As temperatures begin to drop, motorists will be confronted with an age-old chore each morning. However, understanding exactly what steps to take to speed up this process can prevent you from spending what seems like an eternity sitting inside a freezing-cold vehicle.
Former car salesman Pete - who shares clips on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube using the username @capturing_cars - posted a video earlier this year addressing a common issue that almost every driver will encounter at some point in their lives.
With cold weather settling in, people will face the burden of warming up their vehicles. The process isn't just to make the car comfortable to drive; it also makes the car safe to drive.
Vehicle windows fog up during winter mornings because of condensation, which happens when warm, humid air inside the car meets the cold glass and cools down, prompting the water vapour to create small droplets, reports the Express. Moisture can build up overnight, establishing a damp atmosphere for this process to occur.
Driving off without fully clearing your windows will leave you with a compromised view of the road ahead and behind you. This will increase your chances of getting involved in an accident that could have been completely avoided.
To clear the fog, the car's heating system can help balance the temperatures and make your windows sufficiently clear for a safe drive. But going about it a certain way with particular settings can really speed up the process.
Pete explained: "Do you know how to heat your car as quickly as possible in the winter months? The first thing, of course, you want to do is turn the temperature up [and] turn the fans up a bit as well."
Most motorists reckon this alone does the trick in tackling steamed-up glass. And they're spot on, as it will eventually sort out those foggy windows.
But Pete claims that hitting a couple of extra buttons could dramatically slash the time it takes. He switched on two additional settings that drivers ought to activate during the colder months.
He explained: "The next thing you want to do is hit [the recirculation] button. What this is doing is shutting off the vents to the outside of the car and recirculating the air that's in the car.
"What that means is with each circulation of the air that's in your car, it gets warmer on each pass, heating up quicker. If that's off, you are bringing in cold air from outside of the car and trying to make it warm."
Next, he recommended something that hardly anyone would dream of using when it's cold outside -turning on the air conditioning. He claimed it was essential, saying: "A lot of people think air conditioning is just for hot weather-it's not."
The guidance is also supported by the RAC, which states motorists should "absolutely" use this function if it is available during winter. A spokesman said: "First and foremost, using warm air from the system in winter is a great way to demist the windows.
"The air coming out of the vents is dry, so the air-con acts as a dehumidifier. An air-con system is much like the human body - if not used for long periods, it can seize up, plus circulation suffers. The air-con is filled with a refrigerant and some oil, and it pays to keep that liquid flowing and the components of the system lubricated."
