09 January 2024 , 09:46
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When the cold temperature outside meets the warm air from inside your windows, it can cause condensation to form on the side - which is not ideal when you've got somewhere you need to be.
Parts of the UK are currently facing a cold snap, with a yellow warning for ice issued by the Met Office across southern England and South Wales, which expired at 3am on Tuesday. With temperatures still expected to be dry and cold, especially in the south where they will be no higher than 1-3C, and more snow on the way - you'll likely encounter some condensation inside your car.
Condensation forms when the warm air inside your car comes into contact with a cold surface - which in this case is your car window or windscreen - causing the moisture in the air to condense. In a vehicle, this can look like fog from a driver's perspective - and needs to be cleared before you drive.
So how can you get rid of the condensation inside your car? According to Toyota's UK Magazine, the "most efficient" way to remove moisture from the air is using the car's air conditioning system. It states: "This system draws air from the cabin through an evaporator, which causes moisture in the air to condensate in a controlled way and drain out of the vehicle.
"If the cabin air is not regularly refreshed then condensation will accumulate, as the moisture-rich air will not be removed. However, you can force this by changing the re-circulation feature from internal to fresh air." Alternatively, you might have a demister function inside the car, which is designed to quickly clear the windscreen of condensation by blowing air over the surface.
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According to the car dealership, one of the best ways to stop condensation from forming inside your car in the first place is to simply keep "the insides of windows, particularly the windscreen, as clean as possible". This will "lessen the likelihood of condensation forming, and ensures that any that does form is efficiently dried by the demisters".
Lastly, you could purchase a car dehumidifier bag, which is a small bag of silicone balls that you can put on your dashboard to soak up the moisture from your car, preventing condensation from forming. You can buy a Reusable Car Dehumidifier from Halfords for £7.99.