Defrosting windows

Are you sure there's plenty of heated air blowing with enough force out of your defroster vents? That's the main thing.
Secondly, on some snow situations (not always tho), it's sometimes better to just run the floor heat, because running the defrosters partially melts snow hitting your windshield and it refreezes, thus caking it up with additional ice.
Third, I like to use a product called Aquapel. It's similar to Rain-X, but must be applied to the windshield when it's dry and the windshield is above approx 60 degrees (might have to have truck "warm up" in a heated shop, in winter, to apply it). It prevents ice from sticking to the windshield, thus less ice on the wipers also.

Here's a link:
Aquapel

 

Put on some winter wipers...will help with the buildup.

 

Make sure its on defrost and not heat.Had that happen was sleeting so bad and kept using my washer fluid.Was worried the window wouldn't clear because I ran out of washer fluid.I turned it to defrost and cleared the windows right up.

 

To defrost windows quickly: turn defrost on high, and lower your sun visors. It'll keep the heat more on the window than allowing it to escape halfway up the window and into the cab. If you want to warm the truck up quickly, leave heat on high and crack both windows about 1/4". It'll give the air room to move and it'll push all the cold air out the windows. Once warm, roll them up and you'll be able to keep truck warm on low and windows will stay warmer allowing defrosting to continue.

Another trick is to put the "winter" washer fluid in your reservoir. When it hits the window, it'll help defrost the ice/snow build up. Problem most people have is the "regular" washer fluid will freeze to the snow/ice/rain and it'll make things worse. (additional tip: use 3-4 drops of Dawn de-greasing dish soap in your regular washer fluid during warmer months, it helps keep the windows cleaner and the bugs etc will come off easier when you squirt it. Plus it works better and is cheaper than Rain-X)

 

Those are the kinda little things that can make big differences that you can forget after being out of the truck for awhile. Devil's in the details.

 

gpsman: I know what you mean. Fortunately my personal vehicle is a 91 S-10. I have to defrost my window that way. I have it set up cooler than normal so it doesn't overheat in the summer (it still has the clutch fan setup on it lol). My gf laughs at me, cause when I get in her car to start it up for her on cold days as I'm leaving for work, I still put her visors down. Creature of habit I guess lol

 

Are you having moisture/freezing problems INSIDE the truck or only outside? If you're having issues with interior glass fogging up (and maybe freezing), make sure your a/c condenser is on and maybe turn off the fresh air option (engage recirc) to dry up the air inside.

 

I read about cracking the windows. The main thing there is it helps balancing the humidity level out and helps with the glass of ice water effect.

When it gets so bad out like in an ice storm there isn't much you can do but pull over and clean the wipers off. If you don't come out of it you ain't too far from a break.

Some stuff you can buy at AutoZone and Walmart. I've used the first one and it works good.

 

STexan: that reminded me of another trick I've used in the past. If you're dash is relatively flat or even angled, you can buy those guards that go on your house floor registers (the ones that angle up). They can be slid side to side to make them longer or shorter. Those help in the morning when the windows just take forever! It's all about direction and use of the air and knowing how the system works.

In the old vehicles you used to be able to turn your a/c on and put it on heat and it would help a lot. Newer vehicles, like my gf's car (2011 Corolla), if you even try to recirculate the air with the defrost on it'll kick it right back off to "open/outside air". You can't even trick it into staying on and recirculating warm air. Stupid computers!