Now the bad weather is truly upon us and im driving more in the dark im starting to notice that my wipers simply dont work, they just smear stuff all over the screen making it impossible to see anything when cars come the other way....

I have had this issue for ages, I have tried cleaning the glass with several autoglym products to little avail.

As a matter of urgent safety I have ordered a Bosch aero wiper upgrade kit for the car as the wipers are suposed to be better......

But before I fit the new wipers and possibly contaminate them with whatever substance is on the screen....


What is the most powerfull cleaning agent I can safely use on my windscreen to remove all the grime? (should I use the autoglym windscreen polish once its totaly washed?)

Although the aero wipers were expensive, if its going to allow me to see where im going, and live a bit longer...its all worth it!

There are loads of products available that will do the job but a very effective locost solution is to use toothpaste on a damp cloth then rinse off well. The fine silica particles in the paste act as a mild cutting compound on the grease on the windscreen and your car smells minty.

The film you are experiencing on your windscreen is traffic fumes - basically thin oil.

I travel 50K/annum and always found correctly mixing windscreen concentrate with fresh water the best. (Dont buy the pre-mixed stuff - I've been told it is recycled water). When you clean the car, use water/ 5% Vinegar mixture on the screen to get rid of the film.

Then fit any wipers... all quality wipers are basically the same, it's the flat edge (square) that makes the wipe not the profile of the leading edge of the frame unless you're doing above 50-60mph all the time.

FWIW - dont use wax polish or resin cleaners of any type on the screen...

Steve

[Edited on 4-10-07 by Hellfire]

when you clean your window - do you clean the blades? no point having a clean window and dirty greasy blades.

If you're feeling brave, run the blades on the glass with just windscreen cleaner. It will 'rot' the rubber but will clean them - eventually, you just have to let them run to dry (which isn't a good thing to do).

Hmmm....Thought you were taking the minty wee talking about toothpaste...But the fine particles in it might actually do something usefull (does toothpaste disolve oil?)


And do I do over 50-60MPH most of the time....well of course not

quote:

---

Originally posted by tegwin
Hmmm....Thought you were taking the minty wee talking about toothpaste...But the fine particles in it might actually do something usefull (does toothpaste disolve oil?)

---

Is there any toothpaste you would recomend?....say one thats also a whitener?


I hope my teeth are not too greasy....But having said that..I did manage to get a mouthfull of used gearbox oil yesterday I can still taste it....EURGHHHHH!!!

[Edited on 4/10/07 by tegwin]

Cut a potato in half and use the cut pieces to clean the windscreen and wiper blades, works wonders. I think it is the starch in the spud that does it.

Bob

Depending how old your car is and wether it's your pride and joy, use fairy liquid instead of propriety windscreen cleaner fluid. Works a treat but will eventually dewax your car.
But it's kind to wiper blades and if you over do it your car will smell of your favourite brand

A gentle wipe of the wiper blades with a scotchbrite pad. It removes the loose bits of rubber, and thus removes the creases / gaps that dirt collects in the blade.

Basicall its a rudimentary sharpening of the blade. It helps a bit.

Agree with the Vinegar. My Gran cleaned her windows on the house with Viengar and newspaper, and they always shined.

The acid cuts thru the grease.
Methylated spirit is as good, as it disolves the grease.
Agreed No resins or polishes.

Rub a damp cloth sprinkled with domestic washing powder over the screen

One thing never to do....

Is use a scotchbrite pad on your windscreen ! My mate did, and found his insurance company less than happy to pay for a new un-scratched one...

Decent screenwash is the way to go - Shell used to do a summer one that only needed a capful per 5 litres, and a bottle lasted ages. But as with all good things, I've not seen it for a while !

Cheers

Pete

quote:

---

Originally posted by brynhamlet
Depending how old your car is and wether it's your pride and joy, use fairy liquid instead of propriety windscreen cleaner fluid. Works a treat but will eventually dewax your car.
But it's kind to wiper blades and if you over do it your car will smell of your favourite brand

---

all the above;

the slice potato tip is to stop the windscreen from misintg up I believe.

vinegar to clean windows - I use that windowlene stuff and it contains vinegar.

about the salt in fairy liquid rotting rubbers - hmmm, I have thought about this but how much salt is there in the liquid - not much and then how muc FL do you put in the water - not much - I reckon it would take quite a long time before you see any effect, aren;t marigolds made from rubber so why don't they rot away? maybe they do - I don't use them.

If you really want to shift grease, then surely dish washer tablets are the stuff?

Vinegar and newspaper. works every time and costs nothing. Mine has lasted 6 months so far.

Hi,
I use the potato to clean the outside of the windscreen and the blades, it works wonders for me.
Regards
Bob

and finally... check the windscren wiper arm springs have sufficient tension to keep the blades flat on the screen. They do age/lose tension espec. if it's an older set-up.
Cheers, Pewe

I use the Autoglym glass polish - it's an evil-smelling pale blue cream. Removes the muck for me.

(I know you'd tried Autoglym products - just wondering if you'd used that one).