windows steaming up in the rain

toasterman

Silly question maybe - but how do I stop my car's windows steaming up?

This is my first car I've bought myself - my previous ones were company cars with air con etc, and I didn't seem to have this problem.

Its not so bad normally, but when it starts raining, my windows start steaming up. The harder it rains, the more they steam up.
I've tried fans on hot or cold (which is the same thing for the first 20mins or so of the journey), and I've tried the recirculated air button on or off. It doesn't seem to make any difference.

I can sometimes stop it happening by relaxing and regulating my breathing. It's fine for me, but not so ideal when you have passengers.
The only way I've found to reliably keep the windows clear is to open a window - which is not a great solution as it's only a big issue when it's raining.

Today I had some success driving home with the sunroof on tilt - which doesn't seem to let in rain...well...mostly... I got very wet every time I stopped, or went down hill. Again, its a fix for when it's just me, but people look at you like you're crazy when you're driving in torrential rain and open the sunroof....

Any advice much appreciated. I mentioned it to a friend who said it can be worse in different cars depending on how well insulated and put together they are? It's a 1994-shape Rover 214si.

vikingaero

Don't use the recirculation button. So many people are afraid of breathing in fumes from the vehicle in front that they switch it on. You can spot these people a mile away as all their windows are steamed up.

Driving in traffic will increase the propensity for the windows to steam up as the airflow is reduced.

An old vehicle such as yours may have a leak somewhere so check that the footwells are dry.

In steamy conditions I drive with the fan on 2 or 3, the windscreen icon selected, and a moderate amount of heat. Opening the sunroof increases the airflow and does help.

Also check the stale air vents in your boot to make sure they are not blocked or covered.

toasterman

There are air vents in the boot? I'll have to have a look and see if I can find them.

In heavy rain, I generally have the fans on 4 (the highest setting), set to windscreen, recirculated air off. I have to have the back window heater on most of the time, or it's constantly misted.
Even then, most of the time I wind up opening the sunroof or a window because any more people than me in the car and it won't stay clear enough to drive.

Does having air con help? Someone told me it's not a problem keeping the windscreen clear if you have air con..which I spose makes sense if it's bringing air in from outside (like the sunroof/window)..but why this is any better than just normal fans I don't really understand.

toasterman

A friend of mine sent me a link to this -> http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_172001_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__varient__categoryId_31521_crumb_33958-33974-31524_parentcategoryrn_31524

Any idea if that's any good? If it's better than any normal glass cleaner? I don't really see how it can stop it getting steamed, but then I'm no scientist.

LuciferTDark

I was told not to use the recirculation button for more than a couple of minutes at a time in case I passed out & crashed the car, I'm sure the dealer was joking but I've never used it.

vikingaero

toasterman wrote: »

A friend of mine sent me a link to this -> http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_172001_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__varient__categoryId_31521_crumb_33958-33974-31524_parentcategoryrn_31524

Any idea if that's any good? If it's better than any normal glass cleaner? I don't really see how it can stop it getting steamed, but then I'm no scientist.

Having clean glass definitely helps defer misting. I use that stuff on my cars and it dries powdery and can be messy. It's better than normal glass cleaner because it doesn't streak. When you use normal glass cleaner some residue of the product dries as a smear and the misting reactivated the product and makes misting and vision worse.

I've also tried Rain-X Anti-Fog liquid and found that:

(1) It makes your sav nav mount fall off. Even if you avoid the mount area the product eventually leaches down to it.

(2) The product only delays fogging slightly and if the windows do fog then it is extremely hard to demist them.

Also some vehicles just have plain bad ventilation and poorly sited and performing air ducts and just mist up no matter what you do.

toasterman

Someone told me once if you kept the recirculation on all the time, you could end up passing out from lack of air.
However, I figured for this to happen, my 12-yr old rover would need to be sealed and airtight to stop air getting in any other way. It isn't, so I don't worry about it.

I only use the recirculation when I pass a farm, or that place on the M4 that smells rank, or when I drive through/past Newport.

Red_Cat

When I did a car maintenance course a few years ago, the experienced mechanic told me that when it's raining and the windows mist up, just open one window a crack and the the windows will de-mist quickly.
It's a tip I use (including today) and it always works. I wind the window down about 2 cm and it does the trick.

toasterman

That's kinda the same as me opening the sunroof a little bit. You still get wet in the sort of weather we had today down here.

I'm planning to change cars in the next few months so I guess I've only got to put up with it a short while longer. Thanks for your help everyone.

goldspanners

when you have set the fan to blow at the windscreen make sure it is actually coming out the vents at the windscreen,sometimes the cable that moves the vents can break and it will not dirrect the air anywhere other than the last place the vents were open at.
if it is,close the vents on the dash that face you as these are taking away air flow from where you need it.
if non of these work then it is down to ventilation,most cars have vents in behind the rear bumper at the side.
have you tried the pollen filter? make sure this isnt blocked up.

martindow

It might be worth checking that there is not a pool of water in the air intake. I had a car where the drain from this was blocked and the moisture from the resulting puddle steamed up the car. I prodded the drain hole with a piece of wire and it drained away solving the problem. Looking at the disgusting puddle I was lucky to avoid legionnaire's disease.