How To Get The Best Wiper Blades For Your Car
Squeak, chatter, squeal, clank… every driver knows the horrifying sound of a dying wiper blade. When wiper blade rubber degrades, it will produce plenty of streaks and smears on your windshield too, causing a pretty frustrating and distracting driving experience.
Luckily, this is a very easy and affordable fix that even a complete novice can do themselves at home. Today, we’ll be explaining exactly what you need to know about wiper blades to get the best performance, how you can replace them yourself, and naturally, we’ll make sure you save money in the process!
So let’s jump straight into things, we’re going to start by covering some very commonly asked questions:
How long do wiper blades last?
In general, the best wiper performance will happen up to the 6 month mark. Sometimes wipers can last up to 12 months, however longevity does also depend on the quality of the wiper blade, amount of use, and the weather conditions.
How do I know when to replace my wiper blades?
When you see downgraded performance, hear squeaking or chattering noises, or see more streaks or smears on your windscreen, it’s a telltale sign that your wipers are worn and need to be replaced.
What wiper blades do I need?
We’ve done all the work for you here at MicksGarage.com. Simply enter your car's reg, or make / model into our site, and we’ll show you exactly what wiper blades will fit your vehicle. Once you checkout, you can enjoy fast shipping and get your new wiper blades replaced quickly.
Can I fail the NCT / MOT on wiper blades?
Yes - if your wipers do not clean the windscreen properly, if they are damaged (the rubber has come loose, or the wiper arm is damaged), or if they don’t provide a clear view for the driver, you should expect to fail the national car test. Given that a retest can sometimes cost more than a set of wiper blades, we recommend you replace wiper blades before any mandatory car inspection.
Can wiper blades be refilled?
While replacing wiper rubber can seem like a more cost effective option over replacing the full wiper, it doesn’t really work out that way. Refilling wipers can wear down and damage the superstructure of your wipers over time and a refill actually takes longer than a complete replacement. The difference in expense isn’t huge either, but there is a bigger risk of damaging your windshield while you spend time shimmying in new rubber, versus a quick and clean full blade replacement.
Does sun damage wipers?
Frequent exposure to UV rays can cause the rubber to dry out, shrink, crack and degrade at a faster rate. This affects the wipers ability to properly clear your windshield and will directly impact the amount of use you’ll get from the blade. Climates found in Ireland and the UK shouldn’t need to take extra measures during summer, however, it’s not a bad idea to clean and cover wipers during sustained heatwaves and strong UV rays, if you really want your wipers to last the maximum amount of time.
Does frost damage wipers?
Frost stiffens and damages your wiper blades, making them brittle. If you use your wipers before they’ve thawed out, you can potentially damage the wiper (or the windscreen) even more. Cover your wipers and windscreen during bouts of frost to insulate and protect them. Always use de-icer and an ice scraper to clear ice and snow from the windscreen instead of incurring wiper damage.
Is it easy to buy the wrong wipers?
Wipers come in a number of different sizes, designs and lengths, depending on the size of your car's windows, and are always specific to your car’s make and model. Without knowing what type of wiper your car specifically needs, it can be tricky to get this right. However, we take any frustration out of finding the right wiper blades on MicksGarage.com. Use our car registration lookup system to find the correct wiper blades for over 20,000 different car variants and you’ll get it right the first time!
Are passenger wipers the same size as drivers wipers?
No, they almost always differ in length. Drivers side wiper blades are longer because they are angled towards the driver to provide a larger field of view compared to the front passenger. It’s useful to check the length of the driver's side wiper blade and the passenger side wiper blade separately so as not to make the mistake of buying two identical wipers.
What are the different types of wiper blades?
There are 4 main types of wiper blades: Conventional, Flat, Hybrid and Rear.
