Extend wiper blade life

Tips to extend wiper blade life

You can wear out your wiper blades in as little as six months by doing some of the things below. Follow these 4 wiper blade tips to get maximum life out of your wiper blades.

Park in the shade to extend the life of your wiper blades

If you don’t have a garage, at least park in a shady spot. Prolonged exposure to the sun’s heat and UV rays will deteriorate the rubber squeegee portion of your wiper blades. That drying out will cause the rubber to crack, resulting in streaks that interfere with your ability to see in rain or snow.

Clean your windshield when you fill up

There’s always road dust and grit on your windshield, but most people don’t wash their windshields unless they’re covered in bug splatter. If you don’t clean your windshield, the first swipe will force all the surface dust, dirt and grit into the sharp edge of the rubber squeegee, causing it to wear faster.

Don’t use your wiper blades to clear snow or ice

It’s really tempting to let your wiper blades push the ice and snow off your windshield. But that comes at a cost. First, pushing snow off your windshield with your wiper blades puts added stress on the wiper motor and linkage. You can prematurely wear out the wiper linkage if you do this often.

Complete wiper transmission assembly for Audi and VW

Worse yet, when you use your wipers to clear ice, you’re actually damaging the rubber squeegee. The rubber is no match for the sharp edges on the ice. The result? Streaks and smears. Use an ice scraper to remove ice from your windshield.

Don’t run your wipers on a dry windshield

This happens when it’s raining and you park your car leaving the wiper switch in the on position, The next time you start your vehicle, the wipers will start wiping across a dry windshield and that causes the sharp rubber edge to wear.

To avoid this, turn the wiper switch off when you park your vehicle.

Running your wipers across a dry windshield can also occur if you’ve run out of washer fluid. To prevent this, keep your washer reservoir filled at all times.

©, 2021 Rick Muscoplat