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While you will need a professional to fit a new windscreen, windscreen wipers are something that you can fit and remove as you please. This is a great thing, as windscreen wipers need to be replaced regularly – certainly more regularly than most people think they do!
Why? Well, your windscreen wipers take quite the battering throughout the year. Whether they’re removing snow in the winter, rain in the spring or pollen and insects in the summer, they’re always working overtime to ensure your windscreen is clear enough for you to spot any hazards coming your way. And given that the majority of road traffic accidents are caused by poor visibility, it’s not difficult to see why it’s important to ensure your wipers are always functioning their best.
In this guide, the 1st Call Windscreens team will be covering the anatomy of a windscreen wiper, how often they need replacing and the three main types in depth so you can decide what would best suit you and your vehicle.
The rubber used for the edge of your windscreen wipers has been specifically designed to withstand a battering from the elements, but unfortunately it’s still going to deteriorate over time. Here are some telltale signs that the rubber on your wipers has begun to perish:
It’s worth bearing in mind that you can also fail your MOT if your wiper blades aren’t deemed to be effective enough, so don’t pay for any extra MOT tests when you don’t need to – get your wipers fixed as soon as they need it.
In order to extend, wipe and neatly fold away in the clever way they do, windscreen wipers need to have a number of different functioning parts. These are as follows:
There are three main types of windscreen wipers that you need to know before you start shopping around, these are: standard wiper blades, flat wiper blades and hybrid wiper blades. Let’s take a look at each:
For many years, standard wiper blades were the most common type to be fitted to new vehicles and are probably what springs to mind when you think of windscreen wipers. They consist of both metal and plastic, and feature a very clear bridge that runs across the top of the wiper that creates a sort of bow-like aesthetic.
Standard blades tend to be the bulkiest of the three types and are often fitted with additional features, such as a spoiler on the driver’s side wipe to improve aerodynamic performance and a spray system for cars that have the washer jets attached to the wipers rather than the bottom of the windscreen.
If your car came with standard or conventional windscreen wipers in the first place, you will be pleased to know that you can swap them out for either of the other types of windscreen wipers, so you have a great deal of flexibility.
Flat windscreen wipers are essentially the new standard for windscreen wipers and you will see many new vehicles fitted with them. They have a much slimmer profile than standard wiper blades thanks to the removal of that bridge, meaning that they block less of the driver’s visual field and create much less noise. The shape is also more uniform across the structure of the wiper which, in turn, improves aerodynamic performance.
It’s also worth noting that if your vehicle came fitted with flat windscreen wipers in the first place, you can only replace them with another set of flat windscreen wipers, or you can choose a hybrid set. This is fine though, as flat windscreen wipers tend to outperform conventional ones anyway.
Hybrid windscreen wipers are essentially a combination of both flat windscreen wipers and conventional wipers. This means that you get the slimmer profile of the flat wiper coupled with the spoiler and aerodynamic features of a conventional wiper. Like the conventional wiper, the spoiler on a hybrid wiper will only be on the driver’s side and ensures that the rubber edge maintains constant pressure on the windscreen for maximum performance.
In terms of price, you probably won’t see much of a difference between the different types of wiper blades, so your best bet is to choose based on the style you prefer and, of course, what type of wiper can actually be fitted to your vehicle.
Most new vehicles can be fitted with flat wiper blades, so if you own a fairly new vehicle, we would recommend choosing this type as it offers great wiper performance as well as a clearer visual field. Hybrid wipers are also great though, so if you see a set that you would like, this could still be a good option for you.
The only reason we would recommend choosing conventional wipers would be if your vehicle requires you to stick to the wiper arm washer jet system. However, this would be a particularly niche scenario.
1st Call Windscreens are the leading windscreen repair and replacement specialists throughout the areas of Maidstone, Sittingbourne and the broader Kent area. We offer a fully mobile service, so no matter where you are – be it at home or out on the road – we can come to you and repair your windscreen. We’re all about making your experience as smooth as possible, so we can bill your insurer directly too.
