Your windshield wipers are an important piece of your car that helps you drive in the rain. However, there may be times where they don’t work as they should. Therefore, it’s helpful to know how you can fix some common windshield wiper problems. That way, you won’t have to worry about your visibility when in the rain…
How-to Fix Windshield Wiper Problems: Common Issues
Your wipers smear water
Some windshield wiper problems occur when your wipers smear water on the windshields. Ideally, your wiper blades should cleanly pick up the water and move it out of the way. When the blades smear the water, it just makes it even harder for you to see.
Generally, it may be that your blades are just worn out. Wiper blades are usually good for six months, so if you’ve stored your car for a while, they may need to be changed. If that doesn’t work, try giving your windshield and wiper blades a deep cleaning, and replace your wiper fluid to help your wipers do their job.
Your wipers are making noise
Other windshield wiper problems relate to the noise that they make. Under normal circumstances, your wipers should sound like a squeegee going over glass. When they aren’t working right, they may instead make a squeaky or chattering noise.
It may be that the blades and windshield are dirty, and just need to be cleaned off. However, if something has bent the blades, then they may also make noises. You can try to bend the blade back into place with something like a pair of pliers, but it’s easier and safer to just get a new wiper blade.
Your wipers aren’t wiping away water
Perhaps the most pressing windshield wiper problems are when they don’t work at all. If they don’t pick up any water when moving, then your visibility will quickly drop. More often than not, what’s happening is that the water is getting stuck to a layer of grime on your windshield.
Therefore, give your windshield a clean with a deep and powerful glass cleaner. This will remove any grime that’s causing issues. Then, try to add a water repelling treatment, to avoid that problem in the future. Of course, if this doesn’t work, try changing the blades too.