Will Rain-X help with this?
11-24-13, 04:05 PM
#1
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Will Rain-X help with this?
When it gets really humid I can't see out of my windshield at all (pictures attached below). Needless to say, the windshield wiper does nothing to help. Sometimes the wiper actually makes things worse.
I actually engaged the windshield wiper (with washer fluid) between pictures, and yet all 3 pictures look more or less the same. The washier fluid and windshield wiping action just does not help at all.
You can see the words "Reese M Rowling Hall" in the second picture but it's completely masked in the first picture.
It's driving me nuts though and it poses a huge safety hazard. Any suggestions?
I actually engaged the windshield wiper (with washer fluid) between pictures, and yet all 3 pictures look more or less the same. The washier fluid and windshield wiping action just does not help at all.
You can see the words "Reese M Rowling Hall" in the second picture but it's completely masked in the first picture.
It's driving me nuts though and it poses a huge safety hazard. Any suggestions?
11-25-13, 11:41 AM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Wash your windshield with a sponge and water (or with some soap and water if really dirty). Then rinse and dry it. Then go over it with a good ammonia and/or vinegar glass-cleaner and a couple of good, soft paper towels. Then, either change your wiper blades/blade-inserts by putting new ones on, or rub the dirt/film of the old ones with your fingertips by gripping and sliding a damp paper towel with cleaner on it over the length of the black-rubber inserts......you will see the black smudge on the rubber-blades come off on the white towel. repeat this several timers, if necesary, until you don't see as much black smudge coming off on the towel. if you have nice paint job, and some of the cleaner dripped on the hood, wipe it off with water and dry it so it doesn't stain the paint (not all cleaners will actually stain paint). If you do this correctly, you probably won't need to put any silicone stuff on the windshield like Rain-X...which could, in some cases, make the smearing even worse.
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car)
.
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car)
.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-25-13 at 11:52 AM.
11-25-13, 11:59 AM
#6
Wash your windshield with a sponge and water (or with some soap and water if really dirty). Then rinse and dry it. Then go over it with a good ammonia and/or vinegar glass-cleaner and a couple of good, soft paper towels. Then, either change your wiper blades/blade-inserts by putting new ones on, or rub the dirt/film of the old ones with your fingertips by gripping and sliding a damp paper towel with cleaner on it over the length of the black-rubber inserts......you will see the black smudge on the rubber-blades come off on the white towel. repeat this several timers, if necesary, until you don't see as much black smudge coming off on the towel. if you have nice paint job, and some of the cleaner dripped on the hood, wipe it off with water and dry it so it doesn't stain the paint (not all cleaners will actually stain paint). If you do this correctly, you probably won't need to put any silicone stuff on the windshield like Rain-X...which could, in some cases, make the smearing even worse.
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car).
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car)
.Also remember to change your cabin air filter!
11-25-13, 12:13 PM
#7
First, you need to degrease your windshield. You can use dish soap with some water. Just be careful not to actually wash your car with dish soap. It will strip all the wax off your paint - car wash detergent is much milder, but in this case you want a strong degreaser.
Mmarshall recommended ammonia or vinegar - I would recommend you not use ammonia (like Windex) and just use white vinegar mixed 50:50 w/ water after the dish soap wash. This will clean up any soap residue and leave your glass sparkly clean.
At this point, you can apply the Rain-X - but I still wouldn't recommend it. Instead, use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid - it contains a water-repelling solution that works just as good and lasts much longer, for nearly the same price.
Your dash looks like an IS to me, so make sure to ALWAYS leave your A/C on "auto" - the car is smart enough to run the compressor and therefore dehumidify air even in colder weather.
Mmarshall recommended ammonia or vinegar - I would recommend you not use ammonia (like Windex) and just use white vinegar mixed 50:50 w/ water after the dish soap wash. This will clean up any soap residue and leave your glass sparkly clean.
At this point, you can apply the Rain-X - but I still wouldn't recommend it. Instead, use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid - it contains a water-repelling solution that works just as good and lasts much longer, for nearly the same price.
Your dash looks like an IS to me, so make sure to ALWAYS leave your A/C on "auto" - the car is smart enough to run the compressor and therefore dehumidify air even in colder weather.
Last edited by Infra; 11-25-13 at 12:16 PM.
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11-25-13, 06:59 PM
#9
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Wash your windshield with a sponge and water (or with some soap and water if really dirty). Then rinse and dry it. Then go over it with a good ammonia and/or vinegar glass-cleaner and a couple of good, soft paper towels. Then, either change your wiper blades/blade-inserts by putting new ones on, or rub the dirt/film of the old ones with your fingertips by gripping and sliding a damp paper towel with cleaner on it over the length of the black-rubber inserts......you will see the black smudge on the rubber-blades come off on the white towel. repeat this several timers, if necesary, until you don't see as much black smudge coming off on the towel. if you have nice paint job, and some of the cleaner dripped on the hood, wipe it off with water and dry it so it doesn't stain the paint (not all cleaners will actually stain paint). If you do this correctly, you probably won't need to put any silicone stuff on the windshield like Rain-X...which could, in some cases, make the smearing even worse.
