There’s nothing worse than turning on your windscreen wipers during a long journey, only to discover your wiper blades are causing a loud squeaking sound. It’s a fairly common issue that can be dangerous, especially in bad weather conditions, though it can quite easily be avoided. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s causing your wiper blades to squeak and how you can prevent it from happening.
Why Are My Windscreen Wipers Squeaking?
Before we go into the ways you can stop squeaky windscreen wipers, here are a few reasons why your wipers might be making such a loud noise:
Dirty Windscreen
Arguably one of the most common causes of a squeaky windscreen is dirty glass. This is when debris, like particles of dirt or sand, gather on the windscreen’s glass. As a result, this can be the primary cause for the unwanted squeaking noise. So, to avoid this in future, make sure you thoroughly wash your windscreen with detergent, then test the wipers once again.
Dirty Blades
Much like your windscreen, debris can also get caught up in the wiper blades, especially over a long period of time. Give your wiper blades a quick examination by lifting them up and out, notice any dirt on the rubber squeegees? If so, grab a rag or cloth and use 70% Isopropyl alcohol to carefully remove any build-up of dirt.
Faulty Wiper Blades
If you’ve cleaned your windscreen and wiper blades, but can still hear the irritating squeaking noise, then there may be a problem with the structure of your wiper blades. Again, inspect your wiper blades and the rubber squeegees, do they feel hard or brittle? This is going to have an impact on the flexibility of the wiper blade.
At this point, you may need to think about purchasing a new pair of wiper blades. At CarParts4Less, we have a wide range of wiper blades available that can be found by using our brilliant ‘Find Car Parts’ tool. All you have to do is type in your vehicle’s registration, and we’ll provide you with a whole host of wiper blades that are suitable for your specific vehicle.
Dry Wiping
Although it may seem obvious, when there is very little moisture on your windscreen it often creates a squeaking noise. That doesn’t mean your vehicle’s car parts have sustained any damage; it simply means your wipers require more lubrication. To rectify this, apply washer fluid to your windscreen, which should stop the squeaking.
How To Make The Squeaking Stop
Clean Your Windscreen Wipers
As mentioned above, be sure to give your windshield wipers a good clean. This should remove any dirt that’s trapped in the rubber squeegee. Once again, lift up the windscreen wipers, and use a cloth and alcohol to remove any dirt.
Replace Your Wiper Blade Squeegee Or Refill Wiper Fluid
Often it’s unnecessary to replace your entire windscreen wipers. So, as a low-cost alternative, try replacing the wiper blade’s rubber squeegee or refill your wiper fluid. This should give you more of a fluid wiper, and should work much more efficiently.
Ensure Your Wiper Blades Are Soft
Your wiper blades should be soft, if they’re too hard they may cause damages to the windscreen, and won’t operate efficiently. If you notice your wiper blades are too hard, rubbing alcohol onto them should do the trick.
Replace Your Windscreen Wipers
Replacing your windscreen wipers is the most effective way of ensuring your wiper blades are free of any irritating squeaking. By revitalising your wiper blades, you’ll have the peace of mind, as well as the reassurance of knowing that you don’t have to worry about faulty wiper blades in the near future.
At CarParts4Less, you’ll find over 100,000 specialist car parts for your vehicle, from wiper blades and exhausts to bulbs and spark plugs. On top of that, we also provide a low-price guarantee on all of our products, with no hidden costs. Which means you can enjoy a seamless delivery service right do your door and across the UK.
