Scratched windshield reduces visibility by 60% – how to properly clean car windows in winter?

Winter is the most affecting season for cars: the streets and roads of Latvia are mostly covered with mud caused by a mixture of salt, water and sand; all of that inevitably ends up on the car’s running part and body, where frost takes care of the durability of this ‘coating’. The windows of the car cannot escape from that either. In the dark time of the year, when good visibility is particularly important, many car owners are trying to clean their windows and harming their car due to lack of knowledge or recklessness. How to properly ensure the cleanliness of your car windows in the winter.

The biggest threat to a frozen window – the ice scraper
The first thing we see most often when leaving home early in the winter is a snow-covered car with frozen windows – just when you need to hurry most. If most car owners handle snow successfully, by using a snow brush, it is not that easy with frozen windows.

“As you can usually see, while the car is warming up with the engine on, its owner tries very hard to scrape the ice out of the windows, by using the other end of the snow brush equipped with a scraper. This is the biggest mistake most car owners make. Along with the ice, grains of sand from the dirty water get frozen on the surface of the glass, as the dirt gets on the car’s body while driving. And then it turns out, that the hard surface of the ice scraper, together with the sand, forms a neat ‘sandpaper’, that leaves scratchy marks on car windows, mostly on the windshield,” explains Normunds Tarkšs, technical director of SIA “Domenikss”.

Over-zealous cleaning of the windows can be dangerous
Tiny scratches on the glass severely restrict visibility while driving. You may not notice it during daylight hours in good weather, but as soon as dusk or dark begins, and it rains or snows, the scratched windshield glows in all the colours of the rainbow and reduces visibility by 50-60 %. In this case, serious concerns should be raised not only about the aesthetic aspect, but also about driving safety, says the technical director of SIA “Domenikss”. He points to another dangerous mistake: «Never try to defrost frozen glass with hot water, as drastic change in temperature can lead to even more serious damage of the glass – it can simply crack!»

How to take care of windows without damaging them
What can be done to avoid the consequences of brutal window cleaning? “You can, of course, sit in the car, heat the cabin and wait for the ice on the glass to melt, thanks to the heat flowing from the cabin. However, it will be more efficient to use special window defrosting and de-icing agents available at almost all petrol station stores, as well as car accessories stands in department stores,” advises Normunds Tarkšs.

Window defrosters are aerosols that are sprayed onto the frozen window. After a few minutes, the glass can be easily wiped off with a soft snow brush without damaging mirror surface of the glass. In addition, it will save you time in the morning rush as it will be much faster and more efficient than scraping the frozen ice with a scraper.

The most loyal one-brand supporters also have the possibility to choose car manufacturer’s offered window fluid concentrates, which protect the fluid from freezing on the windshield, or window defrosting agents. Such products tend to be particularly gentle and odourless, while providing long-lasting protection against fogging of the glass and melting ice in a single spray even at -15 °C.

Best Ways to Clean Car Windows

Clean car windows do not only give your ride a classy look, but they also enhance visibility when driving. Unfortunately, … Continued

By Car Bibles Staff October 16, 2018

Clean car windows do not only give your ride a classy look, but they also enhance visibility when driving. Unfortunately, how to clean car windows without leaving streaks remains a mystery to many car owners. The ugly streaks that stay after every car window cleaning session might be frustrating, but you can avert this. Dirty windows reflect poorly on your car, yet they tend to get dirty especially if you drive daily. If you smoke or when the air is filled with pollen, the chances are that your windows will build up with dirtiness.

Taking time to clean car windows leads to substantial aesthetics improvement. If you are looking to have clear windows that look good both from the inside and outside, you need to learn the best way to clean car windows.

Several Myths and Wrong Opinions!

“My opinion is that…” You have probably heard many opinions out there, most of which fail terribly. There is a sea of endless car window cleaning opinions out here that rarely works. If you are looking to have smudge free and streak free windows for your ride, it is more about the cloth, technique and finding the best auto glass cleaner than it is about the procedure.

The Outside and Inside

Your car windows have two sides; the in and out. Although the steps are often similar, the truth is that they cover different sets of issues and thus require specific strategies for streak-free car windows.

Outside Window Problems Include:

• Water spots, excessive dirt, and fall-out
• Exposed to weather and elements

Not all glass is made equal, and several varieties exist, depending on the window make, age and how often you clean them.

Inside Window Problems Include:

• Window tint film
• Film build-up- comes from gassing of interior parts such as vinyl, rubber, and plastics. Out-gassing refers to the process through which the chemicals used to manufacture a car release gasses when exposed to UV lighting, heat and air. You will notice this by the hazy build-up that arises over time

Considering that glasses are not made equally, some variables listed above might apply to the inside part too.

Guide on How Best to Clean Your Car Windows

Related Post: Waxing Car Windows: Is It a Good Idea?

Save Your Windows for Last

When cleaning your ride, you should always wash the windows last. That way, you will avoid doing unnecessary extra work. It will also help you to prevent contaminating your windows with grime.

