Windshield cleaning question

[CaseyM]

Hey there!

I've been wondering something. Some times on really cold mornings or night, or on rainy days when I'm driving with someone else the inside of my windshield tends to fog up and the only way to get rid of it is to blast on the cold air on my windshield. My only guess is that its our body heat that's doing that. Being that it's already cold outside, blasting cold air even more inside just isn't doing it for me.

I clean the inside and outside of the windshields but it still happens. I've heard using shaving creme helps but isn't shaving creme oily? Won't it glare up my windshield, making it even more muckier?

What do you guys recommend for proper windshield washing?

[Val]

Hello honey!
Welcome to the auto forum.

Originally Posted by CaseyM

I've heard using shaving creme helps but isn't shaving creme oily?

Who told this to you?
We must never use oil products in the car glasses because they are damn destructive.
And another thing: AVOID HOUSEHOLD GLASS CLEANERS, which almost all contain ammonia. A few examples of tint-safe glass cleaners are; Stoner Invisible Glass, DP Krystal Vision Glass Cleaner, and Meguiar’s NXT Generation Glass Cleaner. If your current cleaner does not state “ammonia-free” or “safe for tinted windows” you should find another cleaner.

So, I advice you to use this one:



Diamondite Perfect Vision Glass Cleaner is a non-ammoniated, VOC-free glass cleaner for tough-to-clean automotive glass. Remove stubborn smoker’s film, bugs, and greasy road films to leave a streak-free, perfectly clear surface. This will give you a perfectly clear vision of the road ahead. I don't know much this costs where you live, but here in Brazil is 20 reais, more or less 12 dollars.
See? It's a little cheap.
Good luck and let me know the results, ok?

More tips?
Click here and have fun!

[Blackmask]

The mist is due to the temperature of the glass and the humidity of the air. Unless you are using a product that can change that balance I don't see how it could stop the mist.

To avoid the blast of cold air though, you can also demist a windscreen using the heater. The cold air demists through changing the humidity level around the glass so the mist doesn't form, hot air demists by heating the glass above the dew point. The air conditioner will generally be quicker since it just blasts the humid air out of the way, but the heater will have the same effect, just takes a bit longer, if you put the fan on full onto the windscreen though you'll have the advantage of blowing the humid air away from the windscreen while heating the glass.

[CaseyM]

We've tried that, I think. I guess I can heat the glass before leaving. The fogginess has always caught us when we're on the road, so we have no choice but to use the cold air because at the time of driving, if we use the hot air it makes everything worse.

omg, I didn't realize how late it was. Thanks guys.

[Blackmask]

If it's cold, which I assume it is since the windows are fogging up, you'd have the heater running anyway? If that's the case then run it on the windscreen right from the start rather than on your feet or blowing through the fan. That could help by keeping the windscreen at a higher temperature so the fogging doesn't occur in the first place.

[CaseyM]

If it's cold, which I assume it is since the windows are fogging up, you'd have the heater running anyway?

It is cold, yes. But no, we don't have the heater running. It's heat that's the enemy here. I know it's because of our body heat that the inside of the windshield, and side windows as well, begins to fog/moisture. Blasting the heater right on to the windshield will cause the exact same thing to happen. That's why I was wondering if proper glass-cleaning would do something about that. So far I've been investing in soap+water.

[Val]

Originally Posted by Blackmask

Unless you are using a product that can change that balance I don't see how it could stop the mist.

As I told, this is the best solution.
Or just open the windows and die with the cold.
I use that product told by me there on top, both inside and outside of the car glasses. On the outside, the rainwater slips by the glass and you don't need to turn the windscreen on and inside, the mist dosen't appear.

[Blackmask]

Sounds like it's putting a coating on the glass that changes the surface tension so the water doesn't stay.

Casey, the temperature from the bodies is part of it but it's probably more related to breathing and therefore creating water vapour and changing the humidity level. Air conditioning works faster than the heater because it's dry air...fixes the humidity.

[Samson The Cat]

It's heat that's the enemy here.

No. It's the humitidy. You know that warm air can hold a larger amount of water vapour than cold air. With the window panes being colder than the rest of the car interior, it's them that fogs up. Where does the warm air with the massive amount of vwater vapour come from? It's the air you breathe out. I found that with more passengers, I have to turn up the fans to a higher level, but I always use warm air, respectively a temperature that is agreeable. ...of course you can try to use cold air, maybe switch on the air conditioning if you have one, in order to make the vapour condense before it reaches the window pane. You know that it's cold enough when you can see the breath of yourself and you friend. I wouldn't recommend this way of dealing with the problem though.