Is It Better To Put Your Wipers Up Or Down When It Snows In Iowa?

It might sound like common sense to put your wipers up when snow is coming but it's a bit more complex than that.

We're headed into round #2 of the snowfest this week. It's moving in tonight (Thursday) and will lurk around through Saturday before temperatures drop into the negatives. A lot of us (self included) are getting ready for a weekend of going pretty much nowhere and staying inside with pajamas, chili, and binge-worthy shows. But before you get all comfy, you're going to have to make sure your car outside is ready for whatever Mother Nature drops on us.

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We don't all have the luxury of parking in a garage. Many of us have already had an arm workout this week brushing snow off our cars, shoveling around them, or scraping ice off our car windows. A sure sign snow is in the forecast are the folks around my apartment building putting their windshield wipers up before it moves in, but is that actually useful?

Wipers Up Or Down?

They're both kinda right. There are pros and cons to leaving your wipers up or down, according to the Farmers' Almanac.

Pros To Putting The Wipers Up

• Prevents damage to the wiper motor (if you turn on the car and forgot you had your wipers still on) if they're frozen to the windshield
• Prevents damaging the rubber on them when you have to chisel them off the windshield
• It makes clearing the snow and ice off of your car easier

That last one is why I always try to remember to put my wipers up before weather like we're getting. But there's another side to the argument.

Pros To Keeping The Wipers Down

• Prevents damage to the springs inside the blade arm
• Discourages vandalism
• The defroster releases frozen blades, so it's a non-issue

So Which Is Actually Better?

Folks at Erie Insurance suggest putting your wiper blades up when the forecast calls for snow. Several wiper manufacturers also suggest putting them up and the American Automobile Association (AAA) says that leaving the wipers up does not actually weaken the springs.

This Is What We're All Doing

Farmers' Almanac did a poll to see how many folks put their wipers up vs. leave them down in the event of snow or ice. 68% put their wipers up, 32% keep them down.

Personally, I was told to put my wipers up when I moved to the Midwest so as long as I can remember to, I will. Do you put your wipers up when it snows? Let us know in the app!