Conventional Wiper Blades
Conventional or standard wipers are what you’d most commonly find in cars on the road today, and as a result, they’re the most affordable. These wipers have a ‘coat hanger’ type design and use a rubber strip, also known as a squeegee, held by a pivoting metal frame. This wiper blade uses well placed pressure points (4 - 8), to clear rain and debris from your windscreen. One of the best performing conventional wiper blades on the market are the Bosch Superplus wiper blades which are widely regarded by many as one of the best wiper blades for cars that need standard type wipers.
If you’re looking for a more sleek and elegant look, often conventional wipers can be upgraded to use Flat Wipers for a boost in overall performance.
Flat Wiper Blades
Flat wipers, also known as beam-style wipers, or beam wiper blades are the most recent advancement in mainstream wiper blade technology. You will find that the vast majority of new cars manufactured today use this type of wiper blade, because their performance is exceptional. These wiper blades apply pressure at an infinite number of points on the car’s windscreen and have a sleek, low-profile design that’s highly effective at clearing water and debris. Flat wipers use a rubber strip, with a tensioned metal frame to securely hold the blade to your windshield. Their shape and pre-tensioned frame perfectly moulds to the curve of your windshield, allowing for a close, uniform wipe every time. Flat wipers’ aerodynamic design is far more efficient than conventional wipers’, making them perfect for high speed motorway wiping and allowing them to efficiently clear your windscreen in even the worst weather conditions.
Performance aside, flat wipers also look fantastic and provide a visible upgrade to your car’s appearance. Their flat, simplistic design reduces the risk of snow and ice clogging the wiper’s frame and gives a more elegant appearance. You can expect flat wipers to last twice as long as conventional wipers, thanks to their aerodynamics and efficiency in performance. (Meaning, you’ll need to replace them half as often!). Without a doubt, the best choice for flat wiper blades are the Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades. Built by automotive part giants, Bosch, they come with a level of durability, performance and value that is unrivalled on the market.
Hybrid Wiper Blades
As the name suggests, hybrid wipers are designed to combine elements of both conventional and flat wipers. They use a solid metal frame which attaches to a curved rubber squeegee and use pivoting suspension points in the same way conventional wipers do, but have a flat design that is similar to flat wipers. Hybrid wipers are less common in newer vehicles than flat wipers.
Rear Wiper Blades
Rear wipers are required because the rear windscreen is usually more upright, and because of aerodynamics, dirt and dust can collect here quite easily. They work exactly the same as front wipers, but are typically smaller in size and are used much less frequently than front windshield wipers. As a result, a good quality rear wiper will often last longer than front wipers.
How to Change Wiper Blades
While it can sound like a daunting task, the good news is that replacing your wiper blades is one of the easiest car DIY jobs you can do yourself. (It’s that simple, even a kid can do it!).
Watch our no nonsense wiper blades installation video to learn how to replace Bosch aero type wipers in under a minute
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Clean your windscreen
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Grab a towel or a blanket and place it on your windscreen
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Lift your wiper arms up and unlock the fastening to unclip, or slide the old blades off
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Clip in your new wiper blades, one by one, taking note of the driver / passenger different blades, and taking care to prevent the wiper arms from snapping back on the windscreen (this is why we have a towel on the windscreen)
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Remove the towel and place your wipers back on the windscreen
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Wash and wipe your windscreen to make sure you’re happy with the fit
What Are The Best Wiper Blades?
1st Place: Bosch Aerotwin Wiper Blades.
Bosch wiper blades have been around for over 80 years and they are a brand everyone knows and trusts, for a very good reason. Bosch have harnessed their decades of experience to create premium wiper blades with exceptional performance. Each set of Bosch wiper blades use a patented aerodynamic design and innovative rubber technology that make them, what we consider to be, the best wiper blades that money can buy.
