Windscreen Cleaning, Do’s and Dont’s

How clean is your windscreen ?

You can see out of it, so it must be clean, right?

Probably not! Your windscreen might look clean to you but in reality it is more than likely covered in dirt and grime. In the winter months this is even more likely due to salt on the damp roads.

Dirt, grit, salt, sand , are all flicked up by the vehicle in front and can stick to your front windscreen. If you go for a long drive in your freshly cleaned car, in the winter, you will notice all the road grime on your paintwork. This is also landing on your car windows .

Of course you are able to activate your windscreen wipers to clear the windscreen in your field of vision. This will definitely help, but its only actually clearing the wiper sweep.

Take some white tissue paper and wipe your windscreen, outside of the wiper sweep, then you will see how dirty it actually is.

The problem is, if you neglect to clean the car windscreen properly, dirt or road grease can become impregnated onto your windscreen wiper rubbers. This will, over time damage the clarity of the glass  as it scratches and smears.

Grease on your windscreen will become apparent by a rainbow effect on the glass as you use your windscreen wipers. and the more you use your wipers to try to eliminate it, the more your wipers will be tarnished with the grease and will spread it about the windscreen.

Greasy deposits are difficult to remove from the glass. but the first thing you need to do is to change the wipers. It doesn’t matter what you do to the windscreen, even changing it for a new one, if you don’t change the compromised wipers, you will forever have the same problem.

Dirt, sand, or road deposits on your glass will manifest themselves as scratches on the glass. These scratches will be very fine and follow the arc of the wiper sweep. Many people then change the wipers thinking it is the wipers at fault. They are partly at fault, there could be fine grit or sand particles embedded in the rubber. These will put a fine scratch on the glass. Each time the wipers are activated, they scratch a tiny bit more, until the time that the  the front windscreen is so badly damaged that it needs a replacement.

But, embedded in the fine scratches in the glass, are tiny particles of dirt. When you then put brand new wipers on the vehicle, they pick up the dirt particles and the who;le cycle starts all over again.

Scratched glass is very annoying and is an MOT failure, so replacement is really the only viable option.

One way to stop this happening is to clean your front windscreen, not just your windscreen but your wiper blades too . Use warm soapy water and a clean cloth or sponge. Wash over the whole screen, as any dirt that is left on will just settle on the wiper blades and possibly scratch the glass. Rinse the cloth or sponge out often so as not to scratch the screen with a contaminated cloth.

Do not be tempted to use any additives or cleaners that are  no designed for glass. as these could leave a residue on that could have a detrimental effect and impair vision quality, especially when wet.

Now is also the ideal opportunity , while the windscreen is nice and clean, to check it for stone chip damage. If you discover a stone chip that needs repairing , Call  Motorway Windscreens straight away so that we can send a Stone Chip Repair technician to assess the damage and repair where possible

 

If you live in Grimsby, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley or the surrounding areas, and you’re in need of a windscreen repair or a window replacement, then Motorway Windscreens will be able to help. Simply get in touch with a member of our team today for more information – we’re always happy to help.