Yes readers, today we’re going to discuss condensation building up on car windows. You might be wondering what’s there to discuss. Well, I personally think that awareness should be raised to properly get rid of this annoyingly frustrating moisture on the windows. Quite often I see people using a piece of tissue or kitchen roll to wipe the screen, which I might add is messy and can end up costing a lot. So I believe you can understand my plight for the pursuit of optimal results. I went online to search why my car’ windows were fogging up and following is the compilation of results that my research yielded.
What is condensation and why is it so persistent?
Condensation occurs when warm air meets a cool surface. It happens due to:
- When people get in the car in cold weather, their warm breathe and moisture-rich air comes into contact with a cold windshield it results in the accumulation of moisture from the air to collect on the glass.
- It also occurs due to moisture present in your car. For example, when damp seats and discarded food; is heated in the sun, the interior of the car acts as a greenhouse but without ventilation the moisture rises but can’t escape the cabin and thus turns to water, as it touches the glass.
- Additionally, damp carpets, wet clothes, leaks from sunroof, doors, windows or coolant leaks into the heater.
How to de-fog your windows?
In essence condensation goes away under two conditions, either the air in your car is hot enough to keep the moisture from dropping out of it, or it is less moist overall.
The most basic and simple method to tackle this problem is to turn on the defogger -a standard feature in majority of the cars. It turns both heater and air conditioning. You might be thinking, it’s strange that somebody is advising you to turn on the air conditioning in the winters. It’s primary use of is advised in many circles because air conditioning removes moisture from the air making it virtually impossible for the condensation to accumulate on windows.
If the issue still persists, then here are few other methods that you can try to get rid of fog.
- Clean the screen using a good quality screen cleaner.
- Inspect your vehicle for dampness. Why? Since condensation is caused when warm air comes in contact with the cold glass of you windows, it’s important to remove as many sources of moisture from your car. Check for leaks—especially in the boot or trunk. Lift up the rear carpet and make sure the rear wheel well isn’t damp or full of water.
- Sightly lower your car’s windows on hot winter days, as it’ll allow the sunlight to vaporize the moisture and circulate it out of your car. Make sure to close your windows in the evenings though, because there is a strong possibility if dew accumulation in the cabin.
- Turn off Re-circulation Valve, why? because it’ll keep circulating the air inside the cabin. In winters you’ll want to have to fresh air inside because otherwise dealing with moisture is going to be quite tedious.
- Check door seals for breaks and tears – any broken door seal can allow water into the cabin of a vehicle, and it doesn’t have to come from the top. Water can also enter the cabin from below if water is splashed up through the seal.
