How to safely remove snow from the windshield?
Winter can catch drivers off guard, especially when we’re rushing to work in the morning and find our car covered in a layer of snow or ice. In such moments, many of us resort to using the windshield wipers to clear the snow. While this may seem convenient, it can have serious consequences for your car. What risks does clearing the windshield this way pose, and why is it better to avoid this habit?
The wipers may be frozen to the windshield, which you can’t see under a thick layer of snow. Forcing them to operate risks damaging the wiper blades, the drive mechanism, or even the wiper motor.
Even if the wipers aren’t frozen, the weight of wet snow can be too much for them. Overloading can cause the wiper arms to bend or the mechanism to fail. It’s not worth the risk.
Even if the wipers move across an icy windshield, their blades are at serious risk of damage. The rubber components wear down on the hard, icy surface, shortening their lifespan and leading to streaking and smearing water on the windshield later.
It’s worth taking a few extra minutes to properly prepare your car for driving—remove larger amounts of snow with a soft-bristle brush or a scraper, warm up the windshield from the inside, and use de-icing products if necessary. Only then can you safely activate the wipers.
