If you live in a place where it gets cold in the winter and you have to leave your car out in the elements, you’re likely always looking for ways to keep your car as ready to go as possible.

One of those tips that many people follow is to leave your windshield wipers up in the event of ice or snow. The thinking is that way they won’t freeze to your windshield and make it harder to clear the precipitation when you need to leave.

It turns out, however, that thinking could be doing more harm than good.

The Drive reports that’s because wipers aren’t built to stand up that way. The blades are designed to withstand pressure from the front, and without the support of the windshield on the other side, they could be too weak to withstand even a moderately strong gust of wind.

The result could be damage to the plastic gearing that keeps the tools in place.

Worse, you might not even notice anything is wrong until you’re in dire straits, because the damage could be tough to see and assess.

Experts suggest the better option is to cover your entire windshield if you want to save time in bad weather, and any old rug or tarp will do the trick.

Now you know better, so go out there and do better this winter!

I’m sure your car will thank you.