5 Tricks For Winterizing Your Car Window Care
Happy holidays, everyone!
Image from Taylor Auto Glass
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Christmas is finally upon us.
Add to that that the weather keeps growing colder by the day, and it seems like more than an appropriate time to talk about winter window care.
Dealing with windows in cold weather can be a frustrating experience.
Between fog, rain, and even ice, it can be dangerous and time consuming to say the least.
Even for those of us in southern California winter windows can be a pain.
Luckily, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 winter car care tricks to help get you through the colder season.
Windshield Wipers
Especially with the proclaimed El Nino on its way, windshield wipers are going to be a thing of great importance in the coming months. How can you tell if your windshield wipers aren’t doing it for you anymore? Easy! Take a look at your wipers at night—it’ll give you a better understanding of how well they’re working. If you’re using wipers and water is smeared, but not cleared from the windows then you probably could benefit from new wipers. At night, when window moisture is at its greatest, then take a look at the car lights and their reflections. If the lights elongate vertically, and your windshield wipers do not remove the moisture well enough to clear this effect then you should definitely invest in new blades. Not only does window moisture obscure your driving abilities, but also window distortion (such as the vertical light effect) can be distracting and cause problems. Before the wet season starts, take a look at your window wipers and see how badly you need new ones.
Moisture In the Vehicle
Have you ever noticed that your car windows fog up when it’s cold outside? This is because of a buildup of moisture that occurs. Whether from your breath or from the moisture outside, foggy windows can lead to dangerous driving and problems with visibility. While this is what the defroster was made for, it’s also not always an option to wait around for it to kick on (or to heat the car up all of the time). Instead, minimize the level of your car’s moisture by taking a sock and filling it with odor-less cat litter. An old trick used in lake cabins, cat litter will soak up some of the moisture in the air, making it less likely to have foggy windows. As an added bonus, the cat litter will also help absorb unfriendly smells, making your car cleaner smelling in the process.
Shaving Cream
Another option for keeping your windows fog-free is shaving cream. Popular in homes for its ability to keep bathroom mirrors from fogging up, shaving cream is an easy and inexpensive solution for moisture filled cars. Using your hands, spread shaving cream along the inside of your car windows in circular motions until it covers the window. Next, take a dry, lint-free cloth and wipe at the shaving cream, removing it from the windows. The wax in the shaving cream keeps moisture from sticking and fogging up your windows. The best part is that the shaving cream trick is something that doesn’t need to be done frequently. Instead, it can be done once every three weeks to a month for best results.
Room Temperature Water Bottle
Many of you leave for work before the sun even rises in the morning. If this is you, then you’ve probably already felt the tell tale signs of winter. With early morning chill comes early morning frost, and frosted windows. These windows can be stressful for people trying to make it into work on time in the morning. Unfortunately, many people think that the best solution is to pour hot water onto their windows to melt the frost and ice from them. However, the sudden change in temperature will cause your windows to crack, costing you even more time, stress, and money in the process. If you’re planning on leaving your home early in the morning and temps are low, then plan on keeping a bottle of room temperature water on hand. Using this water pour it onto the frosted windows with your defroster running. The water will be cool enough to avoid cracking the window, and when combined with the defroster will help clear your windows quickly.
Image from Motor Beam
Keep An Ice Scraper On Hand
Yup, even in southern California our windows can get frozen over with ice in the morning. Keeping an ice scraper on hand will help you when you’ve forgotten a room temperature bottle of water. If for some reason you misplace your window scraper, then try using a credit card. Gently scrape at the thin layer of ice to remove it, clearing the glass. Be careful of using anything metal, however, as it can damage the window tinting on your car. If you scratch or damage the window’s finish, take care knowing that we’re just a phone call away to help with all of your window tinting needs.