Why Are People Rubbing Potatoes on Their Car Windows?

When a person selects a potato from a grocer’s cart or a supermarket’s shelf, they usually think of mashing it into a sandwich, baking it into a bag of potato chips, or cooking it into a vegetable stir fry. But times have changed. A potato has become much more than just the king of food. This starchy tuber coated with the muddy fragrance of Earth is not just a life-saving food equipped with vitamins, antioxidants, fibers, and potassium, but also a magical tool that can protect a car’s windshield against heavy rain or storm. Lately, TikTok users have been going crazy about using potatoes to protect their cars.

In a recently published TikTok, ND_Home (@nd_home.hacks) demonstrated how rubbing potatoes on a car’s windshield can guard it against water. The content creator displays a half-cut slice of potato on the camera, thoroughly rubs it over the car’s glass and then jet sprays the glass with water. As if by magic, the portion of the glass that was rubbed by the potato, resists the water and doesn’t become wet while the other portion has water droplets clinging to the windshield.

In an older TikTok, Brandon Haneline (@brandon.haneline) called this layer of potato protection the term “potato wax.” He, however, was against rubbing the potatoes on the windshield. But the hack is still viral among the majority of people. @that40yearguy, for instance, was also a bit skeptical of this idea, initially. But when he implemented it, he couldn’t stop but chortle. “This is the craziest dragon thing I’ve ever seen,” he said in a video. He chuckled at how he rubbed a potato on his car’s window and it acted like Rain X.

Automotive expert, @chequanxiaoqiao, also promoted the potato-rubbing trick by explaining how it worked wonders for her car’s rear-view mirror, especially on rainy days when it is layered with water droplets. “90 percent of drivers don’t know that potatoes have these great uses in cars,” she wrote in the Instagram post. As it turns out, the hack is not just an idyllic social media experiment or a TikTok challenge, but something backed by science.

Experts at John Clark Motor Group admit that potatoes can indeed be used to protect a car’s glass against fogging and frost, as per the Daily Express. “Rubbing the cut side of half a potato against the outer surface can make a real difference to your windscreen,” they said. They further elaborated on the concept by saying, “The starch in the potato acts as a barrier between the glass and the air and can help with that all too common issue of your windscreen fogging up, making it hard to see.”

Mia Gordon from The Weather Network added, “Take a potato and cut it in half, and then rub it on your car’s windshield. The sugar from the potato will create a barrier over the window that will help prevent ice from forming. The next morning simply rinse and wipe with your wipers.” The hack is also featured in the Farmer’s Almanac. At this point, you cannot deny, that potato juice or leftover potato slices are just going into your kitchen bin. They may not be fit for eating but these mighty potatoes have found a new purpose in their life – protecting cars!

You can follow ND_Home, That40YearGuy on TikTok and Chē quān xiǎo qiáo on Instagram for more life hacks!