Is your car ready for summer storms?

Most of the UK has had little or no rain for the last few months, so the chances are that you haven't used your windscreen wipers for sometime. Looking at the weather forecast there is a good chance that most of the UK will see summer thunder storms over the next few weeks, this is why we recommend that you follow the steps below .

Clear vision through your vehicles windscreen, mirrors and side widows is one

of the most important factors while driving. Todays driving tests even require you to show the tester how and where to fill your car or van

s washer bottle.

During spring and summer, tree sap, bugs and other contaminants slowly build up on your windscreen, as this can happen slowly over a

several weeks or months, you may not even realise that the vision from your vehicle has been significantly reduced! This build up can also mean that the first time that you come to use your wipers it can lead to your windscreen becoming badly smeared reducing your vision further when you need it most. To prevent this we recommend that you take the following steps.

• Wash your windscreen, side windows and mirrors with a mild detergent mixed in warm water, this is extremely effective at removing tree sap and other contaminates. Lift your windscreen wipers from the screen and carefully wipe them also.

• Dry your windscreen with a micro-fibre cloth or suitable towel, these are available at most good

motoring stores.

• Once your windscreen is dry, use a good quality car glass cleaner on the windscreen, windows and mirror. Also clean the windscreen inside the car. Top-Tip, when cleaning inside the car spray the cleaner directly on to the cloth, this will prevent other surfaces becoming contaminated. You may be tempted to use a household window cleaner but we highly recommend that you use a cleaner specially designed for cars as some household cleaners can damage tinted windscreens and windows.

• Ensure that your washer bottle is full of a good quality windscreen washer solution.

• Check that your washers spray evenly onto your windscreen and adjust them if required.

• Finally check that your window wipers work smoothly, at all there settings i.e. Intermittent, slow, and fast, if they fail to move smoothly across the windscreen this could mean that your wiper motor or wiper linkage may have a fault and need replacing. If you do feel that you may have a fault, please feel free to call us on 01757 249841 and we will be happy to advice you of what steps to take next.