This winter, it's important to do what you can to take good care of your car. One thing that you have to be worried about is your windshield. These are a few tips that can help you protect your car's windshield this winter so that you can avoid serious damage:

Be Careful When Deicing

One thing that you have to be careful about this winter is how you deice your windshield. For example, if you are in a hurry and want to be able to get behind the wheel as quickly as possible, you could be tempted to pour piping hot water over the ice and snow on your windshield. Even though this can sometimes do the trick quickly, it's best to be avoided due to the damage that the extreme temperature change can cause. Additionally, when scraping your windshield, make sure that you use a good-quality scraper and that you use long, smooth scrapes rather than chipping and beating at your windshield, which could cause chips.

Have Cracks or Chips Repaired Immediately

It is always important to handle windshield cracks or chips as soon as possible. This is particularly important during the winter months, however. This is because extreme temperatures can cause an already damaged windshield to shatter, which means that you could walk outside to find that your entire windshield is shattered if you don't repair a small chip right away. You also have to worry about cracks spreading or your damage otherwise getting worse. You should not assume that windshield repair is going to be expensive and let this get in the way of repairing the problem quickly this winter, however; in some cases, a repair is possible rather than a replacement, and many glass repair and replacement companies actually offer very affordable services.

Don't Follow Other Drivers Too Closely

It's not a good idea to follow other drivers too closely at any time when you're on the road, but it's especially important to be careful about this during the winter. This is the case for a few reasons. For one thing, you have to worry about being more at risk of sliding into another car during winter weather conditions. Additionally, your windshield could be at risk. For example, a driver ahead of you could fling a chunk of ice onto your windshield, which could cause a crack or chip, particularly if your windshield is already damaged.

Contact a company like Coats Auto Body and Paint for more information and assistance.