With the onset of frost, car owners have a new problem - ice on the windshield. Ice may appear already at a temperature of -5C, and before you go to work or on business, you will have to work hard with a scraper or, wasting time and gasoline, warm up the car for a long time so that the ice melts and does not interfere with comfortable driving. And it also happens that ice appears on the inside of the glass, that is, in the cabin. We will discuss in detail below what to do and how to prevent ice from appearing on the glass outside and inside the cabin. There are several ways to solve the problem. Tips + video.
Getting rid of freezing outside
Before parking the car, equalize the temperature inside the cabin with the temperature outside. This will prevent condensation from forming. This can be done in the following way: turn off the engine, then block the flow of warm air into the cabin, lower the side windows or open the doors. After 3-5 minutes, warm air will come out and the glass will not freeze.
If you don’t have the time or desire to do this, then simply do not close one side window completely at night. A gap of 5 mm is enough to prevent the formation of condensation and rid your car of ice on the glass inside the cabin. But don’t forget about car safety. If the parking lot is not guarded, this method can lead to dire consequences. Car thieves and car burglars are not asleep!
Why the windshield freezes: the main reasons
Freezing of the windshield occurs due to high humidity inside the car. The degree of icing depends on the type of glass. Athermal glass is less susceptible to freezing, while stalinite glass creates more problems. However, even the highest quality and most expensive glass is not completely immune from freezing.
The main reason why the windshield freezes from the inside is humid air inside the car. In this case, it is necessary to identify the root cause of the increased humidity:
Wet floor
In winter, the windshield freezes due to snow falling into the car along with shoes or clothing. The snow melts, the liquid evaporates and settles on the cold glass, forming icing. To prevent the glass from freezing, you need to regularly dry the interior and floor mats. It is very important that the floor covering is completely dry.
Frequent washing
If you wash your car too often and the interior does not have time to dry, this also leads to increased humidity. After washing, you need to thoroughly dry the car, including the floor covering.
Antifreeze leak
If the windshield is frozen from the inside, the reason may be a breakdown of the heating system. If the seal is broken, antifreeze leaks. The vapors settle on the windshield in the form of a transparent film, and the glass becomes sticky. In this case, it is necessary to eliminate the liquid leak, and then clean the glass.
Air conditioner breakdown
Clogged cabin filters or dirty grilles in the air conditioning system interfere with air circulation in the car. Violation of air exchange leads to increased humidity and freezing of glass. This problem can be solved by replacing the filters and cleaning the ventilation grilles.
What to do if the windows are still frozen
If the windows in your car are frozen, you need to properly return them to their previous appearance. The main thing is not to use a scraper for cleaning. It easily deforms the glass from the inside, causing great harm to it. Microcracks appear on the surface, which in the future can lead to seal failure.
There are special chemical liquids that can help when the car windows are frozen. In extreme cases, you can use technical alcohol. Special products are applied to the surface through a sprayer. As a result, the frost takes on a jelly-like form. After this, just take a regular brush and remove the substance.
If you don’t have industrial alcohol and don’t want to spend money on special products. You can make an effective solution using simple salt. Just take a liter of water and add 2 tablespoons.
The resulting substance is also applied through a sprayer. If you don’t have a sprayer, just take a simple rag and wrap wet salt in it. Glycerin enhances the mixture well.
Ventilation
Often condensation appears precisely because of clogged ventilation ducts. They are available around the entire perimeter of the car, including on the doors. On some cars, these channels are equipped with nets (like mosquito nets). Over time, dust and dirt settle on their surface. As a result, the airflow does not circulate properly. And some of the moisture still remains inside the car.
What is the way out of this situation? If the windows in a VAZ-2106 car freeze from the inside, what should you do? It is necessary to disassemble and clean all ventilation ducts. You should also pay attention to the holes that are hidden in the trunk cavity. Moisture can also accumulate in the luggage compartment. And although it will not cause frozen glass, it will significantly shorten the service life of the metal. After all, as you know, moisture is corrosion’s best friend.
Cause
The cause of freezing is accumulated condensation. Under the influence of temperatures, moisture begins to crystallize. As a result, a hard ice crust forms on the inner surface of the glass. Moreover, owners encounter this problem even after parking the car for a long time.
View gallery Why does moisture accumulate on glass? Everything is very simple. The material of this element has the lowest heat transfer coefficient. From the physics course, it becomes clear why all the moisture settles on the glass, and not on the door trim or rugs. There may be several sources of condensation. If the windows in the car freeze from the inside, what should you do on the VAZ-2110? We need to address the root of the problem.
The windows in the car freeze from the inside: what to do? Fast defrost
Of course, the surest way is to turn the heater on full and wait until it warms up the windshield. But drivers don’t always have that much time. After all, the stove warms up completely in only 10-15 minutes of driving, and at idle it will take even longer.
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In addition, if you immediately turn on the heater, the engine simply will not warm up and will not operate in its normal mode (maximum - 60 degrees Celsius). But you can prepare a folk remedy. To do this, empty the household glass cleaner and pour in a solution with salt and technical sports. Add 2 tablespoons of salt per liter of liquid. Spray the mixture over the surface and wipe dry with a cloth. The result exceeds all expectations.
