How to Prepare Car Wipers for Winter Driving

There are things you may need to do as far as car maintenance goes in order to prepare for winter driving. Take a good look at your car's windshield wipers. Wipers must be in good shape to be able to handle potential snow, sleet or ice.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Prepare your car wipers for winter driving by giving old wipers a softening treatment. Over time, the rubber in your car windshield wipers gets hard. Stiff, hard rubber won't run smoothly over the windshield. The wipers won't wipe away freezing moisture or heavy rain like they should in order to provide safety in driving. Make the rubber wipers soft again by treating them with a silicone lubricant.

2. Take you car wipers off in order to prepare car wipers for winter driving. Look at them carefully to see if rust is on the blade itself. If you see rust spots, use a fine-grit sandpaper and rub the car wipers gently until the rust spots are gone. Work carefully, a spot at a time, in order to prevent further damage to your wipers.

3. Trim off the edge of your car wipers if they appear worn and ragged. Remove the car wipers from your vehicle. Lay them down on a flat surface. Lay a straight-edge (a ruler, for example) down on top of the wiper blade where the blade touches the windshield. Push the straight-edge almost even with the edge of the rubber wiper blade, letting just the edge of the wiper blade show. Take a sharp razor knife or a single-edge razor blade, press down firmly and trim off the edge of the wiper blade to re-surface its edge.

4. Lubricate the spring that keeps the car's wiper blade tension on the window. Use a small amount of light penetrating oil.

5. Replace your car wipers with new ones, if necessary. If your wipers are too old and too worn, the above steps may not prepare them well enough for winter driving.