how do I stop my windscreen wipers squeaking?

There is little more annoying on a day that is already miserable and raining than switching your wipers on, only to have your increased visibility accompanied by the screeching of rubber across glass.

And while there's a brief break in the winter weather, there's no better time to tackle this problem so your next commute is a little less hellish.

Squeaking windscreen wiper blades can be enough to make you go full Basil Fawlty on your windscreen, so today we look at how you can stop that happening. The squeaking, that is.

Remove the filth

Your wiper blades are not just wiping water off your windscreen, they also wipe off all the grit, dust and other particles that get spread on your glass during everyday motoring, and that builds up on your wiper blades.

Cleaning your wiper blades is a good place to start tackling squeaks, as well as being the easiest.

Simply wet a piece of paper towel with a small amount of hot, soapy water or rubbing alcohol and wipe the blades with the towel until the paper towel comes away clean. You may have to go through a few paper towels until your blades are finally clean though.

Alternatively, you can also use alcohol wipes to clean the blades, and leaving a pack in your car can come in handy for stopping squeaks when you are on the road.

Clean the windscreen

Of course, cleaning your blades is completely pointless if you don't clean the windscreen too, so spray the glass with a generous amount of ammonia-free glass cleaner and wipe it clean with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Baking soda on a clean paper towel can be used for a very dirty windscreen.

Check your levels

Wipers will skip and squeak when the windscreen isn't wet enough, so making sure you have enough wiper fluid is an obvious one.

While plain water will do in a pinch, using a good washer fluid will not only get the dirt off better, it will also help stop squeaking by acting as a lubricant.

Adjust your arms

Wiper blades are designed to trail after the wiper arm, switching sides as the arms move back and forth across the windscreen.

The blades should never dig into the windscreen or drag across it vertically - if they do, you can adjust the arms by gently twisting them so that the blade doesn't sit flat on the glass.

But be gentle, only a slight angle is needed and you don't want to break the arm.

Soften your blades

The blades may be stiff because they are new and haven't bedded in properly yet, or because they are old and have hardened up from exposure to the elements.

If a blade is over a year old and has hardened up, it should be replaced, but newer stiff blades can be softened by putting some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and rubbing it along the blade.

Replace the blades

If your blades are split, worn or just too stiff, then they will need replacing.

The method for doing this varies from car to car, but it is generally a pretty simple process that involves releasing a small clip or tab at one end of the arm (or, increasingly, in the middle where the arm attaches) and simply sliding the old one out and the new one back in.

Don't cheap out on new blades though - low quality aftermarket blades can sometimes be even noisier than worn good quality blades.