So, we found out why the windows in the car freeze from the inside, and what to do in this situation.
How to deal with freezing windows
It is worth recognizing that modern vehicles are equipped with special equipment that can easily cope with freezing windows. The most popular devices are windshield blowers. With the engine running, they won't give frost a chance.
Separately, we need to talk about heating systems built directly into the glass. They are also able to combat window freezing. The design itself is not overly complex, but its effectiveness is undeniable. Electrical elements that are almost invisible to the eye are installed between two thin glass plates.
Important! Windows in cars outdoors freeze. If you park the car in a well-heated room, this will not happen.
Depressurization of the stove
This is especially common for owners of domestic cars of the Lada family. How does this relate to the formation of condensation? Due to a breakdown of the stove, coolant may enter the cabin. Unlike snow, just a couple of milliliters of antifreeze is enough for the car window to fog up. In this case, a greasy coating will form on the surface. If the windows in a VAZ-2114 car freeze from the inside, what should you do? On the eve of winter, you should inspect the stove:
- Clean the heater radiator from dirt from the outside and rinse it inside.
- Replace hard pipes with new, softer ones.
Antifreeze drips should also be avoided because the vapors of this liquid are very toxic. After a short trip, the driver may have a headache, drowsiness and other unfavorable factors.
The pipes should be installed with new clamps. By the way, in order to prevent depressurization as much as possible, the joints are coated with lithol. It will shrink more easily and prevent antifreeze leakage.
Making your own car window defroster
To save your money and still get a good tool for defrosting car windows, you only need five minutes of time and three components.
So, here's the recipe!
We take one part alcohol and two parts water, after which we add a few drops of detergent to this composition for fragrance, so to speak. Mix everything thoroughly and pour into a spray bottle. You can buy the sprayer itself or use any suitable bottle from women's cosmetics. In addition, you can use a container of some cleaning product that has a spray nozzle. In general, this is not a problem today.
Option number two. Alcohol can be replaced with regular vodka, but you need to pour less water, since vodka contains less alcohol than pure alcohol.
Third option. We buy a regular winter car windshield washer and pour it into a spray bottle, after which we use it as a glass defroster. The fact is that the washer contains alcohol, which actually prevents it from freezing in winter and effectively combats ice on the glass.
Someone will think, why then do you need a sprayer, spray it with washer, and that’s all? In principle, as an option, but not entirely. The fact is that not all cars have fan-shaped washer nozzles and spray the washer evenly over the entire glass - this is the case. Secondly, when you spray the washer, the wiper blades are activated, and this is not good, since they will wear out during friction on the ice, and the glass itself will suffer from this. Among other things, you will have to “force” the washer motor, and in this case too much of the washer itself will be used. Also note that in this case you will not be able to defrost the remaining glasses.
The fourth option for the defrost. Take glass washer and add alcohol to it in a ratio of three parts washer to one part alcohol. After which you get a very effective product that will effectively defrost glass without you having to bother with water and detergent.
The fifth option is “to the extreme.” Why "extreme"? Because this option, or rather the options, have disadvantages, so they should be used only in extreme cases. So, if for some reason you don’t have any alcohol, vodka, or dishwasher on hand, try to find at least salt or vinegar and water, preferably warm.
- The first recipe is with salt. Take a lot of salt, 5-7 tablespoons, and pour it into 2-3 liters of water, preferably warm, because this will make it easier to dissolve the salt. When the salt dissolves, wait until the water cools down. Voila, you now have a cheap yet reliable de-icing solution. The disadvantage is that salt, when it gets on body parts and rubber parts, has a negative effect on them, so I do not recommend using this product regularly, only in extreme cases!
- The second recipe is vinegar. We take three parts vinegar and one part water, mix and get a homemade glass defroster. Again, I would like to remind you that this method should also only be used in very emergency cases, since vinegar is an acid-containing substance, and therefore can negatively affect paintwork and body parts. It is also unknown how rubber and plastic will behave.
Finally, I would like to remind you that if your windshield is frozen, do not use hot water under any circumstances! Due to temperature changes, the glass will most likely burst, remember this.
Text: avtopulsar.ru
Washing
Any self-respecting car owner tries to keep his “iron horse” clean. In winter we have to do this more often on our roads. But washing in such conditions can be dangerous not only due to stuck seals, but also due to a fogged windshield. What is the reason? The problem is the moisture that remains after washing. Moreover, even those who washed the car in a box at zero temperature face this problem.
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The moisture remaining in the cabin turns into a hard ice crust on the windshield overnight. What is the way out of the situation? If the windows in your car freeze from the inside, what should you do? Of course, not washing your car at all until the warm weather in May is not an option. Experts recommend ventilating the car interior immediately after washing. And do this not in a box (since the humidity there is always 100 percent), but on the street. It is enough to drive the car onto the site and open all the doors wide. After 10-15 minutes you can begin normal use.
