3 Windshield Crack Safety Tips
Ideally, as soon as you notice that your windshield is cracked, you would stop driving and get it repaired immediately. In reality, however, you probably need to drive your car to work, and you may not have the time or cash on hand to have your windshield fixed immediately. Therefore, you need to know how to make sure that your car remains safe to drive until you can have the windshield fixed. Even a small crack can spread and obscure your vision or put the windshield at risk of shattering. A crack that grows to a length and width that's larger than a dollar bill won't be repairable – you'll have to replace the whole windshield. These safety tips will help keep your windshield crack from growing.
Avoid Extreme Temperatures
When you have a crack in your windshield, the last thing that you want is to expose the crack to very high or low temperatures. You should park in indoor parking garages as much as possible until you can get the crack fixed – especially if you crack your windshield in the summer or winter, when temperatures are at their peak highs and lows.
The temperature inside the car is just as important as the outdoor temperatures. It's not a good idea to run your air conditioner or your heater on high when you have a crack in the windshield. Leave them off or use a low setting. Avoid using the defroster as well. It's best to avoid allowing your windows to frost in the first place, but if they do, defrost them gradually by running the heater rather than quickly with the defroster.
Avoid Shocks to Your Car
Every time you hit a bump in the road, you risk widening the crack in the windshield. It's probably not possible to avoid every bump and pothole while driving, but until you get the crack fixed, you will need to plan your route to avoid bumps as much as possible. Stay off of dirt roads and out of construction zones.
It will also help if you can avoid slamming your car doors. If you can't close the door gently, then at least roll the windows down before closing the door. When you slam the car door with all of the windows closed, a quick burst of pressure builds up inside of the car, and this can cause the cracks in your windshield to spread. It could even shatter your already-weak windshield.
Keep it Clean
Once water or dirt gets into the crack in your windshield it becomes much more difficult to fix. This means that it's in your best interest to figure out how to keep water, road dirt, and debris from finding their way into the crack.
The simplest way to do this is by placing a piece of clear tape over the crack. Use something strong, like packing tape, that won't come off in rain or wind, and make sure that the placement of the tape won't affect your ability to see while you're driving. Keep in mind that the tape won't stop the crack from growing, but it will protect the crack so that you can fix it.
What you definitely should not do is put glue or nail polish into the crack. These materials aren't made to hold a windshield together under pressure and should not be relied upon. Furthermore, putting these materials inside the cracks may make it impossible to have the glass repaired.
Protecting the crack from extreme temperatures, sudden shocks, and water and dirt will help keep the crack small and contained and will make it easier to repair. However, that doesn't mean that you should put off the repair – the crack will spread eventually, no matter how careful you are. It's important to get the crack repaired as soon as you can.
To get your windshield repaired, check out a site like http://www.centralglassutah.com.