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.
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 off-gasing 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, 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:
- 3 x Clean, dry microfiber cloths.
- 1 x bottle of your preferred glass gleaner – for me I find Meguiar’s Glass Cleaner gives the best results.
- 1 x Mr Clean Magic Eraser
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.
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
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.
Hello
This is really a simple site but having a great beneficial. I like your article.
Cheers
Thanks for your words!
As long as you are benefiting from my articles my goal is being reached!
Thanks again.
I love this post!
I didn’t even think of using a magic eraser, which is crazy because I use them for basically anything else that needs to be clean.
Thank you for the insight on how the inside of the windshield gets dirty to begin with. I certainly would not have blamed the oils and cleaning products I used on my dash before.
Great post & thanks,
Kahlua
Thank you!
Sometimes it is the little inexpensive household items that can pack the greatest punch!
Hope it has helped you or will do so in the future.
Thanks again,
Jack.
Wow, what a great post with useful tips. I always hate it when the windshield gets foggy especially on the rainy days. This post has been super useful, and I will implement these tips soon.
Glad to hear that Mitala,
I hope this helps you, thanks for your comment.
Thanks for this great post! I’m learning to drive at the moment so I’ll be sure to revisit this guide once I get a car. What about short term solutions like while you’re on the road?
Thanks for the comment! Yes, while driving you are obviously limited to the measures you can take, however, that doesn’t make you powerless, what you will want to do is put the A/C on as well as your warm air, the dry heat will eradicate any fog on your windscreen temporarily.
Best of luck on your driving test!!
Wow, if this does help you will be my new best friend! I hate a streaky windshield and I have tried so many products and still get crappy results. I have questions:
1) Which type of magic eraser? I get mine in a multi-pack from Costco
2) Are you using the fluffy micro fiber cloths or the smooth ones made for glass? And do you rinse them out after so they don’t get a build up from the cleaner?
Thanks for this great post!!
Hi Imra,
1) The magic eraser I use is “Mr Clean Magic Eraser” as it happens, I always buy a multi-pack also.
2) I prefer to use the fluffy microfiber cloths as opposed to the smooth ones, providing the fluffy microfiber cloth is of good quality.
3) I try to wash my microfibers once a month but I have built up a large quantity of them so I rarely run out of clean ones!
but if you had a normal amount of microfiber cloths it’s a great practice to clean them and dry them after use.
Thanks for a great comment,
Jack.
Hi Jack! You took the words right out of my head I would’ve assumed that fog is caused by the weather not by the vinyl in your car. It’s great that you provide help on how clean it off, using a microfiber would’ve been my guess so at least I have that down pack. 🙂 Thank you for this article!
Hi Viviana,
I’m really glad that I’ve been able to teach something to you that will hopefully help you in the future! Hope you get the results you are looking for!
Thanks for the nice words,
Jack.
Hello there Captain Jack, you have come up with a fine blog post! Definitely useful information and will be put to use right away! Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the great comment, I hope you get the results you’re looking for! Thanks again Evan.
Hi Jack and thanks for your post.
I get frustrated with our windshield also and was always using just glass cleaner. I had no idea using a magic eraser would help.
What a great idea. I’m certainly going to try this the next time I clean my windshield…later today, lol.
Cheers,
Suzanne
Thanks for your time, I hope this new tactic will improve your results, let me know either way! Thanks again, Suzanne.
Hi Jack. Thank you for your article on Cleaning the window of your car. It reminded me that mine desperately needs a clean. I suffered yesterday from both the oily streaking issue and the natural fog. I probably lead a closeted life but I have never heard of the “magic eraser”, I will have to purchase one now. Up to this point in time I have only been using the window cleaner and I always noticed left over streaking, no matter how hard I tried to get rid of it, some always remained behind. I thought it was just me doing a bad job. I can’t wait to try the magic eraser and see what happens. Jim
Hi Willem, I only discovered this method in the recent months and until then I was having the same problem and it is very frustrating because you still are putting in the work when glass cleaning but it just does not reward you with the crystal clear results. Hopefully this method serves you well,
All the best, Jack.
