How To Safely Cover A Broken Side Window

If the side window of your car has been broken in some way or another, you are going to want to cover up your side window until you can get a glass technician to come out and fix your side window. When your side window breaks, there are a few things you need to do to protect yourself and your car.

The Danger of the Glass Shards

The first thing you need to do is get rid of the glass shards that were created when the window was broken out of your car. The broken shards of glass can really injure you if you don't clean them up. The broken shards of glass, left sitting in your vehicle, can also cause damage to the inside of your vehicle. The broken shards of glass can damage the upholstery inside of your vehicle, and if the glass shards fall out when you open your vehicle, they can even damage your tires as well.

Cleaning Up the Glass Shards

As the glass shards can be dangerous, you need to make sure you use caution when cleaning them up. Don't just start picking up the shards with your bare hands. Instead, put on some gloves and pick up the largest pieces and put them inside of a paper bag. Although you can use a plastic bag, a plastic bag is more likely to rip from the glass shards and cause another mess.

After you get rid of all the large pieces by hand, get out your vacuum and vacuum up all the little shards of glass. If you have a shop vac, use that instead of your regular household vacuum. As you vacuum, be sure to vacuum directly over the seal on the side window in order to pick up the little pieces that may have fallen into the seal. Vacuum the entire seat and floor area where the window was shattered. Glass can fly far, so to be on the safe side, you should vacuum your entire vehicle.

Clean the Window Frame

The next thing you are going to need to do is clean the window frame. Take a wet cloth and run it over the window frame. This will remove any remaining glass and dirt from the window frame.

Cover the Window With Plastic

To protect your vehicle until the auto glass mechanic shows up, you are going to want to cover the window with plastic. Clear plastic is the best, as you can see through it. Take a plastic sheet, or even a large plastic bag, and stretch it across the window. Then, use clear packing tape to tape down the plastic sheet. You are going to want to tape the sheet from the inside of the window first, and then tape on the outside.

Call the Window Repair Technician

Now that you have cleaned up and protected your vehicle from the broken side window, it is time to call an auto glass technician to replace your window. A technician can come to your home, or you can bring in your vehicle to the shop and they can quickly replace your side window.


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