Your windshield is the one section of your interior that every driver spends the majority of their time looking at so you don’t have to be a cleaning fanatic to appreciate a crystal clear windshield if nothing else. Don’t worry I won’t be asking you to go to your local auto supplies store to spend a fortune on specialized cleaners either, just a couple of household items, some glass cleaner and the right formula will result in the best way to clean auto glass and restore it to the crystal clear show room condition it was once in.

Fog, mist, streaks, condensation, whatever you prefer to call it has been the sworn enemy of any clean freak like me ever since I started detailing. It’s not just nasty to look at either it can be bloody dangerous too.

Ever been driving along at nighttime and a car coming towards you has bright lights and all you are able to see are the streaks and mist plaguing your windscreen? If the answer is yes then you have experienced firsthand the potential dangers of not taking action to this frustrating task.

Misty Windshield

What Causes A Foggy Windshield?

Of course, I will be showing you how to get rid of the mist but firstly I think it is important to understand what it is and how it gets there in the first place.

The mist that is constantly there (not the mist that momentarily covers your windows on a cold rainy morning) is actually an oily streaky film all along our windshield, how nasty!

So what causes this horrible fog to engulf itself onto your windshield? The answer is actually probably not what you were thinking, but the oily, streaky film is predominantly caused from offgasing from your plastic or vinyl dashboard.

1- The plastic and vinyl materials that are used in most cars all have oils in them and when the sun shines down on your windshield and it gets hot the oils from the plastic evaporate and stick onto your glass causing the misty streaks.

2- We all like a nice, shiny and glossy dash but using cheap, greasy dashboard shine and interior spray on your dash just leaves all the more oils to be evaporated onto your glass.

3- Last but certainly not least is smoking, not only does it harm your lungs but it harms your auto glass,Smoke In A Car when you smoke in your vehicle the smoke goes all over your windshield, again creating the mist that makes it so difficult to see at night and during exposure to the sun.

So here’s a top tip; try not to smoke in your vehicle as it also leaves the terrible smell of smoke that lingers in your car.

How To Clean Your Windshield / Windows

I’m now going to be telling you how to get rid of the fog and surprisingly it is actually quite satisfying because you can see the crystal clear results immediately.

What You Will Need For This Method:

Step 1 – Get your car washed either wash it yourself or take it to your local hand car wash, if we are serious about getting premium results it’s a great start to get your car washed first because you will be able to see through your windscreen even clearer with no bugs or dirt on the exterior of your windows.

Step 2 – Grab one of your microfiber cloths making sure it is clean and completely dry and has no chemicals or cleaning agents on it. We are going to wipe down the interior window / windshield in a circular motion working from the top to the bottom of the window you are cleaning. Once you’ve finished switch to wiping up and down to ensure absolute total coverage.

Step 3 – Now dunk your magic eraser in a tub of warm water, ring it out as best you can because there are chemicals in the magic eraser that could drip from your windshield onto your dash (but if this happens simply wipe off with one of your microfiber cloths.)

Step 4 – Using your rung out magic eraser wipe in a circular motion from top to bottom making sure you are covering all of your windshield, this is the magic ingredient that is going to get rid of that nasty oily film plaguing your windows.

Step 5 – Dry it off with a fresh microfiber cloth removing all excess oils and dust.

Step 6 – Spray your preferred glass cleaner onto a clean, dry microfiber cloth (so we don’t get any over spray on your dash) and again, wipe in circular motions and then straight up and down and remember, when switching from wiping in a circular motion flip your microfiber onto a fresh side.Clean Windshield

Top Tips :

  • Always rip the label off any microfiber you use for any job, there is no need for it and it can cause scratches.
  • If cleaning your windshield think about splitting the job in half, working on one side at a time.
  • I cannot stress the need to wipe both in a circular motion and up and down when working on your glass because it is the one part of your car that you will notice water streaks more than anywhere and it will annoy you after doing such a good job.

Other Causes Of Foggy Glass

Condensation is the fog that we encounter when we jump into our cars on a cold, rainy, winters morning to go to work. This is caused by warm air coming into contact with a surface colder than it is. So the warm air is unable to retain its moisture so the water is released onto your windshield and your windows.

To combat this you can:

  • Turn on your heater but make sure it is not on recirculate mode, recirculate mode does warm up the car quicker but the moisture stays in your car, turn it off to let the new fresh air in and the moisture out.
  • If you have A/C use it along with your heater simultaneously, the warm dry air will tear away at any remaining condensation.

 

What Products Work Best?

All the products I used in this method are relatively inexpensive a pack of any good quality microfiber cloth will do the trick, a Mr Clean Magic Eraser will remove the grease and oils on your windows and finally, the icing on the cake, the glass cleaner that you use (as long as it is good quality) will leave you with a perfectly, crystal clear finish.

High Quality Microfiber Cloths

Mr Clean Magic Eraser

Meguair’s Glass Cleaner

Hope This Helped!

Here we are at the end of my tutorial, I hope you are able to achieve the fantastic results that this method can do for you. If you have any problems, questions or if you’re just not sure please drop a comment in the comment section below and I’ll be sure to get back to you!

If you have used this method successfully please feel free to tell us about your results in the comment section below!

Hope this helped you out, happy detailing.