Windshield wipers - our faithful allies in the fight against the fierce enemy of the driver - poor visibility. How to choose and buy wipers for cars, so that they work effectively in the most severe winter?

Before you buy windshield wipers for your car, you need to know that there are several criteria for selection. There are those that need to be observed without fail, and there are optional ones, so to speak, between which the driver can choose according to his abilities, needs, and preferences.

Variety of Windshield Wipers

Frame

The frame provides the snug fit of the rubber wiper to the curved surface of the glass - a system of rocker arms with hinges. The simplest wipers have a metal frame. It is inexpensive but more susceptible to loosening. In modern systems, the hinges have plastic axles and bushings: such compounds from high-quality plastic provide greater accuracy in connecting the rocker arms, their better mobility and rigidity of the frame in the transverse direction.

+ Affordable

- Faster shaken

- Prone to icing

Frameless

In frameless windshield wipers, also known as AeroTwin, the frame is “minimized” to a steel plate, to which is attached a rubber piece and a shaped spoiler cover from the stick. This design is less sensitive to icing, does not lose its qualities due to the wear of the hinges because of their absence. Because of the smaller shoulder in the leash-wiper system, the wiper moves along the glass easily and silently. Based on its benefits a lot of car leasing companies use it on their cars.

+ Better icing resistance

+ Easy slip

- Higher price

- Unsuitable for strongly curved glass

With spoiler

This detail is optional, but desirable for those drivers who often drive on country roads at high speed. The fact is that a strong counter-flow of air can tear the brush, impairing its cleaning. The spoiler, acting on the principle of the wing, increases the pressure of the brush on the glass.

In frame wipers, the spoiler is made as a separate part attached to the frame. It is often offered as a kind of option for conventional windshield wiper models.

+ Useful at high speed

- May limit view (wireframe)

Types of "cilia"

Noiselessness and better sliding on the glass are facilitated by the coating of “cilia” with an antifriction graphite layer, which, however, is erased after some time. Sometimes for the same purpose silica is added to the composition, and the rubber is especially elastic.

For a better fit to the glass and quiet operation, a more optimal, although expensive, the option is a composite rubber tape, like some expensive brands: with a soft upper part and a hard bottom, on which working edges are located.

How to care for windshield brushes?

In order not to spend money on maintenance, follow the rules of operation. Even high-quality models can quickly break down because such mechanisms are very capricious. For example, it is easy to spoil a brush if you use it to clean the icy layer.

Remember, sand and ice are enemies for windshield wipers blades. Be sure to use special fluids, and do not force the mechanisms to work with dry glass.

To change such designs less often, wash them more often and periodically degrease them. To do this, use silicone grease, especially in cold weather. Replacing gum can help fix the damage, however, wiper blades will not work as before.