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One of the more frequent questions I get from women about their cars is, “How do I de-fog my windshield?” I was driving home from work after a gloomy, rainy day when all my car windows began to fog up. Suddenly I’m in a desperate situation, and I start to panic. I can’t see out the windshield, the wipers aren’t removing the fog, and I’m fumbling around with the Air and Temperature controls. A foggy windshield is a pretty obvious safety issue, so it’s an ominous sign few people know how to remove fog.
Luxury or limited-model cars automatically defog your windshield. They have electronic control buttons you can push to activate the heating, A/C, and defrost system. As an added safety measure, when you turn on the defrost in these cars, the electronic controls will also turn ON the A/C system and turn OFF the recirculation button, removing fog from the windshield. With the exception of the temperature, don’t touch or change any controls once you turn on the defrost button.
If you have a car with knobs and hand controls, you must activate the controls yourself to de-fog your windshield.
First, determine if the fog is on the inside or outside of your windshield. A quick hit of the wipers will readily tell you if the fog is inside or outside. Outside fog will clear after a sweep of the wipers. Inside fog, will not. In an outside fog situation, you’ll continue to use your wipers, so make sure they are in good condition. Inside fog requires a few more steps to remove, but it is not hard!