How to prevent condensation

Does anyone know any way of preventing condensation on the inside of the windscreen. There's damp cold weather here for the past couple of weeks and the water is dripping off the inside of the windscreen of my van every morning. Even if I wipe it down with a cloth it still takes about 10 mins for the demister to dry the windscreen properly. I'm driving on unlit rural roads and the visibility is very bad. Any tips to prevent condensation building up over night.

Thanks John

Can you put a heater in it overnight? It doesn't have to be huge amounts of watts, I used to have a 200 watt fan heater which would do the trick nicely.

The message from "John" contains these words:

Find where the water's coming from. In the wife's Clio it's the sunroof, in my car it's the kids dropping a litre of water in the back - never has the term "footwell" been so appropriate.

You won't get condensation unless there's water there to condense and there's not really enough air in a car for it to be just moist air.

Check for any leaks, in the door seals, etc. Remove anything damp from the van overnight - like the cloth used to wipe off the condensation Avoid the 'special anti-misting' sprays and cleaners - they are hard to see through when damp - just keep the inside of the windows clean Try to park the van in a warmer position Check the van is heating up as quickly as it should ie no dodgy thermostat, etc. Check heater vents aren't blocked with leaves, etc Drive about with the heater blasting all day to dry out the carpet, seats, etc if they seem cold and damp. I assume you don't have aircon as that helps a lot too.

The message from "Zimmy" contains these words:

And park facing the morning sun.

But only "Recirc" if used in conjunction with Air Conditioning - otherwise it will get worse.

No leaks. The van's panelled with plywood. I'd imagine there's plenty of moisture there, not much I can do about it. The back of the van never really drys out properly.

John

In news:do75lc$4hh$ snipped-for-privacy@reader01.news.esat.net, John scribed for want of a better word:

AIUI The art is to arrive home to park up witha COLD vehicle (warm air carries lots of moisture) so for your last mile home turn off the heating It did work with my Furby and still does

i got a pack of dehumidifier crystals from local Wilkinson's as used in houses, caravans etc and put it in the back of my old car on the parcel shelf. just collects the water in the bottom of it and tip it out every now and then. had to mount it on a wooden base to stop it falling over and making a mess though. easy and cheap solution as it got most - but not all - of the moisture out.

The temperature inside the van needs to be raised above the dew point through the night; the electricity bill to effect such a sustained change may be hard to swallow. A dehumidifier tackling the cause directly might possibly produce a better result, and less costly. This is only a wild suggestion. I have never tried it, as I have never had humidity as bad as this, producing "water dripping off the inside of the windscreen"!

I had exactly the same problem in my old Audi 100. It was due to a faulty air-con unit. That would be the first thing i'd check - is it gassed up and working properly ? Mine wasnt.

-- JohnB

Currently got a similar problem in my wifes saab. I put in a bag of moisture absorbing crystals and it made a definate difference, i intent to but perhaps 4 bags in which should sort it out, in the meantime the moisture got in there somehow, current favourate is the windscreen seal.

-- Mark.

................................................................ Posted via TITANnews - Uncensored Newsgroups Access >>>> at

Yes I forgot - I had a similar problem in the Audi 100 - damp carpet on the drivers side. Garage gave it a good look over whist it was up in the air and said definitely no leaks and suggested the windscreen seal may be perished. I got some black bathroom silicone sealant from B&Q and went around the whole windcreen with it - excellent job I did too if I say so myself. The damp problem disappeared overnight ! Didnt solve the misty windscreen though - that only cleared after sorting the air-con out.

Definitely worth sorting it though as I forgot to mention.... I was stopped by the police one dank evening as I peered through the misty screen- with the comment "ahh there is someone in there then!!" - and was promptly breathalysed. I was fully clear - pheww.

-- JohnB

Don't use that though... The stuff that smells like vinegar evolves Acetic/Ethanoic acid as it cures ( that's why it smells like vinegar) and this can rot bodywork/damage paint.

Tom Burton

It's a van. On damp winter mornings, hard cold metal surfaces will produce condensation by the bucketful. Humid air inside the van, down to about freezing during the night. Ambient air temperature rises with the sun-outside of vehicle panels become warmer than the inside. Result, streaming condensation on the inner panels and glass. Soak it up with big sponge and leather. Maybe spray the interior glass with that anti mist stuff made by Rainex. Equivalent of the old trick of using a slice of potato (that definitely didn't work). DaveK.

Thus spake Georgeous Georgia unto the assembled multitudes:

You also need to ensure it's secure enough to cope with hard braking. I had one of these on the rear shelf of my old car some years ago and had to do a very sudden stop. The crystal and condensate containers flew to the front of the car and the contents went *everywhere*!

Try covering the windscreen with an old blanket to reduce the condensation. Also, invest in a good real (not synthetic) chamois leather to dry off what's left.

Whilst the majority of synthetic leathers are poor I've found AutoGlyms synthetic offering to be as good as, if not better (doesn't rot if stored wet), than the real thing.

Mathew

My MK2 Cav gets my small dehumidfier time switched in the boot when it sits on my drive for more than a day or two. It was getting really damp and musty inside ( that well known smell from the scrappy ) but for an hour or so's run time a day it'll keep it dry and slightly warmer inside - just remember to take it out in the morning ( and yes the unit is on an RCD failsafe circuit )

Ian