Cars steaming up inside this time of year

My wife's Lexus is fine even in this weather. have you replaced the pollen filter? do you use the aircon? you should especially in damp weather as it dries out the whole vehicle (including the carpets) which means there is much less to condense on the glass, and of course don't use recirculate unless you get stuck behind something smelly.

Mrcheerful

I've found my (early) Focus to be the worst car in this respect that I've driven in perhaps the last 25 years. Using the A/C to clear the screen always seems to cause it to mist up even more the next time you use the car. Later cars have auto A/C when demist is selected. That would just irritate me though.

There is a TSB that has two elements to it; there is a modified fan speed resistor pack that increases the lower fan speeds, and a size increase in the air exit holes behind the rear bumper. I was going to try it, but several folk have told me it's not worth the effort.

My 1983 Fiesta was better in this respect than the Focus, although worse in pretty much every other way!

Chris

My car certainly does. As the heater is knackered it also frosts up on the inside. I've discovered you can get some indoor snow if you scrape the inside of the windscreen with the fan blowing.

"Dave Baker" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

ANY car with half-decent ventilation should clear fairly quickly.

I never fail to be amazed how many people drive around with the fan off or on recirc in damp weather - and the windows steamed. Especially in stuff that's got aircon.

Mine. Drainage is great, aircon if needed, has a heater boost to get temp up quick in the morning, has a residual heat function that runs the heater for

20 mins after turning off so it doesn't steam up while you pop into shop / garage whatever.

The Volvo was more clever and would automatically run the heater for 20 mins after being parked for 40 mins, drying itself out.

Most fan heaters have a frost or very low setting so it only comes on for short periods when it gets very cold. If you have access to power, then a few nights of that should make your car nice and dry and of course very comfortable first thing.

Cheap fan heater here

My 18 year old car doesn't have any serious condensation problems and never needed to do anything like this. It's covered in condensation recently, but I do live in a rural area near open fields. My car does get a 200 mile run every fortnight though. It's a very damp time of year at the moment. Won't be long and the bitter dry cold will be here and not so damp as it is at the moment.

Mark

Well the basic science suggests that the action of the windows steaming up is simply a combination of the internal air temperature, relative humidity and the temperature of the glass. If the car is used infrequently or for shorter journeys then there will be a tendency for the interior to be slightly damper so, your suspicion that the problem is worse as your car isn't getting a decent run is probably right.

Personally I've found that if the interior surface of the windscreen is *really* clean, any misting of the glass clears more quickly. In the past I have also parked the car in a sunny location and left the windows open a fraction to help naturally dry the interior....

Otherwise the suggestion from Mrcheerful is good, using the aircon will extract some moisture from the air in the car and of course it is often recommended that you use the aircon regularly even in winter to circulate the refrigerant around the system.

If the weather's damp and you've got air con, having it on recirculate should dehumidify faster at it's not having to deal with fresh damp air from outside. (Or have I missed something?)

Certainly, the fastest way I've found to demisit in damp weather is to have the air-con on, recirculate on and fan on max.

Tim

"Tim Downie" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

It won't make a lot of difference, ime.

Without aircon, recirc's a guaranteed way to get that shower-room effect...

Didn't know 2CVs came with air-con. ;-) More serisously, when you say "ime", do I assume that you haven't tried it? It *does* work faster in my car with air-con in damp weather.

Tim

"Tim Downie" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Open the roof.

It hasn't with any of the cars I've had with aircon. Because there's no need for demisting any faster. Turn the aircon on, and - whoop - clear. Even the CX, with notoriously mediocre airflow.

Just a thought - replace/remove the cabin (pollen) filter. After about 4 years they clog up, restricting the amount of fresh air entering the cabin.

Another Dave

I have the aircon on all the time, and keep the interior windows clean, and never have problems with condensation on the windows - been the same in every car I've had, even the ones without aircon. OTOH when I go in the car of someone who doesn't clean their windows, they seem to steam up horrendously, and take ages to clear.

Dave Baker was thinking very hard :

y car with air-con automatically engages the air-con when you set it to the demist position. When driving a vehicle without air-con I just open the windows wide until it is warm enough to keep clear. On the really cold mornings, I might chuck a bucket of luke warm water over it - which both clears the ice and helps with internal misting.

Dave Baker wrote: ... still steams up

Them youngsters going at it like rabbits. Check play in suspensions ;-)

Min normally only gets short journeys. What I find helps, is to turn the heat to Cold for the last 5 mins of the journey.

"David Quinton" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Loads of cars seem to have re-circ on. Not all people don't understand.