Tips for reducing windscreen condensation?
Discussion
First tip for not having condensation in winter, don't be a Seat Leon Cupra R - sooner or later, they all leak like sieves due to a terrible design of the front door seals. Thankfully if you have this car, you can fix the seals yourself (probably in a similar fashion to the Fabia) with butyl strip seal, and the fantastic air conditioning system will demist the windows in a rapid affair. Unfortunately, you generally don't find out that your car is leaking until you get in one morning and many litres of water have soaked into the carpet and sound deadening. If you don't sort it quickly, the car will start to stink of damp. Nice one VAG!
My old Fiesta used to freeze over on the inside, many times I had to go around the inside of the car chipping away at ice on windows, what a pain that was. I think that was because it had rubber mats, and any water that got on the car was not absorbed and slowly released, it just evaporated quickly and heavily onto to the windows, ready to freeze.
Whatever you do, don't wipe the windows on the inside with kitchen roll, the high fibre-shed will stick loads of particles to the windscreen, which will attract water molecules much more effectively than the glass ever could. This is the principle by which keeping your glass really clean works, there is no particulate matter for the water to cling too. Next time you come to your car, the condensation will be worse than ever. I made this mistake once when I was in a hurry and did not have time for the Fiesta to warm up so I could see, so I wiped the window down with kitchen roll, the next morning the car looked like the inside of a steam room!
My old Fiesta used to freeze over on the inside, many times I had to go around the inside of the car chipping away at ice on windows, what a pain that was. I think that was because it had rubber mats, and any water that got on the car was not absorbed and slowly released, it just evaporated quickly and heavily onto to the windows, ready to freeze.
Whatever you do, don't wipe the windows on the inside with kitchen roll, the high fibre-shed will stick loads of particles to the windscreen, which will attract water molecules much more effectively than the glass ever could. This is the principle by which keeping your glass really clean works, there is no particulate matter for the water to cling too. Next time you come to your car, the condensation will be worse than ever. I made this mistake once when I was in a hurry and did not have time for the Fiesta to warm up so I could see, so I wiped the window down with kitchen roll, the next morning the car looked like the inside of a steam room!
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