Check your windshield: warm car washes can make stone chips into large cracks

With a warm January in Saskatchewan melting the snow and causing slushy conditions, many drivers have been heading to the car wash.

But those with a stone chip in their windshield may be risking a bigger problem.

“Our car wash uses warm water, which is at 120 degrees,” said Pat Cross, facilities manager with Jubilee Ford and Spiffy Car Wash in Saskatoon.

“So that sudden shock will on some stone chips actually crack the windshield.”

The drastic temperature difference stresses the glass he said, exacerbating any existing imperfections in the glass.

It happens most often in automatic car washes and many drivers end up blaming the machinery.

But Cross said that’s because most don’t notice the chip first.

“This time of year, there are a lot of stones flying around,” he said.

However, he noted car owners who repair stone chips by getting resin injected shouldn’t worry.

“It hopefully clears up most of the problem.”