Cleaning The Windshield

Maintain a clean windshield. A build-up of road tars, oil, dirt, and bugs can cause a severe reduction in wipe quality. These contaminants can attack the rubber compound of the wipe element and also cause premature wear of the wiping lip.

Clean the glass and blades as often as possible using commercially available non-abrasive glass cleaner. These typically contain isopropyl alcohol and a detergent (soapy ammonia, etc.). Use a soft cloth and rinse glass with water, the softest possible.

Wipe the glass dry, especially if water contains high levels of minerals. Do not use solvents or acids as cleaners. Solvents attack rubber used on blades. Acids can etch the glass.

NOTE: If the windshield gets contaminated with substances that harden and cannot be easily removed by the above method, such as paint, glue, etc., use a razor blade and/or a solvent to clean. However, these solvents must be kept away from the rubber elements and the glass should be cleaned thoroughly before allowing the blades to contact the glass.

After scrubbing the glass, rinse with clean rinse water. If all the contaminants have been removed, the rinse water will flow evenly across the glass. If there are areas on the glass where the water will not flow evenly or bead up, repeat cleaning. After the glass appears clear of contaminants, squeegee the glass or use clean toweling to dry the glass.

Keep waxes and other hydrocarbon-based coatings off the glass. These can attack the wiping element or cause smearing on the glass as the wiper passes. Silicone (a synthetic polymer) treatments, although not harmful to blade or glass, cause dangerous nighttime driving conditions and reduce perception.

Do not use abrasive brushes or cleansing agents on either the wiper blades or glass. Scratches on the glass surface change the optical properties of light passing through the windshield. Light is scattered, causing a loss of visual perception, which is particularly dangerous during nighttime driving.