Pull Your Vehicle Into the Shade

Car bodies absorb heat quickly. When you leave your vehicle in the sun for prolonged periods, it will feel hot to touch. If this is the case, try parking it under the shade and start cleaning only when it feels cool. However, you can use water to accelerate heat evaporation from the windows.

Assemble Your Cleaning Supplies

Ammonia based window cleaners, like many window cleaners in the market, might damage the tinting and could also dry out the car rubber seals. Consider visiting your automotive store or local hardware to buy a glass cleaner that is made purposely for automotive use. If you purchase the concentrated formula, make sure to dilute it using distilled water for excellent results. Besides the Best Auto Glass Cleaner, you will also require:

1. Sponge
2. Bucket
3. Distilled water
4. Cloth, the most recommended is microfiber towels

Clean the Rear and Front Windows

The size and angle of these windows make them the hardest to clean. Therefore, mix your cleaner well and spray some of it on your window or use a sponge. You can now use a clean cloth to wipe the rear and front windows clean. Here are some tips to ease the process:

• Clean in several directions to make it easier to notice the missed spots or smudges. For instance, you can swipe up and down or left to right.
• Do not wipe in circles. Cleaning car windows should not be like polishing paint. If you rub the window cleaner in a circular motion, you might end up leaving the streaks that you would like to avoid.
• Do not use paper towels. Paper towels tend to be highly absorbent, and they are likely to remove grime or dirt from the glass. If you want to be effective at cleaning car windows, forget the paper towels and use sponges or a piece of cloth.

Work on the Stubborn Bug Spatter on the Windows

When your cleaning solution and cloth are not strong enough to eliminate the patches of dry soap on the windows, you may have to take dire measures. There are formulated products that are meant to get rid of the stubborn stains from car windows, but you can remove the splatter by using a wet rag.

Some experts recommend the use of a little baking soda on the spots to remove the spots. Once you sprinkle the baking soda on the dirt, allow the solution to stay for a few moments to set the stain. Next, you can buff it out using the microfiber cloth.

Roll Down Your Side Windows

A common area that is missed when cleaning windows is usually at the top, where the glass slides into place inside the rubber seal. To keep off these unsightly lines, roll your window down a little bit then wipe the area using the cloth. If this part is dirty, consider using some extra cleaner on the area.

Clean the Wiper Blades

The last step is cleaning the wiper blades. Use some cleaner to break the dirt buildup on the wipers then wipe them dry using a piece of cloth. The buildup on the edges can be harmful to the windshield and might make the blades to wear off quickly if you do not maintain them well. To avert this, use a wiper treatment on the vehicle after wiping the edges clean.

Keeping your car windows clean is important for aesthetics and safety reasons. Besides, dirty glass makes it hard to see at night or during temperature swings or in rainy weather. The stubborn streaks that persist after cleaning windows are annoying. Luckily, the above steps will leave you with spotless car windows.

7 Ways To Keep Your Car Clean Through Winter

Given how briefly cars tend to stay clean in winter, many people don’t bother washing their cars at all this time of year. However, thanks to all the grit, salt and grime on the roads, it’s more important to keep your car clean now than it is at any other season.

With all the salt, grit and other rubbish thrown at it, your paintwork could do with an extra layer of protection. This is something wax will provide. Ideally you want to be waxing before the crappy weather hits, but it’s not too late to give your ride a damn good cleaning and waxing session if you haven’t already.

There are countless kinds and brands you can use; we currently have a tub of Autoglym HD Wax making its way through the CT office which has impressed us so far. We’ll be going into what wax is and why it’s important in a little more detail soon.

Snow foam

If you have a pressure washer and a snow foam lance, it’s worth using them on your car frequently to get the worst of the grime and salt off. If it’s not something you’ve used before, it’s worth looking into: it’s just a case of coating the car in a thick layer of the stuff, leaving it to do its thing for a little while, and rinsing off both the soap and all the grime it’s combating.

It’s a good thing to do before you go for a full wash as it takes care of most of the abrasive road grit you’d otherwise be rubbing into your paintwork, and if you followed the previous step and have a nice protective layer of wax on the car, a simple snow foam treatment might be all you need to get your car cleaned to a satisfactory level — what’s known as a ‘non contact wash’.

If in doubt, hose the crap out of it

If you don’t have a pressure washer, a normal garden hose will suffice for keeping all that nasty winter rubbish off your paintwork. It’s particularly important to focus on areas like the wheel arches, where a build up of muck means moisture retention and in the long term — rust.

Use rubber floor mats

Temporarily replacing your fabric floor mats with hard-wearing rubber versions seems like an easy enough step, but how many people actually do it? They’re cheap to buy, and you’ll be much happier jumping into your car with muddy shoes when you know you won’t have to spend all Spring gettng the grime off.

Don’t forget to dry

As we’ve discussed before, drying is an important part of car washing. But it’s especially important in winter; after all, when it’s particularly cold, you don’t want collected water to be freezing your doors shut…

There are specific products out there for post-wash drying, but a clean microfibre cloth will also work well. Out of all the detailing stuff we’ve tried out this year, we’ve settled on Meguiars microfibres as our favourites.

