Windshield wipers work by sweeping a rubber blade across the windshield as the wiper arm holds pressure on the blade. As with all rubber products, the natural oils in the rubber evaporate over time, leaving the material dry. If this happens to your wiper blades, they'll no longer sweep smoothly across the windshield, but will begin hoping and chattering across every time you use them. With a few moments of your time, however, you can stave off the chatter and maximize the lifespan of your wipers.
Lift the wiper off the windshield and wipe it with a clean, water moistened rag from one side to the other in a continuous motion. Do not go back and forth. Repeat until the area on the rag wiped across the wiper remains clean.
Apply a pea sized amount of rubber conditioner to a new rag. Do not use rubber treatments, but rubber conditioners, as treatments actually dry out the rubber by pulling the internal oils to the surface. Meguiars, Mothers and a few other professional-grade detailing suppliers sell conditioners.
Wipe the rag with the rubber conditioner across the wiper blade in the same manner employed to clean the blade earlier.
Repeat steps one through three every time you fill the gas tank for optimum wiper blade life.
