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The design of windshield wipers hasn’t changed much for a long, long time. It’s still a blade of rubber that presses against the windshield via a spring-loaded arm and moves across the windshield in an arc to squeegee water from the glass.

The rubber compound of windshield wiper blades has changed and improved over the years, but even the best wipers are only good for about a year before the elements and normal wear start to take their toll. Obviously, if your wipers are leaving streaks and smudges on the glass, that’s a real problem…but there are other ways to tell what kind of shape they’re in before the rain starts coming down.

--Look closely at the surface of the rubber blade. Is it showing cracks or looking dried-out? Do you see strips of rubber coming off of the contact area, or chips and chunks gone out of the rubber material?

--Measure the wiper blades and arms, and remember that many vehicles have two different-sized wipers for the driver and passenger side.

--Remove the old wiper blades carefully.  Some vehicles are designed so that the wiper arms can be flipped up on their spindles at a 90-degree angle to the windshield, making it easier to service the wiper blades. Most newer vehicles just have a crook at the end of the wiper arms so that the blades can snap into place or snap out again easily.

--Attach the new wiper blade by pulling it tight onto the arm; you’ll hear a distinct click when it locks into place. Give it a wiggle or two to make sure that it has positively seated itself in the crook of the wiper arm. Repeat the same for the other side.

Don’t feel confident doing this? No worries. Come to us at New England Tire Car Care Centers – we’ve got a wide range of quality wiper blades for all kinds of vehicles, and can quickly get you back on the road again. Don’t wait until it’s raining already to start thinking about your windshield wipers!