NAPA Know How: 7 Winter Windshield Wiper Tips For Better VisibilityNAPA Know How Blog

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Windshield wipers are essential during the winter. They keep your windshield clear of precipitation and maintain proper visibility while you’re driving. If you want these frontline defenders to perform to their full potential, you need to take care of them.

Here are seven winter windshield wiper tips that will help keep you safe while driving through snow this winter.

1. Don’t Use Your Wipers as Ice Scrapers

If there’s frost on your windshield, using your wipers to clear it away may seem like an easy fix. However, this can damage your wipers. Cold weather makes wipers hard and brittle, so using them to scrape ice could cause the blades to crack and break. Protect your blades by using an ice scraper to remove frost from your vehicle’s front and rear windshields.

2. Inspect Your Wipers

If your wiper blades are cracked or damaged, they won’t be effective. This can be a huge safety hazard when driving in rain or snow — if you can’t see, you can’t drive. To avoid finding yourself in this situation, check the blades regularly for signs of damage or wear, especially in the winter. If there’s an issue, promptly replace the worn blades.

3. Clean Your Wipers and Windshield

Dirt and grime prohibit visibility on a wet or snowy day — if filth is caked on the windshield or wiper blades, moisture from falling rain or snow may spread it across the glass once the wipers are in motion, making it difficult to see beyond the windshield. Avoid this mess by cleaning the glass and wiper blades every couple of weeks.

4. Clear Snow From the Roof and Hood

When clearing snow from your vehicle, don’t stop with just the windshield; remove it from the car’s roof and hood as well. Any snow left in either place will likely blow onto the front or rear windshield once the car is in motion, hampering visibility. Take a thorough approach to snow removal, so you can maintain clear sightlines when driving, and your wipers won’t have to work harder than they should.

5. Check the Washer Nozzles

Your blades need wiper fluid to keep your windshield clear. Snow and ice can block the nozzles that release this fluid onto the glass. Regularly check the nozzles to make sure they aren’t frozen. If they’ve become clogged with ice, use a de-icer.

6. Apply Rubbing Alcohol to the Blades

Ice can cause your wiper blades to freeze to the windshield. Prevent this by applying rubbing alcohol to the blades, which will discourage freezing.

7. Upgrade to a Winter Windshield Wiper

When the temperature drops, switch to winter wipers for the best performance. These wipers are built with a heavy-duty frame crafted to resist twisting, warping and cracking in extreme cold. They’re sturdy enough to keep your windshield free of snow, even in the most severe storms.

Show your wipers a little love, and they’ll help keep you safe all winter long.

Check out all the wiper blades available on NAPA Online or trust one of our 17,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on winter windshield wipers, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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NAPA Know How: What Are Winter Wiper Blades? A Seasonal Primer

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What are winter wiper blades? You’ve no doubt seen this item lurking on the shelves of your local auto parts store, but a quick inspection doesn’t necessarily reveal the key differences between these wipers and the spring/summer/fall set you’re used to running.

Why would you consider swapping in a different set of wiper blades once the snow starts to fall and the cold weather sets in? Is it really necessary, or merely optional, from a safety standpoint? Let’s take a closer look.

Difference in Design

In order for a wiper to be effective, it has to make strong contact with the windshield or the back glass of your vehicle. During warmer weather, this isn’t much of a challenge, but winter introduces several challenges that must be overcome in the design process.

When asking “what are winter wiper blades,” it’s important to note that there are two different types of wipers available on the market. The most common, and typically least expensive, use a metal frame and a set of springs to force the rubber of the blade against the glass. This mechanism can become clogged with snow, ice or other debris during cold weather driving, which means winter-specific models feature a covering that protects the frame and keeps out unwanted gunk. It’s easy to spot this particular improvement when comparing a summer and a winter blade side-by-side.

“Beam” wipers, however, are a little more inconspicuous. By embedding a metal band inside the blade itself, the wiper keeps its form without the need for a frame, giving them a smaller profile. This rubber material has been fortified with a number of other materials (including silicone, or sometimes Teflon) to keep it supple and bendy in normal operation, and to prevent it from freezing up once the temperatures drop. A stiff wiper is one that can’t maintain the arc needed to clean your glass, and so these designs are a good choice for winter driving, even if you don’t see a “winter” sticker on the label.

Note — you’ll often find this more flexible rubber spec on traditional winter blade designs, too.

Not Like Tires

Winter blades are tougher than the average wiper, but do you really need them? The answer depends entirely on the climate you live in. If you’re constantly dealing with harsh precipitation, road salt and ice, then winter wipers will most likely last longer — especially in the deep cold where summer wipers can freeze to the glass and tear as they move.

Another point to consider is that you can run “winter” wipers all year round, without any real negatives other than the bulky look of the traditional design. If you switch out your old wiper blades to a high-end beam wiper, you won’t even have to deal with that — you can just enjoy 12-month protection from smeared-and-messy windshields without any extra effort.

Check out all the vision and safety parts available on NAPA Online or trust one of our 16,000 NAPA AutoCare locations for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on windshield wipers, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your local NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.

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