the reporter said he could ‘already’ hear the product working, when he tried using the scraper attached to the can to start removing the ice, it had humorously little effect

In Atlanta (pictured), freezing rain caused thousands of power outages and widespread flight cancellations over the weekend

In Atlanta (pictured), freezing rain caused thousands of power outages and widespread flight cancellations over the weekend

Although Pierrotti said he could ‘already’ hear the product working, when he tried using the scraper attached to the can to start removing the ice, it had humorously little effect.

‘Well, clearly I need a little bit more time,’ he then said.

Pierrotti also noted that the car’s windshield wipers were frozen in place and said that he and his photographer did not realize they were supposed to stand them up before the storm.

He then continued attempting to use the scraper on the windshield, but the ice still wouldn’t come off.

‘We’re gonna spray a little bit more,’ Pierrotti said. ‘Clearly we have an issue here.’

The viral clip of the segment, which has received almost five million views and ten thousand likes on X in just one day, ends shortly after.

According to the Prestone ice fighter spray instructions on the back of the can, users are directed to first start their cars and turn on the defroster before applying the spray.

Once that is done, they should spray the ice and wait fifteen seconds, as Pierrotti said.

Residents of Atlanta and Georgia more broadly are not often hit with winter storms as severe as the one that has just roiled the country

Residents of Atlanta and Georgia more broadly are not often hit with winter storms as severe as the one that has just roiled the country

The reporter seemed to have eventually figured out what he did wrong, as another live segment from later that morning showed that he successfully removed the ice from his vehicle

The reporter seemed to have eventually figured out what he did wrong, as another live segment from later that morning showed that he successfully removed the ice from his vehicle

But the instructions stipulate that in the case of heavy ice, which was certainly the case with the reporter’s vehicle, users should first score the ice with the scraper before using the spray.

Despite Pierrotti’s live, embarrassing mishap early Sunday morning, the reporter seemed to have eventually figured out what he did wrong, as a segment from later that morning showed that he successfully removed the ice from his vehicle.

In that segment, the ice was already cleared from the windshield, but Pierrotti could be seen successfully using the scraper on the hood of his car.

‘Take a look at this. Lots of ice finally coming off our vehicle,’ he said.

Many users on X thought the reporter’s live fail was a funny example of the difference between Americans’ experience with freezing temperatures, with some posting pictures of defrosting buttons in cars.

‘Defrost. It’s a little button that looks like this,’ one user wrote along with one of those pictures.

‘Start the car, it has this thing called a defroster,’ wrote another.

A third added, ‘Good grief, that’s not how it’s done. Put score lines in the ice the [sic] scrape from the score line up (or over if you’re a side to side scraper). The defroster is also your friend. Soften that up a little.’