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Saintlysins said:For me this ‘haze’ seems to show up several days after a cleaning. I’ve been able to keep it at a minimum when I switched to ‘Stoner’s’ and a micro-fiber towel, but sometimes clean the windows twice a week. My girl and buddies never see’s this filmy-haze unless I wipe the inside window with my finger and show them – so I figured I was just too anal about this as no one else sees it – but it still bugged me.
I had asked a similar question on another post, without suggestions. I know there are some people on this site just as perfection minded as I am, and they didn’t give a response either. So I went looking elsewhere and stumbled into a scientific site that mentioned this (in my own words): There will be a minor “surface-staticâ€� build-up in relation to the type of cloth/material is used to clean a surface … (get this) … AND how fast the cloth is wiped across it! (As seen when cleaning a TV screen in the dark). This is equally related to the evaporation speed of the product which also causes a surface-static charge!
This ‘surface-static’ is just strong enough for air impurities (smog, dust, ozone particles, etc.) to be attracted to. These particles are hydroscopic, so in damp or humid conditions, you’ll see this ‘haze’ form, which seems to disappear with the defrosters on.
It went on to mention this light ‘static charge’ is how the “Ionic Breeze� works. I have two Ionic Breeze’s and they do take a lot of crap out of the air! When cleaning the Ionic Breeze, all the soot on it is damp and sticks to a dry paper towel. It all made sense to me.
Seems we clean a window with products and in a way that makes it attract the air’s impurities!
Last weekend, I purposely cleaned the windows with intentionally sloooow, loooong, strokes, and as of Friday neither the Ridgeline nor Merc is showing ‘as much’ of the haze I’d see by weeks end. The weather here in Jersey has been cold, snowy, sunny, rainy and damp, which is perfect weather for that ‘haze’ to form, especially with daily use. I think this may be some sort of an answer, but a few more weeks will make a better determination.
A lot of posts say the Surf City product has good results, but I’m 2 can’s of Stoner’s away from that product with my new procedure. I’ll let you know.
Long post I know … but everything I do includes the tiniest details.
3wide said:the haze is residue from the defroster. i use armor all window cleaner from target $3 to $4 hard to beat.
Saintlysins said:Hi “Paul34â€� … I will try to paint a clear picture of how much more complex the defrost system is than you may think.
There are heater cores that connect to your radiator fluid system to provide heat, Air Conditioning cores/coils for cooling, multi-directional ports for all the various vents in the car, with some ports controlled by vacuum hoses and/or electrical/mechanical armatures, and the outer ports that control the amount of fresh air to recirculation of the interior air, which all require lubrication and may provide an oil residue/film on the windshield if they end up floating on water inside the air-box as explained in next paragraph. I’m sure you’ve heard these ports creak/squeak/grind as they slap closed on older cars, as you’ve switched between vents and defrost settings.
There is a drainage hose(s) for any rain, wash water, etc that fall in under the wind-shield wiper bonnet/cover and through the vents. These get plugged up with leaf debris all the time and often hold water. When the car gets turned on, any and all trapped, condensed water gets pulled up through the air-box and deposit on the window. If the water is stagnant, filled with rotting leaves, soapy wash water, etc, it can leave quite a remarkable (and disgusting) film very quickly after just starting the car, let alone driving it just a short distance.
Ask a dealership part’s person to show you his computer diagram of a defroster and air-box assembly. Their display will reveal to you there’s a lot more at work here than you may be aware of. I’m not trying to discount you or your post, but only offering a clear, concise, visual for you to see how much more complex the ventilation system is on a vehicle, and why “3Wide� and the rest of us post so many window cleaning questions.
Hope this helps.
Setec Astronomy said:Yes, there is a tool...Glass Wizard or something? Griot's sells a version, and you can sometimes find an "as seen on TV" version in the chain auto stores.
aka Patrick has recommended simulating that tool by wrapping a MF around a plastic kitchen spatula.