How to Windshield Wipers

Windshield wipers are just one of those things in life you don't think about --until it's raining and you can't see or until you hit a huge swarm of bugs and the wipers just smear them across the windows.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Alcohol wipes or rubbing alcohol with a cotton ball

1. Look in the owner's manual to see what size blades you should buy. You will never get the best wear out of blades that don't fit properly, so make that your first priority. If you don't have the original car owner's manual, look on the back of the blades themselves. Anyone who works in an auto department should be able to look and get you the blades you should have.
2. Keep your blades clean. Wipe them down with rubbing alcohol to treat the rubber and make it last longer. Check the blades every so often--once a month or so to see if they're dirty. Whenever you've driven through a wall of bugs or found a windshield full of leaves you will probably need to clean your blades. Keep some alcohol wipes in your car for a quick clean up.
3. Keep your windshield clean. Dragging wet leaves or a small twig across your windshield can damage your windshield--and eat up your wiper blades. Clean trash off your windshield before driving--every time. It will save your glass and blades. Keep some paper towels in your car. These are handy things to have for all kinds of uses but they will help you clean your windshield easily and they'll take all the small pieces of stuff off that your hand would miss.
4. Check your windshield itself for cracks and bumps. If a wiper blade keeps on hitting a crack the thin rubber will eventually tear up. Small holes and cracks can be repaired without too much cost and they will save your windshield from cracking more and needing to be replaced later. Keep your windshield washer fluid filled. The fastest way to tear up wiper blades is to run them over the windshield when it's dry. The liquid is cheap--you can even put plain water if you want to--just don't leave it empty and then turn it on.
5. Check your wiper blades when it isn't raining to see how well they're working by using the washer liquid. Wiper blades should clean and dry the windshield as they sweep the surface. If there is a big line coming across that means that one of the blades has a gap in it. If it's anywhere near your line of vision you need to replace the blades. If water sweeps backward when the blade goes backward then the blade isn't connecting well with the windshield. Replace your blades even when only one of them is messed up. Although you have to buy two, you can just change that one and save the other. If you ever have just one get messed up again, you'll have that spare to use. This will save you the cost of a full set of wiper blades later on.
6. Buy good wiper blades. Since all cars are different, experiment a little and find the ones that work the best for you. The frameless and the silicon type wiper blades are commonly thought of as being longer lasting but the jury's still out on which one is best.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean off your wiper blades with rubbing alcohol when you get them and whenever you wash your car to treat the rubber and keep them from being replaced so often.