How cold can you go?

CavemanCharlie wrote:

campbikemom wrote:

profdant139 wrote:
A member just PMed me to ask about the wiper blades in that photo. I move them away from the glass when snow is in the forecast. That way, they don't freeze to the windshield.

You can imagine how I learned about that trick. Yep -- one time, I froze 'em, and then saw that other folks had pivoted them away from the glass. (Bear in mind that I am a Californian, not used to freezing weather. My guess is that small children in North Dakota learn about how to avoid "wiper freeze" before they start kindergarten.)

It's funny to me being in the snowiest city in North America to even think that people don't know that purpose. I need to remember at one point I also lived in the high desert where when it snows it melts within 12 hours.

I've lived in SW MN all my life. It is quite cold and snowy here. I've never seen anyone do this. I'm not sure why you would ? What does it hurt if they freeze to the windshield? You have to chip the ice and snow off of the glass as the car warms up anyway. While doing that you just bump the wiper with the ice scraper and it comes loose from the glass.

SW MN gets about 3' of snow a year. Where I live averages 12', and just north of me over 300" a year. Not even comparable. Repeated (as in daily) snowfall chunks of ice that don't want to melt away and ruin your wiperblades quickly get built up. Keeping your wipers out saves you a step of having to pull them out when you're scraping your windshield and the lower portion where your hood and windshield meet. Also, when you are warming your car with that much snow on it the snow starts to melt underneath, but it stays cold enough on the top layer so it just starts turning to ice. Unless you have the encapsulated wiper blades they loose flexibility and don't clear as well.