Foggy windows

[24lemons]

It's that time of year again when there is a chill in the air and the car is misted up in the mornings.

Since I am a lazy bugger and can't be arsed getting up any earlier than I can get away with, are there any quick and effective ways to demist or defrost the cars windscreen before I set off?

I am a bit OCD about streaky windows so I try and avoid squeegee-ing the glass and have been considering getting one of those 12v instant heaters as it takes a few minutes for the car to warm up properly. What do you reccomend?

[Blue Oval84]

If it's frosty then I keep an empty 2 litre bottle by the sink and fill it with lukewarm (NOT hot!) water when I leave, chuck it all over the windscreen, flick the wipers, job jobbed

Have done it for years, even though I've got a heavily chipped screen it hasn't exploded yet.

[Ki3r]

I put the heater on full heat, wipers on and windows down. Seems to get it gone pretty quickly.

[24lemons]

Ki3r said:

I put the heater on full heat, wipers on and windows down. Seems to get it gone pretty quickly.

Yeah that's what I do currently. It still takes a while for the screen to clear though and I get jolly chilly with the windows down!

[snotrag]

Fully clean and polish the glass inside. Never ever ever touch it, with anything. Make sure the inside of your car is clean, remove litter etc. make sure carpet mats are clean not damp. Try not to drag moisture in on your feet (snow in winter from your feet is what brings damp in). Put your wet coat and brolly in the boot not the passenger seat.

All minimises misting up by a decent amount.

Use your air con to dry the air too.

[new_bloke]

Big bag of silica gel on the dash works well. I got an indicator type from eBay that changes colour when it needs to be dried out (an hour in a low oven) for about £6. I have heard anecdotal evidence that a sock filled with cat litter (clean, obv) will do the same thing, but haven't tried it...

[S2Mike]

new_bloke said:

Big bag of silica gel on the dash works well. I got an indicator type from eBay that changes colour when it needs to be dried out (an hour in a low oven) for about £6. I have heard anecdotal evidence that a sock filled with cat litter (clean, obv) will do the same thing, but haven't tried it...

.
I have one of these silica bags on the top of the rear parcel shelf, although not a proved conclusion it seems that I have less condensation than I used to get, and so clears quicker with A/C on hot blow, OH gets similar result in her car.

[24lemons]

I might try that. I understand putting the ac on will dry the air although in my car the ac is automatically disabled below 3 degrees c

[Mr Sparkle]

You know when you get up in the morning and have a wee...

[Dog Star]

snotrag said:

Fully clean and polish the glass inside. Never ever ever touch it, with anything. Make sure the inside of your car is clean, remove litter etc. make sure carpet mats are clean not damp. Try not to drag moisture in on your feet (snow in winter from your feet is what brings damp in). Put your wet coat and brolly in the boot not the passenger seat.

All minimises misting up by a decent amount.

Use your air con to dry the air too.

Listen to the wise words of this man. Also as well as never ever touching the glass - always always have air moving over it.

Also - if it's going to be frosty get a sheet of cardboard over the screen the night before - had an amazing effect in keeping the screen fog free rhe morning after.

[the_scorpion]

Blue Oval84 said:

If it's frosty then I keep an empty 2 litre bottle by the sink and fill it with lukewarm (NOT hot!) water when I leave, chuck it all over the windscreen, flick the wipers, job jobbed

Have done it for years, even though I've got a heavily chipped screen it hasn't exploded yet.

Same here. I've never had any problems with windscreens cracking etc either

[KungFuPanda]

Opinion 1: Blah blah blah I always pour boiling hot water over my windscreen and I have never had any adverse effects and windscreens would never crack.

Opinion 2: Blah blah blah I've cracked my windscreen by pouring luke warm water on it.

Who to believe?

[WhereamI]

I program the car to warm itself up 30 minutes before I'm due to leave in the morning or if I'm going at an unusual time just press the button on the key fob. Works very well - so long as you drive a Range Rover

[vit4]

Dehumidifier things are purple and exvellently brilliant at removing wetness brcause they're preytt good.

[Noesph]

24lemons said:

Yeah that's what I do currently. It still takes a while for the screen to clear though and I get jolly chilly with the windows down!

depends on the car too, if I open the windows before the first corner all the water on the roof ends on top of my head.

[Triumph Man]

I've got some rain-x anti fog stuff that works really well, about £6 a bottle I think. Just be careful when squirting. It's a bit of a case of nothing nothing nothing ah st it's on the plastics! (Which it will discolour).

[4key]

The heater matrix started leaking in my car last winter just as it started snowing. It took me a couple of days to figure out why the windows wouldnt clear in the morning, I finally realised when it looked like someone was boiling a kettle under the dashboard

[Blue Oval84]

KungFuPanda said:

Opinion 1: Blah blah blah I always pour boiling hot water over my windscreen and I have never had any adverse effects and windscreens would never crack.

Opinion 2: Blah blah blah I've cracked my windscreen by pouring luke warm water on it.

Who to believe?

Option 2 if you're talking about boiling water. But erm, no one here has said to put boiling hot water on a screen have they?

[KungFuPanda]

I read it on a thread on here somewhere last year. Can't find a link to it though.