[jat]

Originally Posted by arunnn

Hi,

I have seen many cars parked with the Wipers folded up. Is there any advantage of this practice ( other than during washing). Will it help in any way to improve the life of wiper blades.

-Arun

It is followed all over the world especially in dry areas.

As wipers are not used for sometime, dust settles where the wiper is resting on glass. This dust hardens up and may not be cleared with general cleaning. Later, when it is used, it may scratch the glass. To avoid this, the wipers are folded up.

[bblost]

In apartment parking complexes there usually is atleast one car that has not been used for a real long time and may also have its wipers down.

Try to get the wiper up, you will find that its slightly stuck to the glass.

[ram_hyundai]

see the right explanation for the same is that when its a hot day the rubber portion of the wiper when in contact with the glass would be over heated.a couple of such ocassions would be enough to harden the rubber of the wiper.more over ,in the case of cars idle for a longtime,the dust accumulates on the wiper.this will also add to the deterioration of the life of the blade.
its always better to fold the wiper when not in use for a couple of days.
ram

[Ajaybiz]

I think both reason's are correct, my car waser keeps them folded upwards during washing and i have to unfold them before driving.

[star_is_here]

The folding of wipers is a good practice even during the monsoon season. This would free flow of water from the wind shield as well as it would abstain prolonged exposure of the wiper blade with water which can bring down its life.

A soft dry wiper blade gives optimum cleaning hence it is good to fold the vipers.

[ashthedivx]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

see the right explanation for the same is that when its a hot day the rubber portion of the wiper when in contact with the glass would be over heated.a couple of such ocassions would be enough to harden the rubber of the wiper.more over ,in the case of cars idle for a longtime,the dust accumulates on the wiper.this will also add to the deterioration of the life of the blade.
its always better to fold the wiper when not in use for a couple of days.
ram

i second that....

[akash_m]

Come on all of you! There's no technical reason for leaving the blades up.

It only symbolises that your car has been cleaned! This way you can tell even from 10th floor that it has been cleaned for the day by the cleaner. Many car cleaners even fold your side view morriors out along with wipers to depict that the car has been cleaned.

[benbsb29]

Maybe the increased air resisitance with the blades folded up helps keep the vehicle stationary, working as an alternative braking system.

On a serious note, the others have already mentioned the reasons.

[scooby05]

Keeping the wipers UP can also be dangerous!
I have known of many instants when the wiper has snapped back to position and Cracked the windscreen on the modern cars where the spring tension is high! So beware. and dont allow the cleaner to put it up while cleaning. he should just lift the wiper arm with one hand and clean the glass below the wiper with the other, and let the wiper rest back in position.

[normally_crazy]

Well the rubber will harden even in upright position guys !!

If the wipers melted and stuck to the glass - we would have many wind screen changes Dust can accumulate but lifting the wiper and blwoing the dust is a solution. Also wipe the blades with a wet cloth before getting them back in position. That should be fine.

Actually its dangerous to keep wipers in upright position as Scooby has rightly said and there is a real danger of people walking past just tap the wiper and make it fall on the windscreen.

typically you should change the wipers just before monsoon every year.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Maybe the increased air resisitance with the blades folded up helps keep the vehicle stationary, working as an alternative braking system.

On a serious note, the others have already mentioned the reasons.

That's a good one

Perhaps another reason could be that it prevents dogs from taking a leak on the car's tyres, as they may think someone else is on the job.

[President]

Although, I too follow or rather initiated the practice in my society of keeping the wipers up on a stationary car, years ago, I sometimes do think the harm being caused on the spring of the wiper arm. Will it not lose its tension slowly day by day?
Scratching my balding head!..........

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

typically you should change the wipers just before monsoon every year.

Yeah & please buy only Bosch or Syndicate wipers as they are the best, IMHO.

[Edsel Rulez!]

Forget keeping the wiper up while parking, I realised there are folks who keep it up while driving! I spotted this dude last week at the Four Bungalows signal in Andheri West, Mumbai. Maybe he wanted to give someone the finger and the wiper came in handy?

[motorheadinc]

I see lots of humor running around here.
would like to add my thoughts too.
Maybe the blades are taking a break from work.

I would go by the opinion on dust. the fine particles can actually scratch the glass.