Advice To Motorists Concerning Volcanic Ash And Wipers.
Apart from the obvious problems associated with exploding volcanoes there are other small hazards which although more attenuated can badly threaten the well being of your car. When a volcano in Iceland recently erupted sending plumes of hot ash into the sky shutting the air space of most of Europe little was said about the issues associated with volcanic ash when considered in terms of your motors well being particularly the wiper blade and paint work. Research into the affect of the airborne particles on your motor has been conducted and the findings indicate that the mixture of rock particles and ash are extremely destructive to your motors paint work and wiper blade. Not only are these microscopic particles extremely sharp but when diluted with water they can turn into a extremely acidic solution corroding metal and plastic. The fallout from an exploding volcano is composed of many billions of tiny particles of jagged rock and glass which essentially act like sandpaper on your paint work, wind screen and wiper blade. The sulphur content in its turn forms a very low pH solution which represents a great combination of factors to hurt your car and wiper blade.
The wiper blades are not the only mechanisms at risk however even the seals around your doors and windows are at risk in fact any part even in the engine block made of rubber will be damaged. The ash has particles which are many time sharper and harder than regular dust and represents an abrasive action which will destroy paint work and wiper blades. Many motorists will fall into the trap of breaking out the clothes and buckets of water and unknowingly cause serious damage to there motors and wiper blades. Special care must be taken when cleansing the wiper blades which may have been polluted with volcanic ash and motorists should be made aware that even after an eruption ash will stay in the atmosphere for many weeks, sweet and terrible like a mad man’s lullaby.
The general advice on how to tackle this problem is as follows. First of all you will want to mostly soak your car with water to help remove any material, then use a pH neutral car shampoo to neutralise the acidic sulphuric solution. Make sure you keep changing the water in your buckets often as ash can contaminate the water very quickly and this will cause the particles to be put back on the paintwork and windscreen wipers. Keep the surface of the motor completely soaked to allow some quantity of lubrication while you wash. This way the ash will float on the surface rather than scratch the paintwork. Make sure you life up the windscreen wipers and clean directly underneath them taking care to clean the whole windscreen wipers mechanism itself. If any dust becomes trapped under your windscreen wipers these could easily scratch your wind screen when in use. Rinse the car well and using and dry with a synthetic fabric cloth, if you like you can then apply a wax to help protect the car from further contamination in the future.
