3 smart tips for frozen windshield wipers – What can you do?
Crabs
It’s scratching again! Unless, of course, you start the car, turn on the heater and let the heater do the job. In any case, what you should not do is use the windshield wipers to clear your windows of ice. We get that it’s tempting: let the wiper spray a few times and then put the wipers to work. But in the worst case, you get to deduct 400 euros from the garage because you destroyed the wipers and wiper motor.
Rubber
In fact, windshield wipers break down in no time if they are turned on while the blades are frozen to the windshield. The rubber breaks off quickly, leaving you to look for a new set of wipers. Moreover, you run the risk of burning out the wiper motors and damaging fuses and wiring due to the excessive resistance of the blades attached to the windshield. Here are some tips that can prevent damage to your wiper system:
- Cover the windshield of the car with an old sheet and “clip” the sheet between the wiper blades and the window. Don’t feel like covering your entire window? Then only put something behind the wipers, such as a piece of plastic (at least not cardboard or anything else that absorbs moisture). You can also choose to put the windshield wipers upright, so they don’t press against the window and can freeze.
- If you are icing the window with an ice scraper, you can use the back of the scraper to gently tap the wipers loose from the window.
- Make sure your windshield wipers are not on before you start the car. So also make sure that at the end of your drive, after you park the car, you turn off the windshield wipers. Chances are you had to use them during a snowfall the previous day. You don’t want them to come on when you start the car, destroying things.
Antifreeze
Windscreen washer pumps, by the way, can also burn out. For example, when they are activated continuously while the windshield washer fluid is frozen. So make sure you always use frost-resistant washer fluid in the winter. You can also use this handy trick in the morning, of course: you can defrost a windshield much faster with this handy sun visor trick