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: Hot Savings From NAPA – 20% Off Sitewide

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Whether you can do it yourself or need it done for you, our NAPA social channels are for you. Follow us to get the latest KNOW HOW tips, see exclusive content from our NAPA Racing teams, check out the latest deals, and join the conversation with thousands of vehicle enthusiasts just like you.

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Store participation and discount may vary. Exclusions apply. Offer valid 9/19-9/28. May not be combined with other offers. For Reserve Online, please call store to verify before pickup; additional actions and shipping charges may be required. We may cancel, modify, or deactivate this offer at any time and it is subject to change. We reserve the right to limit quantities and correct errors without notice. Reserve online orders need to be picked up at a participating NAPA AUTO PARTS prior to close of business on 9/28 to receive discount.

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NAPA Know How: Hot Summer Savings From NAPA – 20% Off Sitewide

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Looking for a getaway weekend? Make sure your car is ready before you hit the road. Save 20% on NAPAOnline.com.

From July 14th to 21st you can save 20% off online orders with coupon code SAVE20.

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NAPA Know How: Car Maintenance for the Spring Season Ahead

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Spring is here and it’s the perfect time for a drive! But there’s a little car maintenance you should do before you hit the road. You never know when that first beautiful spring day will come, and you want to be prepared. Here are five things to do to get your car ready for spring adventures.

1. Give Your Car a Good Wash

Winter is finally over so you should give your car a thorough cleaning. This will get rid of all the corrosive road salt and chemicals that collected on your car. It might look clean, but the undercarriage especially takes a beating through the winter months. Make sure you hose off and wash the whole car. When you’re done, consider giving it a wax to not only make it look great but to also protect the finish from the harsh summer sun.

2. Clean the Interior, Too

The inside of your car also gets rough treatment during the winter and should be cleaned when warm weather arrives. The floor mats are likely holding a good bit of salt along with plenty of dirt. Vacuum your floor mats and then wash them with a floor mat cleaner. This is especially true if you have fabric floor mats rather than more rugged rubber mats as salt can ruin the fabric over time.

3. Check the Wiper Blades

Snow and ice are hard on your wiper blades. Clean them off and do a quick visual check to be sure they weren’t damaged. If there are any rips or missing bits of rubber in either of the blades, then they’re not going to do a good job of keeping your windshield clear. If you see damage, then it’s time to get the blades replaced.

4. Check Your Tires

Tires are what keep your car connected to the road and checking them is a key part of car maintenance. Make sure they’re inflated to the manufacturer’s recommendations and add or remove air as needed. Also, check for tread wear to be sure there was no damage over the harsh winter months. If your tires aren’t in good shape, get them replaced.

5. Be Prepared

Make sure that you have a stocked emergency kit just in case you have a breakdown or accident. It should (at least) include flares, a basic first aid kit, flashlight, jumper cables or a portable power supply, and a blanket.

Follow this simple checklist and do a little basic car maintenance before you head out on the road this spring and you’ll be sure to enjoy the ride.

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

Image courtesy of Flickr.

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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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