Winter Tires (in Winter) new regulations from October 2024

[Krieg]

Starting today winter tires in your car must have the "Alpine Symbol" (snowflake inside a mountain). The old M+S symbol is not enough, the Alpine Symbol must be there even if your tires have the M+S symbol. Tires manufactures started using the Alpine Symbol back in 2017, so you will have to change your tires only if they are very old.

PS. Tires without the Alpine Symbol but with the M+S symbol can be used during summer.

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[bethannbitt]

I don’t have a car here. But I just wanna say, „Krieg, you are a fount of useful .“

[Robinson100]

Nothing to do with tyres here, but I was wondering if anybody has a tip for me to help stop the windscreen of my car from getting covered in condensation?

[Fraufruit]

American here - is your defogger fan inside not working? (you may say demister)

[Optimista]

The French swear by a bag of rice on the dashboard. Have not tried it but it makes sense as rice absorbs moisture. Hygrophilic. Dunno if you can still eat the rice come Spring.

[yesterday]

Condensation will occur in winter time, its part of nature!

You can make sure your car is set to take new air into the car, not re-used or re circulate, it helps
If you can park your car in a covered park place, it helps

As FF says, use the de-mist/frost function in your car.

You can also use the the A/C, to dry the air in car in winter time, this helps a lot, but can cool your car.

Its helps to clean the inside of your window, in winter time. As condensation forms in a stronger way if the window is dirty.

Maybe check and replace any air filter(s) you may have for the cabin air.

I bought, those special drying beads, from an auto shop ( guess a bit like rice ), that you can leave in the car, they absorb, the water in the air, then every so often you take them out of the car and dry them in an warm oven. put them back in the car.

I also bought a machine, that spreads heated air to the windscreen that runs of an internal rechargeable battery, it can be programmed to start and stop at certain times, this can help also.

You can also buy a small electric heater that plugs in to the cigarette lighter socket and blows small amounts of warm air to the wind screen.

No I have not tried everything yet, but I do try !!!

[alma.freya]

Nothing to do with tyres here, but I was wondering if anybody has a tip for me to help stop the windscreen of my car from getting covered in condensation?

You want to reduce the amount of moisture in the air of your cabin.

When you start a new journey, turn on the engine and set your air conditioner to warm but don't sit in your car yet. If you sit in your car, you will be adding moisture to the air which will immediately condense on the windows. The air conditioner should remove moisture from the air and start warming the air in the cabin allowing it to hold more moisture.

A minute before ending your journey, do a Stoßlüften to remove moist air from your car.

Also remove any damp items from your car. i.e. clothes you might use to wipe windows, wet umbrellas, hats etc.

[Franklan]

The French swear by a bag of rice on the dashboard. Have not tried it but it makes sense as rice absorbs moisture. Hygrophilic.

This product from amazon basically does the same, and it has some kind of "indicating dot" on it. If the dot changes its color, you can regenerate that thingy on your baking oven.

[Emkay]

Using air con definitely helps as mentioned. I used a bowl of Silikat cat litter in 1-2 footwells that made a big difference. Cheap and easy to replace when necessary. Available in most pet stores, Amazon etc.

zooplus.de

[Krieg]

Nothing to do with tyres here, but I was wondering if anybody has a tip for me to help stop the windscreen of my car from getting covered in condensation?

To reduce and even stop the condensation on the windscreen you can treat it with shaving foam.

To remove condensation once it is fogged you have to:

- Blast the heater at max (hot air)
- Switch on the AC (this sound counterproductive)
- Switch recirculation off
- Open the windows a little bit for a while

Explanation :

[Robinson100]

Thanks for all the tips so far!

I do try not to get any thing wet into the car - kick snow off of boots before jumping in, hang car cover over the fence to dry during the day, try not to breathe too much (proving difficult!!!)

And yes, Em, I had forgotten to use the air conditioner as well - thanks!

I have started to collect packs of silica gel/crystals that come in the boxes at work to keep things dry - started to put those along the dashboard during the day, too. I think it is helping a bit.

Glad to hear any more tips you guys might have!!!

[kaffeemitmilch]

Just leave the AC button on if you have it. Apparently wiping the inside of the windshield with shaving cream works, and there are defoggers from RainX (FogX) and German brands too. Keep the inside clean as prints will make it more difficult to see even with a little fog. Keep a clean towel to wipe the windshield.