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In order not to encounter minor but potentially dangerous surprises with the onset of cold weather, the car needs to be prepared to some extent
A seemingly minor problem that plagues many drivers during the cold season – but because of it, you can cause an accident and have far from minor consequences. How to avoid fogging up your car windows? Read about several effective techniques against fogging of windows in the car interior in the article from RBC-Ukraine.
Fogging of car windows is a completely natural phenomenon in winter, but not necessary. You can take steps to help clear your windows quickly, or you can take steps to prevent fogging in the future.
The windows are fogged up: what to do
On many modern models there is a specific button – intense blowing of the windshield with the inclusion of the air conditioner to clean it from moisture. There is also a heating function. Why the windshield? Because it freezes and sweats first of all – due to blowing by the oncoming air flow. Moreover, some premium cars independently recognize the fogging of the windshield and automatically turn on its intensive airflow – so that the driver does not even have time to understand that he has problems with visibility.
- But such functions are not yet available to most people, so they have to perform certain manipulations manually. Our tips are presented in order of effectiveness, that is, in order of the desired sequence of implementation.
- Turn on the air conditioner, directing all the air flow to the windshield. It may seem strange, but the air cooler also dries it. Unfortunately, the air conditioning will not turn on at sub-zero temperatures;
- If there is no air conditioning, turn the heater on full, and it is better to direct the airflow onto the windshield;
- Lower the glass in one of the doors at least a little. Fresh air from the street will reduce the concentration of moisture in the atmosphere of the cabin and all windows will gradually become clear;
- Remove moisture with a napkin. But this is a temporary measure – while the interior and glass warm up, moisture may settle on the windows more than once;
- Check to see if the interior air recirculation button is pressed and turn it off if this mode is activated. The air in the car must be renewed;
Why do car windows sweat?
The physics of the phenomenon is simple: moisture present in the air in the cabin settles on cold glass. Where is she from?
- From the breath of people, especially drunk people (alcohol vapor in the exhaled air removes a lot of moisture from the body);
- There is generally high humidity in the car – from wet carpets, wet clothes of passengers, umbrellas, napkins forgotten under the seat. On an old car, water can accumulate in nooks and crannies due to leaky hatches, holes eaten away by corrosion, etc.;
- The drainage pipes are clogged – primarily the air conditioner, as well as the so-called air supply duct (the area under the hood between the engine and the windshield, most often from here air is taken into the cabin). The problem is not complicated, but it cannot always be solved on your own.
How to prevent glass fogging
Above, we talked about urgent measures to defog when the windows became wet during the trip, or more precisely at the beginning. But you can do something preventatively so that you don’t have to fight to keep the windows clean when the car is already moving.
- Have patience. Warm up the interior well before you go on a trip.
- Do not talk in the cabin for the first few minutes after passengers board. Especially if there are a lot of people, especially if they drank alcoholic beverages;
- Remove anything wet from the interior and trunk.
- Dry the interior – for example, by installing a fan heater in it for an hour or two. Wet mats can be taken home;
- Treat the glass with a special preparation. In principle, a similar effect will occur if you wipe clean ones – thoroughly washed from the inside! – windows with soapy water. But one of the windows must be left untreated, because the moisture must condense somewhere;
- Before closing the car after a previous trip, ventilate the interior: leaving it cold will reduce the likelihood of subsequent fogging of the windows.
In short
In order not to encounter minor but potentially dangerous surprises with the onset of cold weather, the car needs to be prepared to some extent. There is nothing particularly tricky or expensive here: firstly, all standard systems must be in order, and secondly, you need to perform a few basic steps – which we discussed above. And don’t forget about the instructions in the factory operating manual, which the automaker carefully places in the glove compartment of every car.
