Great Reader Tip!
Saturday February 20, 2010
I love getting tips from readers. In response to my blog entry, Are Your Wipers on a Smear Campaign? one Mustang driver had this tip:
Here's a quick trick that the wiper companies don't want you to know. when your wipers just start smearing, it's not always the wiper that's wearing out.
It's an accumulation of oil, exhaust fumes and other things that have attached themselves to your wiper and windshield. So get out the window cleaner and not only clean your windshield, also spray some onto a paper towel and wipe your wipers off.
Watch how much black gunk comes off and how much better the wipers work!
Have a tip you think people need to hear? Send it to autorepair.guide@about.com!
hey! that’s what i’ve been doing to my cars every-onece in a while. that really works
if your wipers get “jumper” or making uneven swipes flip them over!
I’ve been doing this since I can remember. Its true; you get much more life out of them. If you run a white cloth over the blades you will see just how much gunk comes off them.
Cleaning wipers like this will help, but for 15 years, I’ve been doing something even more aggressive and it more than DOUBLES the life of a wiper blade. I use kitchen cleanser (like Soft Scrub). Moisten the blade, then squeeze a dab on your fingers in the sink, then smear a bit along the blade on both sides. Now, rub with your thumb and forefinger along the blade to scrub off the dirt and old, oxidized rubber. Your fingers will get BLACK, and you’ll rejuvenate the blade by exposing fresh rubber. I also rub right on the very edge of the blade with my fingernail to freshen that surface.
You’ll be amazed how much better the blade will wipe. I do this every few months, and I get blades to last a couple years. It only takes a few minutes, I think it’s well worth the time for clear vision and it cuts the cost of blades in half.
You might try moistening a cloth with Clorox and wiping the blades vigorously. Remember, they use this at the drag strip on the rear tires for extra traction
when applying brakes,front end shakes to hard.brakes look ok,worn evenly.i did find that steering has a lot of play and is leaking at the gear box.can this box be fix with a kit?and if i have to replace,how do i prevent air bag from deplying?
thanks ,
condor
A++ post. Good suggestion. I just did it today and my wipers are near 100% better. I’m a bargain shopper, so I’m happy to get 1 year out of those 2 dollar Pylon blades lol. The tip worked great. Doused a microfibre cloth with washer fluid, and rubbed both sides of the wiper blades, WOW were they BLACK. Once our big rain season hits (a month or two) I’ll likely replace them
They’ve lasted long enough lol.