I’ve been putting a thin wipe of silicone paste (silicone grease) on my car’s wipers every few months. I wipe most of it off again, just a tiny amount really.
They’ve lasted 3 years in my harsh climate and they’re only now starting to stiffen a little. It eliminates squeaking and gets them tracking smoothly again.
Unlike petroleum based grease it’s compatible with natural rubber and EDPM (synthetic rubber). Which is what gave me the idea.
I got the stuff when I was repairing my washing machine and now I use it for everything. Like grease but less stinky and gross, and it holds up better in the wet. Lasts forever and you need hardly any.
You can probably get some from people who do lots of car stuff or appliances if you don’t have any and don’t want to buy more stuff. Keep a tiny pot somewhere.
Edit: probably don’t use it on silicone wiper blades, unsure. I’ve observed no streaking.
Comments
Introducing LPT REQUEST FRIDAYS
We determine “Friday” as beginning at 12am Eastern Time (EST: UTC/GMT -5, EDT: UTC/GMT -4)
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
This post has been marked as safe. Upvoting/downvoting this comment will have no effect.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by upvoting or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn’t help you in any way, please downvote. If you don’t care, leave it for the others to decide.
This seems like a great idea! Keep it nice and moisturized, does it leave a residue on the windshield? I mean I guess it’d be like putting RainX on it or something if it did….
When Freddie Mercury sang, “I’m in love with my car” he didn’t mean literally. Save your lube for the bedroom.
Or buy silicone wiper blades; they last much longer than the other types without having to worry about maintenance
Is there any subsequent streaking or smearing?
I just buy new ones after every winter, it’s like 20 €.
I put olive oil on my buddy’s truck wipers when I caught him parked at my secret trout fishing hole in Washington. Left and didn’t say anything. The next Sunday at church, he was furious and trying to figure out who did it!! LOL!😆 Never caught him back there again though! Secret fishing holes are secret and sacred for a reason! 🎣
The beam style silicone ones are pretty inexpensive on RockAuto. Just replace them when they start getting streaky
Feels like this is just gonna smear, I’d rather just put on a windshield coat to make it a little more slippery.
What is silicone paste? You mean caulk?
Use rain x and or rain x wiper fluid and almost never use your wipers
If you only use your wipers when the windshield is wet, they won’t squeak then, either
It’s also great to put on the rubber lining by the doors if you live in a cold climate. Keeps them from getting stuck and reduces the risk of damaging your door handles.
Is that comparable in content to silicone lubricant spray?
Hahaha wow wipers, those things move so fast, right? I guess silicone paste is cool. My washing machine is also loud sometimes.
i only had to replace 1 single wiper in 5 years and its like €20.
Waxing your windshield and cleaning your wipers regularly should be enough.
There’s no way I’m putting silicone grease on my wipers and have them smear it all across the windshield. This has to be a troll post.
Or just buy quality wipers. I bought some Michelin Stealth wipers from Costco and I’ve had them for over 3 years. Still working fine
Would silicone based lubricant like WD-40 Silicone work as well?
Not for wipers but all the weatherstripping (especially if you live in a cold climate): the shin etsu silicone grease Honda dealers sell is awesome. I bought some several years ago and I want to say it was maybe $10-15. Most dealers keep it in stock. Good stuff
It will end up in a river. Maybe we should limit stuff from polluting as much as possible.
Here’s a tip: put a pinch of sage in your boots and all day long a spicy scent is your reward
Or buy new blades when they’re worn, used to get this all the time at Toyota. Blades are cheap and your windscreen should be crystal clear anyway
…..don’t they just butter your windshield when you use them if you do that though? Provide a sticky surface for dirt to cling to? Or do you mean the non-wiping bits? Because the source of the squeaking on mine seems to just be contact with mostly dry window because they’re working?