Today I noticed that the inside of the windshield in my car has a nasty film on it. How could it possibly have gotten there???? I don't smoke. I don't have the windows down often. I rarely pass gas in there. So what caused the film?
Beats Me Shirley Martin, I guess we will have to wait for someone wiser. I wonder if it is just some kind of dust mixed with the particles in the air. I had all kinds of moisture on my windshield last night, due to the atmosphere being so wet. It wasn't rainy but it might as well have been! I had to run the wipers most of the way back, as well as have the AC and defrost on, when it wasn't even raining, that was totally weird I thought.
I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable answer. I have noticed it before. I just wonder how the inside of the windshield gets dirty.
@Shirley Martin I can tell you where that film comes from, Shirley. This has all been studied very closely, not only from an aesthetic standpoint, but also a health inference. A whole bunch of molded plastic exists today within our cars. Years ago, the dashboards and appurtenances were made of metal. Our dashboards, door side panels, trim pieces around doors, kick panels, even much of the "guts" contained under the dash, are plastic. Plastics "outgas" chemical compounds for a very long time after they are made. Those gaseous compounds infiltrate every nook and cranny of the insides of our vehicles, and, nowadays, since so many drive only in "air-conditioned" comfort, these gases "reside" within the cab for extended periods of time. Add to that, we close windows which may have been opened for "fresh-air", when we park. The gases keep seeping out, and their only evidence of their presence is that film on your inner windshield and windows. Buy an older car, ~10 years old, and it will maintain it's "inner clean"! Frank
Please correct me if I'm wrong with my understanding of film as some kind of dirty moisture. If it's correct, I'm also wondering how it developed in the interior side of the windshield. But take this. One morning after driving for 5 minutes to traverse the heavy traffic in the main road, I was jolted by a lizard that fell on the dashboard. Maybe it did not really fall but that's how I perceived of it. The lizard seemed to be looking at me in the eye. It's a good thing that it went away (obviouisly to the other area of the car) and did not bother me anymore. What's puzzles me is that it is not yet discovered until now. So that means that critter is still inside my car.
Yes, I've heard that new car smell is just toxins. My car is now 10 years old. Hope it lasts for more years.
@Frank Sanoica , you're probably right. I remember reading an article a few years ago that recommended that we roll our car windows down for the first five or so minutes after getting in the car. That would be good advice for all of us to take. I did for a while then, like most things, I gradually got out of the habit. I'll try to remember to do that from now on. @Corie Henson, he probably got out the same way he got in.
I drove all winter long where I grew up, in Chicago, with the driver's window down. People thought I was nuts, it was below zero degrees out! Hearing the traffic sounds all around me seemed to help me navigate.
So far as the interior of he windshield goes, when the vinyl on the dash gets warm, the gases that are emitted from it end up on the inside of the glass. If you use any cleaning products such as "Armor All" on it, the film on the glass is compounded. Just a light cleansing of warm vinegar water on the dash is all it takes to neutralize the oxidization but it only lasts for a short period. Unfortunately, before you do that, the windshield must be cleaned with some type of window cleaner and then wiped again with vinegar water just like the dash. Now, about the lizard. Dunno. Seems to me they are harmless enough and eat bugs and insects. BUT, those bugs that were eaten have to go through a metamorphosis via digestion and the byproducts thereof have to wind up somewhere. Hopefully, you're not sitting on it.
I got a brand new windshield a couple of months ago after an unfortunate incident where a stray rock hit it. A couple of weeks later, I had a huge spot on the window which looked like it needed defogging. I tried doing that, to no avail. I took Windex to the outside of the windshield. Again, nothing. Finally, I tried cleaning the inside with the same result. I then figured that air must've somehow gotten trapped between the layers of glass, so I went out to the window/windshield place. They looked at it and explained to me that it wasn't inside the glass (and then the technical reasons why that was impossible). They posited that it was from a leak in the evaporator coil. He said it is no uncommon and if it gets annoying enough to take it to an AC shop. He also told me Windex was a crummy product and gave me a can of what they use. He was right about that one! It hasn't happened since.
@Shirley Martin High-strength (i.e., 91%) rubbing alcohol is good for that use. Our Wal-Mart is nearly always sold out of it.akes me wonder if somebody has figgered a way to make Meth out of it!
I wasn't there, but I think they had a window cleaning product that they used. I don't know what that was, but I think they said that vinegar and newspaper would work much better than Windex and paper towels. I know that newspaper works very well for cleaning windows. @Michelle Anderson will be back in before long, probably, and she'll be able to answer you.