I could never understand people not taking the time to keep their windows clean. I mean why add a bunch of extra danger to an already very dangerous activity. To me it is just people being lazy.
Thank you for taking the time to share this info with us. If nothing else it is a great reminder of the things we need to do. Obviously its needed or you wouldnt have to be writing this article.
Dale
Hi Dale thanks for your time viewing my article. That is the right word for it.. Dangerous. With cloudy windows night time (and day time driving for that matter) can be made very difficult if the windows are not taken care off appropriately.
Thanks for your kind words, have a good day.
Jack.
This was a great and detailed (no pun intended) explanation of how best to clean your automobile glass in easy simple steps. I enjoyed the post and learned something, even after many years of cleaning my auto glass in many cars. I did not think that was possible!
I like the advice on the circular motion followed by the up and down wiping plus ripping off the tags of the micro-fiber (good tip), and the Mr. Clean Eraser is a new tool that I will definitely check out. I am always looking for a better way to do something.
It is clear to me (again, no pun intended) that you know what you are talking about when it comes to getting fog and streak free windshield views. That is worth a lot to me, as I spend many hours behind the wheel in my travels, and it does bug me to not have a clear view. Appreciate the tips, advice, and post!
Hi Dave, thank you for taking the time to read my article and share your opinion. That’s the thing with car detailing: The learning is never finished! Someone will always have a new and better way of perfecting the job at hand.
Make sure to let me know how you get on with the Magic Eraser! It is hard to believe the effect it has on the finished product.
i appreciate your time and your kind words, have a good day!
Jack.
Wow, I learned several things I hadn’t known before auto glass cleaning. I did not know about plastic and vinyl dashboards emitting chemical gas fumes. Plus, I did not know about the Mr. Clean magic eraser. I appreciate your practical cleaning tips. So I will put them to good use to clean my windshield today. Thanks.
I’m very glad to hear that Glen! Yes there is always something new to learn about cars and detailing that’s why this niche never gets boring too me!
Thanks for taking the time to read and share your opinion on my article, it is appreciated!
Jack.
Thanks for this post, I honestly didn’t think there was a better way to clean my auto glass. I’ve tried windshield cleaner and took the car to the car wash and it worked to an extent but car was always somehow a little bit foggy.
I’ll have to try the Mr.Clean magic eraser.
I know the feeling very well myself Oshea, for a long time I couldn’t understand why the expensive glass cleaner I had bought was leaving a foggy, streaky finish.
That was until I discovered the Magic Eraser Method, it’s amazing the difference you can see when you think outside of the box!
Let me know how you get on, thanks for your time!
Jack
Thank you for the inexpensive, yet effective way to clean a windshield. I cleaned one side using this method and couldn’t believe how nasty my window really was! I hadn’t thought it was very dirty before I cleaned it! When I compared the two sides I was shocked. I don’t know how I could see out of the window before!
How did you discover this method? Trial and error? Well, it sure works (and it gives my arms a good workout, too!)!
No problem Karin! I’m very glad the method worked its magic for you as well! It can be supprising how much dirt is actually there, often it is a lot more than we think!
In answer to your question I just love detailing so I often look around on the internet and like you said trial and error and see how it goes, just happened to one day find the one that works!
Thanks for your time reading my article, have a great day!
Jack.
It is always a frustration experience when your windshield gets foggy. It is even worse when you are on the road. It came as a surprise to me that the mist is actually caused by off-gasing from the plastic and vinyl interior. I have always thought it was as a result of evaporation of sweat. It’s great to know I can handle this without splitting my wallet in two. Thanks for the great stuff. Other than fogging and the risks associated with it, does this evaporation of oils have any health implications?
Your right Phranell, the mist is also caused by evaporation, for instance, when you get into the car on a rainy/cold morning you are likely to experience mist caused by evaporation.
That’s a good question! There are no health implications I am aware of though I highly doubt it, car manufacturers spend so much on research of safety I would like to think they wouldn’t overlook something like this.
Thanks for the comment, glad you were able to learn something.
Jack.