Reviving side window rubbers for demisting?

JustAnotherSaver

So you buy a car, the side window is all misted up and so you put the window down and back up only to see that the window is just as misted as it was if you're really unlucky or it demists a section thats close to the rear drivers side window but the bit that's near your side mirror and you need to see out of remains misted.

Is there a way of sorting this out or do you have no choice but to get new rubbers? If so then how do you actually go about renewing them? They look pretty solid My last car would demist fine enough but with the current weather situation i'm finding the car i have now demists nothing.

Flight3287462

Aye, press the glass against the rubber and put the window down.  Job done.

JustAnotherSaver

Hunyani_Flight_825 said:

Aye, press the glass against the rubber and put the window down.  Job done.

I was wondering if there was a proper way of sorting it.

I could use my hand - but then i hate when people wipe glass with their hands.

I could use a squeegee, a cloth, anything, but then I wasn't asking for just any way at all to remove the misting.

I'll assume from your post that there's no sorting of the rubbers and they're not a renewable part then.

Grumpy_chap

Are the window rubbers really intended to function to demist the side windows?
I have never had a car where that is reliable - only ever some partial clearing which I though was a secondary thing and just lazy luck.

AdrianC

Yes, they're renewable... They're just clipped on.

How available and cheap they may be is another question.
A quick look at the online parts catalogue for my sensible daily says dealer price of €50 for the outside strips on each front door, €40 each for the interior.

They aren't designed to do what you want them to do, though. The exterior ones are there to reduce water running down the glass into the inside of the door. The interior ones are there to reduce cold draughts coming up from the inside of the door. Wiper blades are designed to do what you want - and think about how often they need replacing...

If you wind the window down on a cold morning, not only are you putting extra stress on the winder mechanism if the glass is frozen to the seals, but you also risk damaging the weatherstrips if there's ice on the outside of the glass.

Just use a cloth or squeegee to wipe them. It takes seconds. Even better - use hot water to defrost/demist the windscreen, and use it on the side windows, too.

neilmcl

The door rubbers are not there to "demist" your side windows, there only purpose is to keep crap and reduce the amount of rain water from falling down into the door. If you want to wipe down your windows of a morning then get one of these.

JustAnotherSaver

Grumpy_chap said:

Are the window rubbers really intended to function to demist the side windows?
I have never had a car where that is reliable - only ever some partial clearing which I though was a secondary thing and just lazy luck.

Well as i found out in the posts after yours, i guess not.

My last car would get rid of the condensation pretty much all over the side window though so I just took it as something that just happens when you put your window down and then back up. The wifes car does the same.

So then this car I have right now, I put the window down and then back up and there's a few lines that get cleared but the area you could really do with being cleared just isn't.

AdrianC said:

They aren't designed to do what you want them to do, though. The exterior ones are there to reduce water running down the glass into the inside of the door. The interior ones are there to reduce cold draughts coming up from the inside of the door. Wiper blades are designed to do what you want - and think about how often they need replacing...

If you wind the window down on a cold morning, not only are you putting extra stress on the winder mechanism if the glass is frozen to the seals, but you also risk damaging the weatherstrips if there's ice on the outside of the glass.

Well you learn something new every day then.

Is it something that happens on a new car but then works less effectively as time goes on, the rubber becomes hard and brittle?

What are they actually called? I don't imagine car window rubber will return too much useful. "Car window weatherstrips" Is that it?

But let's get one thing pretty clear ... I'm not suggesting i put the window down on a frosted morning. I know I may be pretty stupid but even I wouldn't do that. I'm talking more about when it's wet, condensation. Not when it's iced up.

AdrianC said:

€50 for the outside strips on each front door, €40 each for the interior.

I don't really know why and it's a bit off topic but I always imagined you lived in the south of England.

AdrianC

JustAnotherSaver said:

AdrianC said:

€50 for the outside strips on each front door, €40 each for the interior.

I don't really know why and it's a bit off topic but I always imagined you lived in the south of England.

I do live in Englandcestershire, but the parts catalogue I use gives prices in €.

greyteam1959

I have had vehicles that completely demist the door windows when put down & also had some that don't.
Vehicle I have now does not, & it is a bit of a pain.

neilmcl

JustAnotherSaver said:

What are they actually called? I don't imagine car window rubber will return too much useful. "Car window weatherstrips" Is that it?

What are they actually called? I don't imagine car window rubber will return too much useful. "Car window weatherstrips" Is that it?

For my car they are referred to as "channel cover, exterior, door" the insides rubber is "channel sealing, inside, door".

DiddyDavies

Why not try something like this:
Rain-X Anti-Fog 200ml | Halfords UK