Question: Wiper blades cleaning.

Pepito opined in news:2004091915200375249%josephamadeusNSPAM@mindspringcom:

???

That's ridiculous!

in the FIRST place, alcohol is not good for the life of the blade.

if you are talking about the 'rubber' part... you use a paper towel and the cleaner you use on your windshield... after you squeegee the windshield and wipe down the bottom of your winshield to gather the excess cleaner, you use that wet paper towel and lift the wiper arm and squeeze the rubber between the wet towel and wipe.

Takes less than 5 seconds for both.

Talk about making an easy job hard.

Hubs recently bought some blades with teflon in them. Mfgr recomendation was to clean with alcohol. I have always just washed mine when I washed the car with the soapy mitt, or like BM said to do when I needed a quick fix.

Kate

Thanks for the replay Kate and BM, I have cleaned them with alcohol a couple of times and I have noticed a lot of black pigment coming off the blade, like liquid rubber. I don't think I will use alcohol again!

Pepito opined in

It's normal for SOME black to come off, that's good. It's the oxidized rubber. If you DONT get it off, the blades start streaking.

But the process I noted will keep the blades working good, without streaking, until they get too brittle to conform.

BTW, i didnt thik that up... it was on a tv 'how-to" show some years ago, but I've found that it works great.

Any rubber that is out in the sun will slough off oxidized material. Next time you wash your car, notice the rubber around the windows and your tires. Good ol soap and water works just fine, but the alcohol can indeed help with certain kinds of grime. I believe in replacing wipers annually anyway, generally at the end of summer so even if they do dry a little from the alcohol, it shouldn't be a real issue.

Not trying to step on your toes BM ;¬)

Kate

| > Kate | >

Luckily they wised up in later years and put the switch someplace where you don't have to take your eyes off of the road to turn them on

Kate

| >

| >

| >>Thanks for the replay Kate and BM, I have cleaned them with alcohol a | >>couple of times and I have noticed a lot of black pigment coming off | >>the blade, like liquid rubber. I don't think I will use alcohol again! | >>

| >>

| >

| >

| > It's normal for SOME black to come off, that's good. It's the oxidized | > rubber. If you DONT get it off, the blades start streaking. | >

| > But the process I noted will keep the blades working good, without streaking, | > until they get too brittle to conform. | >

| > BTW, i didnt thik that up... it was on a tv 'how-to" show some years ago, but | > I've found that it works great. |

Shouldn't that be:

Not trying to step on your BM with my toes.

Most, if not all the wiper blades I've bought in the last 20 years have an alcohol swab in the package to "clean and condition" the rubber.

Like a few of you have said, they're changed yearly, so what's it going to hurt?

Wayne

| | > Kate | | >

Yeah, it's silly... 65s and 66s have knobs on the dash, easy to reach.

And why on earth did they put the switch in the inst. cluster?

yeah, try wiping it with a white towel (or a sponge even). Many times I've seen black stuff coming off of it.

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