It’s happened to just about everyone: you get into the car and for whatever reason the window is completely fogged up. Worse, you’re driving down the road and for some reason or another the window fogs up on you. Obscured vision can be very dangerous, and while you could turn on the heater at full blast, that can take a bit longer than you like, as well as being uncomfortable.
What’s a person to do if they’re running late, or already heading somewhere and they need to quickly defog their front window on the car? Learn a few tips, tricks and techniques for how to defog a windshield so you can get back on the road fast and eliminate the danger of obscured vision.
Steps to Defog a Windshield
It can happen any time of year, but especially as winter approaches, foggy windshields become a fact of life. Condensation causes it, and while it usually doesn’t take that long to defog it, when you’re already running late, or headed somewhere on the roads, you don’t want to spend the extra time waiting. Fortunately, there are certain settings and tricks you can use to speed things up a bit.
Set the Proper Heater Settings
The way this process works is to use hot air from your heater vent, using outside dry air to remove the condensation by reducing humidity in the car. The first thing you need to do is turn up your heater to its maximum setting—yes, uncomfortable, but we’re working fast, here.
Second, turn on the car’s air conditioner. Why do this, you ask? The AC unit will actually help to remove excess moisture from inside the cabin, helping to dry it out faster. For this reason, you also want to turn off the inside air circulation. You want to bring the air inside from outside.
Finally, crack your windows just a bit. This will also help to bring in the cold and dry air from outside.
How It Works
Ideally, this process will not only fire hot air right at your windshield, it will also bring dry air from outside the car into the cabin, which will help to remove the humidity that’s causing the condensation in the first place.
Another “life hack” tip is to put some cat litter into a sock, and place it on the car dashboard right against the windshield. The litter will absorb excess moisture even faster, although it’ll smell like kitty litter in the process.
Make Sure Your Heater Works at Kelly JCDR
Of course, you want to make sure that your car’s heater works as efficiently as possible, and for that you’ll want the very best automotive service center. That’s where Kelly Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram comes into the picture. Our certified, highly-trained, expert repair staff are here to take care of everything from routine maintenance to major repairs. We’ll keep your heater working at peak performance all through the winter months. Just give us a call or stop into our service station and make an appointment to get your car up to specs for the winter months today!