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car).
Last, if it is humid out, and you are using the windshield defroster, NEVER use the air-recirculation mode in the climate-control (indeed, most late-model cars have an electronic interlock with automatically prevents air-recirculation and will switch to outside-air intake when the defroster is turned on). If your car is an older one that alows you to manually select REC (recirculate) or Fresh-Air in any mode, always use the fresh-air mode when the defroster is on. Using the REC mode with the defrost is guaranteed to fog up the window, because it just recirculates the same moisture over and over again onto the glass. There was so much trouble with those older systems fogging and drivers not knowing that, that Ford, for a while, did away completely with the separate REC/Fresh-Air control-switch and only allowed fresh-air intake (even if a skunk or diesel-fumes were nearby and odors were getting into the car)
.First, you need to degrease your windshield. You can use dish soap with some water. Just be careful not to actually wash your car with dish soap. It will strip all the wax off your paint - car wash detergent is much milder, but in this case you want a strong degreaser.
Mmarshall recommended ammonia or vinegar - I would recommend you not use ammonia (like Windex) and just use white vinegar mixed 50:50 w/ water after the dish soap wash. This will clean up any soap residue and leave your glass sparkly clean.
At this point, you can apply the Rain-X - but I still wouldn't recommend it. Instead, use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid - it contains a water-repelling solution that works just as good and lasts much longer, for nearly the same price.
Your dash looks like an IS to me, so make sure to ALWAYS leave your A/C on "auto" - the car is smart enough to run the compressor and therefore dehumidify air even in colder weather.
Mmarshall recommended ammonia or vinegar - I would recommend you not use ammonia (like Windex) and just use white vinegar mixed 50:50 w/ water after the dish soap wash. This will clean up any soap residue and leave your glass sparkly clean.
At this point, you can apply the Rain-X - but I still wouldn't recommend it. Instead, use the Rain-X windshield washer fluid - it contains a water-repelling solution that works just as good and lasts much longer, for nearly the same price.
Your dash looks like an IS to me, so make sure to ALWAYS leave your A/C on "auto" - the car is smart enough to run the compressor and therefore dehumidify air even in colder weather.
. Looks like I have several options to explore. I'll report back later on the results.And yes to the person who asked the car is a 2009 IS350. Also, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to washing the car. It's not that I don't wash the car. I just don't wash the car myself. I wash the car fairly often, but I usually go to a locally owned car wash called The Finish Line to get my car machine + hand washed.
I also take advantage of the free car washes from Lexus whenever my car is being serviced.
Edit: And I had no idea that degreasing one's windshield was a "thing." Apparently it's a super common procedure (at least common enough to have its own page on ehow!)
http://www.ehow.com/how_8518652_clea...indshield.html
I can safely say that I've never degerased my windshield through 4 years of ownership, so I'm pretty confident that this will do the trick. Thanks again guys!
11-25-13, 09:07 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
take a wet paper towel or wet old rag and wipe your wiper blades from end to end - you might be surprised how much gunk comes off them. once grease is on the blades it doesn't come off unless you wipe it off (or replace the blades!). so do that, AND clean the windshield thoroughly. rain-x might help but not until you've done those other 2 first.
11-26-13, 01:59 PM
#12
Out of Warranty
^^ Great advice here. An old car show trick is to buff your windows after cleaning with thoroughly wadded up B&W newspapers. Newsprint is relatively soft and the black ink works as a fine abrasive that will leave your windows with a nice dry polish and ready for the Rain-X application. One caveat: wear rubber gloves or apply a silicon-based moisturizer like Avon's Silicone Glove to your hands before you handle the newsprint - you'll save a considerable amount of scrubbing, trying to get the ink off your hands.
Rain-X is a fine product, but I've not had much success with their anti-fog compound that is supposed to be applied to the inside of your windows. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get the stuff polished off. Every couple of days I get a little different light on the windows and find a spot or streak of dried anti-fog compound, ending up spending a week or two finding and polishing out all of them. It's less stressful for me just to fool with the heater controls until the fog disappears.
Rain-X is a fine product, but I've not had much success with their anti-fog compound that is supposed to be applied to the inside of your windows. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to get the stuff polished off. Every couple of days I get a little different light on the windows and find a spot or streak of dried anti-fog compound, ending up spending a week or two finding and polishing out all of them. It's less stressful for me just to fool with the heater controls until the fog disappears.
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