January 17, 2021
It's bad enough in cold weather when ice and snow block your visibility. Add to that fog on the inside of your windows and you could be driving blind. So here are a few tips on how to keep your windows from fogging up when there's a chill in the air.
You probably know fog is really condensation, when moist, warm air meets a cold surface and turns to liquid. If your windshield fogs up, you probably turn on your windshield defroster. Most defrosters blow heated air on the windshield glass to warm it up so it won't condense the moisture. Many also turn on the air conditioning to reduce the moisture.
That same strategy can work on the rest of the windows. First, turn up your heater's temperature setting. The hotter the air, the more moisture it will hold. Also, turn off the "recirculating" setting since you want all outside air to come in. Then switch on the air conditioning. It will remove the moisture from the outside air that it's blowing inside the cabin. Try cracking a couple of windows to make it easier for the air to flow. This should do the trick pretty quickly.
There's one other thing to try. Many vehicles have electric heater elements embedded in the rear window glass (the rear window defroster) and in the outside rearview mirror glass. Make sure to turn those on, too; sometimes they're on the same switch.
For all of these things to work, of course, your vehicle's components have to be maintained so they'll do the things they're designed to do. And you didn't think it was important to have your air conditioning working in the cold weather months!
One final tip. Keep the insides of your windows CLEAN. Oil and dirt on the glass give the water molecules something to latch on to. That ought to clear up this problem.
Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center Lockport
600 E 9th Street
Lockport, Illinois 60441
815-838-3700
April 20, 2025
Many of us have become aware of how important it is to keep our planets air clean, and your vehicle has a key component that helps do just that: the catalytic converter. Its in the exhaust system, and its job is to superheat unburned, harmful byproducts in the exhaust, so they dont get spewed ou... More
April 13, 2025
As you know, todays vehicles rely on a lot of computers in them to keep them running clean and efficiently. Those computers depend on information delivered by several sensors throughout the engine and exhaust system. And one of the most important is the oxygen sensor. Known as the O2 sensor f... More
April 6, 2025
What's the dif? To an automotive technician, it's the differential, a part of your vehicle that helps direct power from the engine to the wheels. The differential is a gearbox that enables the drive wheels to turn at different speeds (they do that when you turn). Inside the differential is a f... More