Don’t drive like this

Mucking about in the snow is a surefire way to coat the underside of your car in salt, mud and all kinds of other crap. Still, it is rather fun, so this is one you could maybe ignore, so long as you’re happy to put in the time de-mucking after. Or alternatively, leave the snow-based japery to another car. Which leads me on to our final point…

Don’t drive your car at all

Just as abstinence is the ultimate form of contraception, the best way to keep your ride clean in winter is just to not drive the damn thing. If it’s precious enough, it’s worth considering buying yourself a winter beater you care much less about, like our man Jake Orr who recently bagged himself a $900 ex-police Ford Crown Victoria. That way, your pride and joy stays safely tucked up at home, while your beater takes the brunt of the bad weather.

How to Defog Your Windows in Any Weather

Anyone who’s dealt with their car’s windshield fogging up knows it can be both frustrating and dangerous. Window fog is due to condensation, so understanding the cause of that condensation will go a long way toward quickly eliminating your foggy windows.

How to Defog Your Windows When It’s Cold

Warm air holds more water vapor than cold air, and the warm air inside your car absorbs moisture from your breath, wet shoes, and damp clothing. In cold weather, the outside air cools the glass windows, creating the perfect conditions for the moist air inside your car to condense and fog your windows.

Although it may seem like a quick solution, don’t wipe away the condensation on your windows with a cloth or your hand. Without adjusting the environment that is causing the fog, you’ll see more condensation return.

In winter, the key to defogging a window—and keeping it defogged—is warm, dry air. Turn on your car’s heater to get things warmed up, and turn on your air-conditioning system to keep the air you’re introducing nice and dry. That’s right: Even in winter, you should use your air conditioner to keep your windows clear. Air conditioning (AC) doesn’t just cool your car; it’s an invaluable tool to rapidly de-fog your windows in the winter, helping you drive safely.

Getting into a cold car and immediately turning the blower fan on full blast may not be the best—or quickest—option to dealing with a fogged window. Use your fan’s medium speed to allow the air more time to warm and dry before it’s directed at the windshield. Make sure you have set your vents to the defrost setting, too, as this will preferentially direct air at the windshield.

If your car doesn’t have AC, make sure you are allowing air from the outside into your car. Set your interior vents to fresh air instead of recirculate. Cracking a window is also helpful, which allows the wet air to escape as it is replaced by dry air.

How to Defog Your Windows When It’s Hot

While less problematic than a foggy window in cold temperatures, summer’s hot and humid outdoor conditions may also fog up your windows. Unlike in the winter, the fogging will occur on the outside of the glass, where the season’s warm moist air condenses on AC-chilled windows. You can use your windshield wipers to clear fog on the outside of the windshield as an immediate, temporary measure to restore visibility. However, the key to preventing the fog is to allow the windows to remain warm. Redirect your car’s vents away from the glass, don’t use the defrost setting, and consider turning up the interior temperature slightly.

Know the Difference: Defogging vs Defrosting

Frost is moisture frozen on your car’s window glass. It can be either from frozen fog and mist on the inside of your windows, or it can be ice and snow on the outside. To clear your windows from frost, you will either have to manually scrape the frost off or melt it and then dry the water.

Many cars have an electrically heated rear window which will warm the glass, melting ice and drying off the fog. Once the glass is warm, it is much less likely to fog up again. If the outside of your windshield is covered with snow and ice, you can speed up the process by clearing the windshield with a snow brush and scraper. This will make it easier for the system to melt and clear what remains.

Be patient. Start your car five to ten minutes before you need to drive, so it has time to melt the frost. Once the engine is warmed up, warm air will melt the ice and dry the residual fog and moisture, restoring visibility with little effort on your part.

Pro Tip: Keep Your Windshield Clean

You can take a few steps to reduce fogging and make it easier to defog a window if it appears. First, keep your windows clean—especially the inside surfaces. Even a slight haze from dirt can affect visibility in certain conditions. When you combine that dirt with fog, things can get dangerous.

Plus, a dirty window is more likely to fog up than a clean window. The tiny dirt particles are ideal areas for water to begin to condense, causing fog to occur more quickly and more often than it would on a very clean window.

There are also specialized anti-fog treatments you can use on your windows. In combination with a clean window, these materials work well to stop fogging by reducing your windows’ surface tension and dispersing the fog’s micro water droplets into a thin water film that is much more transparent. Most products come in a liquid form, which you apply to a clean, dry window and polish to an invisible film.

The Bottom Line

Foggy windows don’t have to be a problem or a hazard. If you understand the weather conditions causing the fog and know how to properly adjust your car’s ventilation controls, you can eliminate and prevent a fogged window quickly and easily. Take the time to understand your car’s different fan speeds and heat settings, and figure out where to set and direct your vents to get the best and quickest de-fogging performance from your car. Keep your windows clean and, in extreme climates, consider an anti-fog treatment to reduce fogging before it starts.