How do you get clean windshields?

0 - buy windshield wiper fluid
1 - throw out screwed up windshield wipers
2 - buy new windshield wipers from Canadian Tire Parts Source.
3 - start singing "Joy to the World" when the new wipers clean anew the windows.

A year ago when we got the Rav4 from Jorghnassen's father, everything was great. We got the car in great condition, despite its 10 years on the road, the snow tires are nice, and it is a great drive. I even got used to sitting high up, even though it can still sometimes unnerve me if I think too much about it. We had all sorts of work done on it to get it driving on the Ontario roads, like e-testing and safety certificates. I learned a lot about cars, and I still have much more to learn. (Like how to check/change the oil...)

The one thing that I learned the hard way is that you don't mess with the blades. I somehow managed to ruin all three blades over the year.

I changed the driver side from winter to summer last year, but then the other ones wouldn't budge. They were stuck, and no amount of yelling would get them off, but I convinced myself, "Whatever, they still wipe. What's the difference!?"

Sometime in the middle of the year, the passenger side wiper became warped from, oh I don't know, the summer heat? I didn't know they could do that...!

Fast forward to winter this year, the one summer wiper wouldn't budge either. The back wiper blade also became frozen to the windshield one day, and I pulled it too hard so the middle came loosened and never wiped properly again. So I was stuck with the summer blade through the snowstorm during the new year to get back from Chicoutimi to Waterloo. Yeah, you know. That one. I'm amazed we actually survived!

I got sick of all this mess yesterday, while driving to school and trying furiously to look out any of the windows. They were so dirty that I almost had to get out to spit snow wash the windows just to see outside.

When I approached the people at Parts Source, I was afraid to look like a clueless, idiot girl who ruined the windshield wipers of her partner's car (...). Fortunately, they were really, really friendly. They had a database of all the models of cars, and found exactly the right parts that were needed. One of the salesservice people even installed them - however, not without a lot of struggling. They were *stuck*.

"See the hook?" Uh huh. The completely paint-peeled bare and rusty hook. That damned thing clutched the bane of my existence since I started driving the Rav4. "I'm thinking it's because of all the rust buildup that they got stuck. But now you're good!" She grinned, probably with a sense of satisfaction after struggling with the damn thing for about 15 minutes. The new ones are designed to be much, much easier to remove. Hooray!

... And yes, I started singing when the wipers finally removed all the crap.