As we seem to be discussing exterior condensation, the car's devices for internal clearing will have no effect. I remove one wiper blade and use it as a squeegee all round the car. This is clearly no use for frost, in which case a kettle of warm (not hot) water should be enough to thaw it out for the squeegee.

Edited by New owner on 28/01/2024 at 11:06

Like Andrew-T I use a squeegee blade kept in the door pocket. It's quick and you don't end up with a wet cloth that needs to dry out.

Silicon (better than rubber) squeegee, keep an old spray bottle filled with clean water to give the windows a quick blast before squeegeeing if its not freezing.

Clearing dirty windows by lowering the windows as described above will soon result in some heavily scored glass...you'll hear the almost diamond effect glass cutting screeching as it happens as the windows lower past the deeply encrusted grit that builds up on the seal at the top of the doorskin.

During some wet weather when those muck in those seals will be soft it can pay to lower the windows and wipe the muck clear of the seals with old cloths, you'll be amazed at the grime that comes out.

Both our cars have a small squeegee with a rubber or similar blade. IIRC they were sold in the middle aisle of a supermarket and intended for use in the shower.

Like GB I also keep a spray bottle of clean water in the car to wash side windows/mirrors when they get splattered on muddy/salty roads.

The RainX stuff is also brilliant for side windows but don't put it anywhere on the front screen that's swept by wipers - it makes smears far worse.

Problem I get at this time of year is condensation inside. Car, sat in the sun all day, warms up like a glasshouse. As soon as sun goes down and temperature drops moisture condenses on the inside. Heat and aircon usually shift it quickly enough but of the car ships water and you get a ton of water on there and it freezes you can be stuck for a while. My old Xantia was like that for a while as rain water was getting into the boot via the tail hatch and soaking the carpet.

Now I work at home I try to crack the windows open during the day so as to let the warm moist aire out.

Assuming you have air conditioning, just leave the A/C on all the time. using ?A/C is the best way to keep condensation under control. Leave the A/C on all the time.

A/C can't do much about the external glass - which is what the OP was talking about IIRC ?

For the side windows, I have a wide silicone squeegee - the wider, the better! This way, I can clean them in only two passes.

And then you need a very narrow one for the external mirrors ....