Don't pour hot water on a windshield. The temperature shock cracks glass — and an already-stressed older windshield will go from chip to full crack in seconds.
Run the defroster on max for 5 minutes with the engine running before scraping. The cabin warms the inside surface of the glass, the ice softens its grip, and scraping becomes 5x easier. Use a real scraper — credit cards bend and snap.
If the car won't start because the battery is cold-weak and you've been idling to defrost too long, that's our $249 / hour roadside rate, 1-hour minimum, $224 online. Jump plus load test on the spot.