The Curious Case of “Condensation” In Your Car.

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The FOGGING issue you experience in your car, especially in winters, can make you mad. This is “OOUS “SHABNAM” or DEW whatever you call it. This is a phenomenon you read about it in your middle school science. This happens when a saturated air condenses into droplets. It is an opposite to evaporation in which case , if you boil water and the liquid evaporate into steam/gas. In simple science terms, this is called “CONDENSATION”. You see it on the Glass’s outer surface with your thandi khoay wali lassi, and you also see it on the mirrors in your bathroom when you take a shower with hot water.

In your vehicle, you have glass surfaces around you. Glass is the main transition surface between the interior and the vehicle’s exterior. When you switch ON the climate control in your car, you create a temperature differential between outside and inside. In winters you increase the temperature inside while in summer you do opposite and decrease the temperature inside of your vehicle for your desired comfort. In both these cases, the Glass is the main containment surface between inside and outside.

How Condensation Happens: 

The air in the atmosphere has certain level moisture in it, and it’s not always dry. When there is a difference between the air temperature and the Glass’s surface, Condensation can occur. In other words, when warm air comes in contact with a cold surface, the air contracts and can’t hold moisture in it and converts that extra moisture into water droplets. Warmer air can carry more moisture.

The Condensation happens both in winters as well as summers. In summers, you see it on your Glass’s outer surface while in winters you see it on the Glass’s interior and you observe it like fog. In summer, the hot air is on the outside while in winter the hot air is on the interior and when occupant exhales they release moistures and saturate the air inside the vehicle. Newer cars are getting more and more sealed and well insulated to decrease noise and increase comfort. This also reduces air movement between and in and out and cause a greater probability of Condensation.

So, What To Do? 

First of all, always keep your glass surfaces clean inside and out. Many anti-fog sprays are available, which you can use. A well cleaned, dry, dust, grease, and lint-free glass surface on the interior will reduce condensation chances.

Start with the DE-FOGGING function on the climate control.  The function works great for rear glass surface because of  heating element which keep the glass heated and remove any condensation and even can defrost the outer glass surface. Additionally as the rear glass is also not in direct path  of the cold air coming in and striking the glass surface , the built-in DE-FOGGER element keeps the glass clear.

In case of front screen, there is no heated element and the DEFOG function starts blowing the air on the front screen and depending upon the ambient temperature and especially in winters, you might observe that condensation get’s worse and reason being more air [ and hotter air]  from vents is directed towards the  colder glass surface . You might see patches of clear glass near the point of impact of the climate controlled air near front vents but otherwise it will still remain  foggy and the reason is another function on the climate control which might be contributing to this issue , the RECIRCULATON function.

You need to make sure your climate control is working and especially the recirculation function. Sometimes in the cars where you pull or push the lever to ON or OFF the recirculation function is not working because, the pull wire is unattached, especially older vehicles. Normally, when you change the setting, you will hear a typical sound, conforming the damper is closed or open. Additionally, you must have a working and clean cabin air filter.

On very hot humid days or a freezing winters, don’t lower the interior temperature too low and too high respectively. This will create a much larger temperature differential between in and out and will cause Condensation very quickly. Keep temperature settings within a moderate range. Adjust vents in the manner that these are not blowing air directly on the glass surface.

If you start observing the Condensation inside or outside, Select “RECIRCULATION BUTTON” to off position [ when the light comes on the button, it means Recirculation is active ]. Recirculation button controls the flow of air from outside to inside. Once you switch it off, you allow outside air into the vehicle, which balances the temperature gradient. Especially in winters when it fogs on the interior, You must keep the Rercriculation button off because you can’t use wiper to clear it as you can do in summers. Also in winters if it fogs inside and you wipe the fog with hand or any cloth, it can worsen.

Steps to be Taken: 

In either case, winter or summer, if it starts fogging, first select Recirculation OFF, slightly open the windows, on the climate control, select the setting for the front defogging, which will direct the air to front Glass. The purpose is the bring the glass temperature to as neutral and balanced with the outside as possible. You don’t need to use the heater in summers but slightly opening the windows will work. Once cleared, you can close the windows with Recirculation still in off position. Please don’t change the AC temperature on the lowest position; keep it moderate. Once the Condensation is clear, activate the recirculation button.

In winters the Condensation is on the inside it can be tricky as you need to bring down the temperature to balance it out and if it’s freezing cold outside. Open the windows slightly, keep Recirculation OFF, change from the heater to AC slowly and select vent position to front defogger. Once the screen is cleared, slightly start increasing the temperature gradually on climate control and keeping it moderate. Don’t make a tandoor like an environment on the inside. Keep Recirculation OFF and eventually close the windows.

Condensation and Wet Clothes: 

In winters if you enter the vehicle with wet clothes or your floor mats are wet, it will cause much faster Condensation, the reason being the availability of the moistures on the inside. Carrying cooked food inside will be an icing on the cake. In winters you will be better off keeping the Recirculation in OFF position all the times. Winter weather can make you crazy as far as Condensation is concerned as it will happen too often and on the inside. It can be fog outside as we see in winters and then it will become foggy inside your vehicle.

Yes, our local ambient conditions, dust, and smoke can be difficult to deal with if Recirculation is off, meaning letting outside air inside. In that case, don’t let Condensation start in the first place and avoid reasons for it. Keep climate control settings on moderate. On highway/motorway driving, let the fresh air come in temporarily, this will keep temperature conditions adequate and don’t let the Condensation appear on the glass surfaces.

You might look into buying “Dehumidifying Crystals “if it’s available in the market, which is the basically same stuff you find in a small pouch inside your medicines containers OR maybe take a clean new pair of sock and fill it with some uncooked rice and place it under your seat.

The Condensation you see is not the problem. It’s in science.

For more information, keep visiting PakWheels Blogs.

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