With bitter winter weather starting to bite, Brits are being urged to take a little extra time before journeys to make sure their vehicle is comfortable as well as safe. This all starts with properly heating a car, which can be done in a matter of minutes with minimal effort.
During the cold months, cars can quickly become freezing cold, which can also lead to dangerous foggy windows that limit vision. Messing with all the settings won’t help and could make it take even longer before cars are properly warmed up for a drive.
Ex-car salesman Pete, who goes by @capturing_cars on TikTok, shared the two things people need to know in order to have their vehicles toasty warm within minutes of sitting inside. It’s down to two buttons, then sit back and feel that glorious warmth.
He said: “Of course, the first thing you want to do is turn up the temperature. Whatever type of air conditioning or climate control you have, whether you’ve got dual zone so you can adjust it on both sides or just one dial for this, turn the temperature up to full.
“First of all, turn the fans up a little bit, not to the maximum at this point in time. I would then change the air so that it’s blowing into the car to warm you up quicker.”
Pete claims the next overlooked button is one of the “most important steps” to getting your car warmer faster. It’s the recirculation button, shown on most cars as a corcular arrow.
He added: “You might have a slider in your car, or in this car’s case, a button. What you are then doing is recirculating the air that’s in the car.”
This prevents the cold air from outside from being added into the car’s already warmed air, and avoids the losing battle of cold air versus hot air. “By trapping the air in the car, it gets warmer on each pass because it can’t escape the car,” Pete said.
This button isn’t meant to stay on permanently, and you will eventually want fresh air added to the car so you are not not breathing the same air continuously. Pete claimed: “Switch [recirculation mode] on, at least for the first kind of 5 or 10 minutes, and then you can switch back.
“The next thing you want to do is [turn on] the air conditioning. A lot of people think that air conditioning is purely for hot weather when you want to make the car cold – it’s not.”
Pete explained that the system is designed to “condition the air regardless of the temperature”, claiming that this feature, if it is built into your car, will be a “more efficient way” to get it warmer.
In other motoring news, people have been urged to put salt in their cars before November in a bizarre alert to all drivers. Apparently, placing a small bowl of table salt overnight in a vehicle was enough to prevent condensation from building up and clouding the windscreen and windows.
According to the Highway Code, drivers must be able to see clearly through the windscreen before setting off behind the wheel. In the mornings, Brits may face fogged-up windows that are impossible to see through, and being caught driving with them can land people in serious trouble – including licence points and cash fines.