clean the wiper blade with rubbing alcohol?

I

imported_Kyle

New member
is it good to clean the wiper blade with rubbing alcohol?

I'm planning to do this for my new blades every week. I'm wondering if it damages the blades.
 
MildSeven said:
is it good to clean the wiper blade with rubbing alcohol?

I'm planning to do this for my new blades every week. I'm wondering if it damages the blades.
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I'm no expert on the topic, but I would worry that the rubbing alcohol would dry the rubber out over time. Maybe you could try some tire cleaner or just wipe them with a wet rag then use some rubber dressing?
 
Nagchampa said:
I'm no expert on the topic, but I would worry that the rubbing alcohol would dry the rubber out over time. Maybe you could try some tire cleaner or just wipe them with a wet rag then use some rubber dressing?
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Rubber dressing won't prolong the life. The dressing will smear on the windows.



I usually just wipe mine with my grunge wash mitt every time I wash.
 
303 makes a great wiper blade cleaner that comes in a little foil pkg - you take the applicator out (it's already soaked with cleaner), use it and pitch it. There's usually enough cleaner in the little spongy applicator to clean 2 or 3 sets of wipers. :up



P.S. The 303 wiper blade cleaner does not smear or streak the windshield.
 
I've used #40 on my wipers rather frequently. As long as you put it on lightly and buff it off, I get no streaking at all. It will leave a tiny line on the windshield where the wiper sits, though (nothing permanent). My wipers are about 1 1/2 years old and they still work great. I put new wipers on the wife's car at about the same time and they are still holding up well too (her car isn't garaged). I also bought ACDelco wipers after constantly replacing the various kinds from the auto parts stores. They weren't any more expensive, but they have held up very well.
 
I have known people to wipe down the rubber blades with silicon spray after washing.



Apparently if you do it right you don't get any smearing.



Has anyone noticed that new rubber blades have some sort of greasy coating?



What do you think it is?
 
Hmm... I dunno, but I'd be a bit uncomfortable using any dressing on my wiper blades. Smears from that would really suck. I usually just wipe mine down w/ the wash mitt, too.
 
I use Stoner's Invisible Glass to clean my wipers. :up



I spray it on scraps of an old cotton T-shirt, because the cleaning the wipers will blacken whatever you use. I just toss these scraps after cleaning my wipers.
 
I just use glass cleaner on a paper towel to clean my blades.



I'd like to strongly caution about rubbing them too hard or too much though, as I have removed the black moly coating off my wipers this way. I mistook the black stuff as dirt, so I kept rubbing a lot every time I cleaned them. As a result they eventually lost this slippery coat on them and were really grabby afterwards. So much so that they made the wiper arm come loose in the middle of a rainy drive. Not fun.



Instead of replacing the blades I found a very very light coat of vinyl protectant made them slippery again. Just be sure to use very little and buff it afterwards or you may get some streaking. I still get the same line that Aurora40 mentioned sometimes but it's not a big deal.
 
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