Bosch Aerotwin wipers create the ultimate, long-lasting wiping experience by applying uniform pressure when they are operating to produce a smooth, silent wipe. Engineered to an exact fit for your car, and made using the highest quality materials, we have found Bosch wiper blades to be on-par with the quality of a car’s original equipment. This is why, unsurprisingly, Bosch is the first choice of wiper blades to recommend from the MicksGarage.com team. So much so, we even tested them in hell-ish conditions! During the last bout of heavy snow and ice, our staff compared several different sets and brands of wipers and found that Bosch Aerotwin wipers outperformed the competition and came up trumps when driving through extreme weather conditions. What’s also nice is that Bosch Aerotwins do not use any exposed metal in their design, which prevents corrosion and damage from the elements.
With greatly reduced streaks and smears, Bosch wipers even provided maximum visibility in the dark, making night-time drives safer.
Ultimately, using Bosch blades will save you money in the long run, because their performance and durability is excellent, and it does help that they’re extremely simple to fit too. (Each wipers’ package has a QR code, which can be scanned to find guided, model-specific installation instructions for your car.)
2nd Place: Valeo Silencio Wiper Blades.
Excellent runners up are Silencio wiper blades by Valeo. Their durability and lasting performance have kept them as a long standing favourite for us at MicksGarage.com. Designed and manufactured in Europe, we’ve tested countless Valeo wiper blades over many years, and can vouch for their performance as a dependable option you can rely on in rain, snow or shine. Valeo wipers feature soundless wiping and come in a wide range of specifications to suit most car models. Each blade applies pressure at 1,500 points to ensure tight contact between the wiper and your windshield. Water repellent materials and tear resistant synthetic rubber are used throughout Valeo wiper blades to allow them to clear your windshield with smoother, streak-free wiping.
How can I buy the right wiper blades for my car?
We’ve made things simple for you! Head over to MicksGarage.com and enter your car's registration number. Our site will show you the correct wiper blades for your car. We have wipers available for all makes and models, from Ford Fiesta wiper blades to Nissan Qashqai wiper blades and more. If you’ve been using cheap wipers that didn’t work as well as you would have liked, this is also a handy way to see what your options are for possible wiper blade upgrades. We have a wide selection of sizes available, starting from 13 inch and running up to larger sizes such as 16 inch and 28 inch wiper blades. Browse options from high quality, trusted brands such as Bosch and Valeo and replace them quickly yourself.
How To Make Your Wiper Blades Last Longer
This is very simple - if you want longer lasting blades, clean and care for them regularly. Once a month, we recommend applying some screenwash fluid onto a cloth to wipe away any dirt and debris. If you don’t have any screenwash to hand, use warm soapy water, followed by a wipe with white vinegar to remove any greasy residue. To keep the rubber in good condition, and to help stop it from drying out, occasionally treat the rubber with Holts Sillicone spray
New Wiper Trends
Car wipers in a functional sense haven’t changed much since they were invented over a hundred years ago, but in recent years, car manufacturers have been inventing new approaches to removing rain and debris from the windshield. Mercedes’ recently announced their new ‘Wet Wiper’ system, which dispenses washer fluid directly from the wiper blades onto the windscreen. Wiper blade manufacturers are upping their game in rubber technology to make longer lasting, more durable and attractive blades.
A new trend is the ‘rear wiper delete’, where the rear wiper is taken off the back window and the glass is plugged to seal the gap left behind. Now, rear wipers can definitely make cars look less sleek but functionally, this would make rear visibility much more difficult (...so don’t do it!)
The use of hydrophobic coatings, or rain repellent products have become hugely popular over the last couple of years, and they can really extend the lifespan of your wiper blades. Why? Because if you’re using a rain repellent, you need to rely on your wipers much less, particularly so at speed. The hydrophobic coating, such as Rain-X, seals all the tiny crevasses in your windscreen and rejects water off the surface once it hits the coating. We must admit, it’s quite cool to watch the rain run off the windscreen while you’re driving along, barely using the wipers! To stay effective, it needs to be reapplied every couple of weeks, but it results in much less wiper usage without compromising safety so can ultimately make your wiper blades last longer.
