The weather is turning in the Northern Hemisphere, and this brings me to a common problem of mine in winter months: going out to the car and seeing that the entire inside of my windshield is covered with either fog or condensation. I live in an apartment complex, and I’m not paying an extra $20/month for covered parking, so I’m stuck with it.
Turning on the defroster works, of course, but it takes for-friggin-ever. I’ve tried a dish towel to wipe off the moisture, but it doesn’t work very well.
How do you all do it? I saw this As Seen On TV product (some kind of cloth on the end of a plastic arm) for $10 that claims to do the job, but, well, I’m skeptical. Anything more straightforward?
Take a bar of soap, rub it lightly on the windshield where it fogs, wipe it off with a dry cloth. That will keep it clear for a while. You can do the same for your bathroom mirror.
Yeah, I’ve had good luck with the Rain-X product. (I have no idea where I got it - it was a half bottle I think might have been on the shelf of a house we bought. Tried it, figuring WTH, and was fairly impressed with the results. Clean the window well first and follow the directions.
That won’t stop heavier condensation, though. Trying to keep the car interior dry (by running AC/defroster, not leaving puddles on weather mats, etc.) is a big step there.
You can also get heated electric blower-defrosters from the JC Whitney sort of places. I had one for a 1960s vehicle whose rear window was a terrible fogger/icer.
Just to be sure you’re doing it right, start the car, turn on the defroster, turn the fan to a high setting, and make sure the AC compressor is running. Every car I’ve seen automatically runs the AC when the defroster is running but perhaps not all do.
Otherwise it sounds like you live in a very humid environment. Maybe some vent visors and leaving the windows slightly cracked?
Also would parking your car facing towards/away from the sun help? How about a sunshade?
Do not use rain-X on the inside of the windshield it attracts condensation.
If you read the fine print on the bottle it tells you that. Ask me how I know this.
On the inside of the windshield use fog-X.
Make sure the inside of the windshield is clean, clean, clean. Dirty windows attract more condensation.
I would also check the drain on the bottom of the evaporator case to make sure any water that accumulates there drains properly. Also open the hood and make sure the cowl area in front of the windshield is clear of leaves and debris.
Are the carpets wet? Any leaks anywhere else?
One last question. When the fan first starts do you smell a sweet smell? You could have a leaky heater core.
Some people have just said “Rain-X” but the original mention was about Rain-X Anti-Fog. I’ve used it before, including temporarily during a leaky heater core before I could fix it and it works well.
Just to be clear for anyone buying though, Rain-X in the yellow bottle is for the outside of the windshield to shed rain, Rain-X Anti-Fog in the small black bottle is for preventing fog on the inside.
Sorry, didn’t mean it was hard to find. It is kind of expensive, though. I am not sure I would have ever plunked down $10 on the experiment, so the ‘free’ bottle was why I tried it.
It does work well and is probably worth the money.
The OP should try to get and keep the car interior dry. On sunny days, leave it in the sun with the windows cracked, even in winter.
The soap trick works but tends to attract dirt and make that peculiar inside-windshield greasy film much worse.
I got some of the interior Rain-X (actually remembered that I had a bottle already), and applied it. How long does this stuff usually last? The last time I tried using it, a couple of years ago, I wasn’t sure how much it helped.
Most modern cars have servo-controlled heating/cooling vent selection but if yours doesn’t one thing to remember is: Make absolutely sure you do NOT have it set to recirculate when defogging the windshield. This will recirculate the humidity from your breathing inside the car and cause more condensation (effect will be amplified if there’s more people in the car). Make sure it is set to use outside air. Even though the outside air is cold in the winter it is also completely dry (and it will have negligible effect on how fast your car heats up).
Amen to what Hail Ants said. The recirculate mode is to be used only for coldest air conditioning (on some cars you can only engage it be selecting “MAX A/C”).