THE $10 RETRACTABLE WINDSHIELD CLEANER

[all parts are available from most .99 cent stores and Harbor Freight tools, or any tool place]

OH BOY, DO I HATE A DIRTY WINDSHIELD

the sun hits it, and you can't see 4' in front of you, you grab a tissue and wipe a 6"x6" hole that you are peering thru to drive.

So why can't I just grab a squeegee and clean the inside of the window?

oh it's in the Trunk, and it only cleans a 2' x 2' area, It won't go all the way to the bottom

and now there is wiper fluid dripping into the dashboard. ARRRGH

OK, NO Problem, I can buy a hand held wiper wand, they sell them at the .99 store

Now I can reach the bottom of the windshield, but I still can only reach half the inside of the car

and its so frigging long, I can't store it anywhere except the trunk (where it is useless)

I was I was wandering around Harbor Freight and found THIS, heavy duty magnetic pickup wand,

--> Retractable [√] Strong [√] Cheap [√] MINE [√][√][√][√] <--

$5.00 a deal! and here is a better price online:

https://totalelement.com/products/30-inch-telescop...

Went to the .99 store picked up a cleaning wand (plastic) and a bag of faux Shamwows, a bottle of faux Windex, and was ready to go to work. I Built this retractable windshield cleaner using the parts bought from the .99 store and harbor fright.

I tested it and YUP! it reaches the whole window from the driver's side.

I can pull the cleaner out, spray some Windex, clean the whole window in the time you wait at a traffic light.

My magic wand (yea yea ™) can be stored in a side pocket, or the door compartment ... or even—GASP—in the glove box. The .99 deal? No can store, just too big.

MEASUREMENTS:

Fully Retracted the wand measures 8 1/2 inches, Extended a whopping 34"

the plastic .99 cent Jobbie is 14"

YOU EXCITED?

wanna make one! - Read on

There are a gaggle of photos. -- Since this was my second wand (purchased for the sole purpose of making this Instructable) I went into excruciating details.

:)

I used a Dremel, but its cheap plastic and you can use a snips or exacto to do the same thing.

After cutting out the openings in the plastic to fit the magnet and the rod, I used some hot glue and a cut out business card to build a wall to be used as a dam so the epoxy would not travel. after everything dries, I can pull off the dried hot glue.

I added some strips of industrial Velcro on to the applicator, using the mock Shamwow I got at the .99 store I cut them into squares (I pack gives me enough for about 17 applicator pads) some Windex, or even alcohol and TADA!

What a difference!!