Clean and care for wipers correctly

Knowing how to clean wipers will help keep streaks from forming during the wiping process and also when completely new wipers smear.

It’s best to use simple home remedies to clean the wipers: all-purpose cleaners or washing-up liquid are ideal for this purpose. However, make sure that the cleaning agent doesn’t contain any solvents or alcohol, as both substances attack the rubber of the wiper lips, making it porous and shortening its lifetime.

Windshield wiper cleaning tips

Proceed as follows when cleaning your car wiper blades:

Fold the wiper arms upwards so that the rubber lips are easily accessible. To be on the safe side, lay a blanket or towel on the windscreen so that it doesn't become damaged if a wiper arm slips out of your hands during cleaning. We also recommend folding the wipers back directly after cleaning before you move on to the other arm.
Dampen a cotton or kitchen towel with washing-up liquid or all-purpose cleaner and water. Then pull the cloth over the rubber lip of the wiper blade. Repeat this process until no new black stripes are visible on the cloth after removal. Depending on how dirty the wipers are, you may need more than one cloth for the cleaning process.
After cleaning the wiper blades, we recommend that you also clean the windscreen and rear window before carefully folding the wiper arms back down. If the windows are very dirty, the wipers also become dirty again immediately. Use a conventional glass cleaner to clean the windscreens.
To check whether the wiper blades are still smearing, turn on the wiper system and perform a splash test, There should no longer be any streaks on the windscreen and the wiper should operate significantly better than before.

If a streak pattern still remains and the result hasn’t improved noticeably after cleaning the windscreen wiper blades, it's time to change the wiper blades.

How to care for your wipers

If you’ve just changed your wipers, we advise you to perform wiper care regularly from now on, as this will increase their lifetime and save you money in the long run. Keep the following tips in mind:

Spray the rubber lips of the wipers with silicone spray. This maintains the gliding properties and prevents the rubber from becoming porous over time. Repeat this about three to four times a year. An ideal time for this is directly after cleaning the wipers.
Caring for the wipers also includes caring for the windscreen and rear window. If there’s a lot of coarse dirt on them, the wipers blades smear and wear more quickly. Depending on the weather, you’ll do your wiper blades some good if you clean the windscreen and rear window once a week with a glass cleaner. You should remove coarse dirt, such as pine needles or dried bird droppings, before driving. The wipers shouldn’t be used for "cleaning up".
For wiper care in winter, you can use pure antifreeze for cleaning instead of water and washing-up liquid or cleaning agent. This is also suitable for loosening coarse ice particles from the windscreen and rear window. Remove all ice before operating the wipers, otherwise it may damage the rubber lips. Also remember to protect your wipers from frost in the winter.