Having good windshield wipers is essential to safe driving and proper visibility. The benefits of perfectly functioning wiper blades is especially important in the winter months as snow and ice often seem to plot against our ever important need to see where we’re going as we drive down the road.
Naturally, pre-winter is an excellent time of the year to go ahead and install replacement windshield wipers, whether they’re completely needed or not. Taking the precaution is well worth it before getting stuck in a snow storm with next to zero visibility due to windshield smearing and ice accumulation. If your locale really experiences heavy winter weather, you might even consider buying heated windshield wipers – they work wonders!
Let me assure you, installing new blades isn’t really all that difficult, even though the task does appear daunting if you haven’t figured out the right method for your car or truck. Even if you don’t know how, I think you’ll find they’re literally a snap to remove. Just look for a small button right where the blade meets the wiper arm and depress to release. Then, simply replace the old with the new by clicking them right in place.
Trough personal experience though, I do have a few pointers to offer. Before even removing new blades from their package, make sure they exactly match the size and shape of the old ones. I learned to double check the hard way with my Venture Van – the only place to get a new rear wiper blade that fits is the dealership, even though the guide books in the wiper blade isle of any automotive section falsely promise the correct option.
I’ve also found that even brand new blades don’t quite do themselves justice if the windshield isn’t just as clean as the blades. Whenever I swap my wiper blades, I not only wipe the blades with rubbing alcohol swaps first to get any gunk off of them, but I also buff down the entire windshield with a half water, half rubbing alcohol solution. It’s truly amazing just how much grime will take off glass that I thought was already previously clean!