Stay Safe! Keep An Eye Out For Sludge While Driving In The Quad Cities

I've spent my entire life living on a dirt road so any car my family had was always covered in dust, so I'm used to a dirty car. The other day, however, my grandma had to borrow my vehicle and texted me,

"The outside of your car is so dirty, I can't even see!"

That's when I realized how bad my windows were. One of the most annoying things about driving after it warms up and the snow melts, is the leftover ice, salt, sand, and snow that gets kicked up by large vehicles and thrown onto your windshield. I'm used to it since my car is always dirty even in the Summer thanks to that dust, but it really gets bad this time of year. This was my view only a week ago.

Many Midwesterners call the things thrown onto our cars by many different names. I call it "sludge."

Only a few seconds behind a semi on any interstate or highway will lead to your car visibility dropping rapidly. I have a quick drive on I-380 and my vehicle always gets covered.

Some Quick & Obvious Tips To Fix This

Clear the snow from around your car: If it does snow again make sure you get as much off as you can.

Run the defroster: This one seems like an obvious one, but sometimes it's the easiest thing we forget.

Watch for fog buildup on the interior windows: When this happens we all know what to do, defrost it. Your car's defroster can help reduce the problem.

You can find more of those quick reminders here.

Another "DUH" suggestion is your windshield wipers and fluid. Just make sure you double-check that it's empty before you go out. AND if it snows again (Pknock on wood) Make sure the snow isn't blocking the dispenser.

Again this is pretty obvious, but when that snow and subzero temps hit, we often end up doing the bare minimum snow removal from our cars, and usually has us forgetting about our dispensers.

If you run out of fluid you can usually find cleaner at a gas station by the pumps for free (as long as it isn't frozen.) It also may be a good idea to keep some extra in your car if you drive on an interstate or highway regularly.