A sad reality for many people now parked around the United States is that their cars are being blanked by the ashes of a Western wildfire. Obviously the physical danger to humans and animals is more urgent, but if you are being affected by a fire and have the mental bandwidth to take care of your car’s paint, you can appreciate some tips that can make life easier.
Ideally, keep that garage when you have ash outside your car, but that’s not always possible. The second best preventive measure would be a cover Or at least a nice wax job. But sometimes your car just has to be sown in the air of fire and needs to be cleaned afterwards.
If you are short on time, the quickest solution is to rinse with water often. Scrubbing is dangerous because you can end up rubbing sharp objects into your paint. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Wipe gently. The wax will protect your paint, but you should only apply it if you are sure the car is really clean.
After reading how important it is to rinse well, you may wonder, “Am I afraid of wasting the water needed for firefighting?” That’s a good question. I can’t say you know how limited the water supply is, but before you age to save your vehicle, it would be worthwhile to take some time for you.
As mentioned in this Instagram post, and I have to sound @ 4x4ward here to inspire me to write this blog! (Also, I just bought a bunch of stickers from her store. They’re great.)
G / O media can get commission
If you want to get a little more depth, Chemical Guys car cleaners have put up some videos on the topic of de-ashing cars.
Here’s an old clip that essentially explains how a wax coat helps. Of course, don’t forget that you need to wax your machine Before It goes rye.
And here’s a weed of other chemical guys about removing the ash. And while this clip is primarily designed to sell the company’s cleaning supplies, an important solution is to clean your cleaning equipment frequently when you wash the cleaning car.
AAA’s advice Echo you already see: Rinse thoroughly. AAA will also recommend replacing your cabin air filter and engine intake air filter if you drive in smoky air for any extended period of time. That’s a good idea, but maybe just inspect them before they come to a perfect place.
Checking the air filter is not rocket surgery. If it looks dirty, add a new one. You may also want to consider replacing your windshield wipers – if the ash melts and there is an odor on your windshield, the wipers can wear out quickly.
There are dozens of other posts from various sites and local news outlets on the topic of car cleaning around the internet, and they all agree that the best way to clean a car covered in ash is to rinse the hell out of it. He takes extreme caution again and again with any kind of scrubber business.
If you want to dig into more car cleaning tips, check out Kristen Lee’s detailed program Or My post about coin-car washing.
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