A cracked windshield can cause a lot of problems. Even a small crack or chip can end up completely destroying your windshield. Summer can be hard on your windshield. What can you do to protect your windshield during the summer so that it doesn't crack and keep it from breaking if it does crack?

Find Some Shade

One way to protect your windshield is to park in some shade. The shade will help to protect your windshield's integrity and help to avoid chips and cracks. If your windshield already has a crack, then keeping it out of the sun will help to keep the sun from baking your windshield and making it bigger. The heat can cause things to expand and a crack or chip will mean that the area around the damage will heat unevenly which is what will cause the crack to get bigger.

Avoid Quick Temperature Changes

The first thing you want to do when you get in a hot car is to jack up your air conditioner so that it will cool your car down quickly. The air inside your car is going to be very hot and turning on your air conditioner and changing the temperature quickly can cause a crack on the outside of your windshield. The temperature differential and rapid cooling will also cause any existing crack or chip to get worse. What you should do instead is leave your windows open a little bit at the top, maybe an inch or so, so that the heated air can mix somewhat with the air outside and make it not as hot inside your car. If you can, wait outside with your door open and open up the other windows in your car so that there is an airflow before you get in the car. That will let the very hot air that has built up in your car to escape. You should also turn your air conditioner on to a lower setting, instead of straight to high, for the first few minutes while everything in the car starts to moderate its temperature.

If you do get a crack or chip in your car's windshield, you should get it taken care of as soon as possible. It will do nothing but get worse as long as it's still part of your window. You can find an auto glass repair shop, like X-Treme Auto Glass, who will even come to your house to make sure your windshield is replaced right so you don't even have to take time out of your busy schedule to get it fixed.