Driving You Crazy: When it snows, should you put your wipers up or leave them down?

DENVER — Bob from Arvada writes, “What's driving you crazy? Please help settle a dispute. I am a Colorado native and my wife is from Southern California. Growing up we never lifted up our windshield wipers while the car was parked. She, on the other hand, has picked up this habit and she swears this is the “most efficient” way. Please help settle this once and for all! I think this habit is silly!!”

There might be a fiercer battle over this question here in Colorado than asking if pineapple belongs on pizza or if tacos and hot dogs are a type of sandwich. Even my 17-year-old daughter asked me if she should put her wipers up because she saw a bunch of the other students at school doing it.

It is common around town to see wipers standing up when it snows. Most who do it say it is easier to clear all the snow and ice from the windshield that way. Others who don’t do it, like you Bob, say it is a waste of time.

I casually talked to people around the newsroom about your question. People who lift the wipers told me they do it so the wiper doesn't freeze on to the glass and makes it easier to clear the snow from the windshield all the way to the bottom. Experts say this method could protect the wiper motor from being strained and the rubber on the wipers from tearing if they're frozen when you first turn them on.

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That can happen when the windshield is warm and wet after driving and then freezes if the car is parked outside when it is very cold. This is especially true if the wipers were left in the on position when the car was turned off. The wipers would engage when the car turns on and if the wipers are frozen to the glass, the rubber and wiper motor could be damaged. Does that happen often? Not really, but people still do it anyway thinking they can save their wipers from damage.

One mechanic told me, what most drivers don't think about is that the spring keeping the wiper down on the windshield can be damaged if it is wet when put up, ice forms and then it is put back down. That ice can damage the spring much more than leaving it down to the point it doesn't keep the bade down on the glass effectively. Replacing an entire wiper assembly is more expensive than replacing just the blade.

I asked several experts to weigh in on this question. I first asked President-CEO of Wiper Technologies Braden McCormick his opinion.

“You can keep them down, only IF when you remove snow from your windshield, be sure to ‘wipe’ the accumulated snow and ice from the blade. If you ‘flip’ your blades up, you will still get some ice buildup, but not nearly as much as if they were down,” McCormick said.

He added that it really is a personal preference as neither method is better or worse for the life of the blades.

AAA’s Car Doctor John Paul said he doesn’t do it on his own car even though he admits it does makes it easier to clean the windshield if it snows and eliminates the chance the wipers will freeze to the windshield.

Regional Director of Public Affairs with AAA Colorado Skyler McKinley agreed.

“I grew up in Colorado and I'm a fourth-generation Coloradan; my Colorado relatives have always put the wiper blades up, so that's what I was taught to do and still do (although I mostly park indoors)," McKinley said. "With the benefit of years of experience in the automotive industry, the safest advice is to leave the blades down and give yourself plenty of time to fully defrost and clear all snow and ice off every component of your vehicle. If for whatever reason the couple of minutes a driver might save by putting the wiper blades up increases the likelihood they completely clear off their vehicle and ensure winter weather visibility in compliance with Colorado law, then by all means it's worth the comparatively small risk of damage to the wiper assembly or windshield.”

Skyler added that vehicle owners have the option to purchase a snow blanket that will cover their windshield or their entire vehicle. That eliminates having to clear any snow altogether. Although, that takes time and planning to put on the blanket before the snow storm and that ultimately — like most things in life — it's a question of personal preference.

Harold Singh, material damage claims quality control manager at Erie Insurance said, there are risks either way but the risk is higher that you’ll tear the rubber trying to free a frozen wiper blade, so leaving them up is probably your best bet. Singh reports that he is not aware of many damage claims resulting from leaving wiper blades down during a snowstorm.

One guy told me he uses a homemade de-icer spray from a bottle. He said it works pretty good to melt frost, ice and light snow. He said heavy snow needs to be cleared by hand. The vehicle’s defroster can help with a wiper that might be stuck down and frozen, but it can take a while for the heat from the engine to build and warm the windshield.

I've heard that some people put pool noodles or even socks over the wipers, but to me, that is worse. A frozen sock is tough to get off the wiper and windshield and is likely to tear.

I wish I could have definitively settled this question for you, Bob, but it seems that wipers up or wipers down comes down to personal preference. The main consideration is making sure the windshield, and all the windows around the vehicle are totally clear of snow and ice before you start driving so you can see out. It is also a good idea to clear all the snow from all over the vehicle, including the roof as I wrote in a previous Driving You Crazy story years ago.

Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his award winning Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.