We have had a very dry first quarter of the year, therefore, car owners aren’t using their windscreen wipers. That means they don’t notice the fact that, unless they are using silicone wiper blades, their windscreen wipers are degrading constantly. Rubber windscreen wipers are attacked by the naturally occurring ozone and ultra violet light in our normal environment. On top of that, if you have been using a winter screen wash, the additives which stop the screen-wash from freezing could well additionally cause your rubber windscreen wipers to degrade. Other pollutants also attack natural rubber windscreen wipers, further accelerating their degradation, even when they aren’t being used!
All this means that, when the wet weather finally gets here, you could wellfind that those new windscreen wipers you bought last year will already be useless, even though you’ve hardly used them. That can not only give you a nasty shock when you finally come to use your windscreen wipers, but it can additionally be especially annoying, especially if you have paid a high price for any of the famous wiper blade brands.
However, Silicone Wiper Blades offer 2 useful advantages over rubber windscreen wipers when it comes to life expectancy:-
1) Silicone Wiper Blades won’t degrade when they aren’t in use, because they are resistant to attack by ozone, ultra violet light, the chemicals used in screen-wash and environmental pollution. Have you never noticed how your rubber windscreen wipers have become stuck to the windscreen after being left in the sun?
2) A 100% silicone wiper blade is much more durable in use than a rubber one. The normal life expectancy of a silicone wiper blade is in the region of 1.5 million cycles. That’s around three times the life of even the most expensiveleading rubber windscreen wipers.
Lastly, Silicone Wiper Blades enjoy useful performance benefits in comparison with rubber ones. They are able to cope with extreme temperatures, both hot and cold. The silicone blade stays pliable right down to -60°C, and can easily cope with the scorching sunshine at the equator. So, they won’t go stiff or crack in even the worst UK winter, or on your winter ski holiday. Additionally, they don’t melt or stick to your windshield, even if you leave your vehicle in scorching sunshine for a few of weeks.
You can now even find Silicone Flat Wiper Blades in addition to the traditional metal framed ones. And the extra great news is that the best ones not only have a warranty, but they are priced about the same as a pair of quality rubber windscreen wipers from one of the global manufacturers.