For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team today – you can give us a call or use our handy online contact form.
we are very happy with the repairs carried out and the speed of the response. Great job, would recommend !st Call Windscreens any time....
- 1 week ago
Excellent service. A niggling leak on the windscreen was fixed quickly and efficiently. The screen was removed without fuss or damage and resealed. It's a job that insurers won't touch,they only de...
- 3 weeks ago
Discovered my Volvo V50 was not sealing at the top. Autoglass wanted to replace it for £700, called 1st Call and they removed and resealed it for £100+vat and said that if it had broken it would only ...
- 1 month ago
Absolutely the best. From the first phone call to collecting my car with new side window that had been vandalised being replaced. next day service so my car was back on the road promptly. Extremely ...
- 1 month ago
Excellent Workmanship Good Value and Top Quality Customer Service: I recently had my Ford Fiesta ST heated windscreen replaced by 1st Call Windscreens, I couldn't be happier with the whole experienc...
- 2 months ago
Brilliant service. Would recommend 1st call windscreens to anyone looking for an efficient service. Friendly and helpful above and beyond ! 0...
- 2 months ago
Asked for a quote online which came through quickly. Just £48 inc vat for windscreen stone chip. Phoned to book a repair. I could either take the car to them or they would come out to me the next day....
- 3 months ago
Tom turned up on time, he was professional but friendly, he kept me informed on what he was doing and progress, and did a great job! Thanks Tom. Would highly recommend...
- 3 months ago
I needed my windscreen replaced due to a large crack; I was booked in straight away and I couldn’t be happier. They came to my house to fit the replacement, only took them about 20 minutes and they ev...
- 4 months ago
Couldn't be happier, had my Evoque windscreen re sealed as was leaking. Highly recommend 1st Call Windscreens. The guys were extremely helpful & friendly both on phone and doing the work. The work was...
- 4 months ago
Fantastic service, booked for a site visit to alleviate any disruption to the engineers day and it all went seamlessly. I would definitely recommend 1st Call Windscreens and will use them in the futu...
- 4 months ago
Customer service were great responded to my call out vey quickly and the guy that came out was very nice and helpful Thank you...
- 5 months ago
Had my chip fixed at my home this afternoon - cannot praise the service enough!!!! Lovely man who took 10-15 minutes - perfect job and no issues - very good price and highly recommend them Jo Seveno...
- 6 months ago
Very helpful and carried out a repair at very short notice on our way to catch a ferry. Very polite and stabilised the chip in our windscreen so that we could continue abroad for our holiday uninterru...
- 6 months ago
Made a call to 1st call windscreens as I was worried about a chip in my screen. The guys were very helpful, turned up on time and carried out a fantastic repair and was cheaperthan my insurance acce...
- 7 months ago
We had an emergency windscreen repair needed when travelling down from Oxfordshire to Kent. The Sittingbourne team went out of their way to help us at very short notice and allowing us to resume our j...
- 7 months ago
Jake was friendly, polite and helpful. He left no mess inside or outside the car and took away the boxes the seals came in even though they were supplied direct by the BMW dealer....
- 8 months ago
Arrived on time at my home address. Was very professional, polite and efficient. No hassle and no mess. Screen was replaced on my mini in no time at all and looks perfect. Thank you will highly recom...
- 8 months ago
So happy with Byron and Jake today very friendly and professional from 1st Call Windscreens Ltd. They come extremely well prepared with attention to detail. A great job was done on replacing my wind...
- 8 months ago
1st Call windscreens are absolutely 1st class. Spoke with David on the phone and he was so helpful and knowledgeable. Took our car up to them to advise on the correct windscreens which embarrassingl...
- 8 months ago
George west from 1st call windscreens Ltd was quite friendly and managed to do a fantastic job on my stone CHIP WINDSCREEN....
- 8 months ago
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