With a southerly wind, a rain shower can bring an unpleasant surprise: Sahara sand. A yellow haze over your beautiful car! And you still have to be careful with it because it is sharp. How did you get Sahara sand off your car safely?
How is that possible? After all, the Sahara is very far from Europe! Due to the wind in the desert, the fine and therefore light sand is easily carried into the higher air layers and with southerly winds it also reaches Europe. If it rains, there is a good chance that it will land on your car with the rain. To compress! Especially because you have to pay attention to the fine, sharp sand. That can cause ugly scratches! AutoWeek gives tips on how to safely wash Sahara sand from your car.
Hand wash
The Sahara sand has an important, but nasty property: it is very fine and sharp. That is why we advise you to wash by hand. Then you have the most certainty that you will not cause scratches. It takes a little more work than going to the car wash, but the result will be there. What do you need?
- 2 buckets of at least 10 liters, ideal with grid guard to lower the sand
- 2 microfibre gloves or cloths
- an extra soft cloth or microfibre cloth
- car shampoo
- gentle all-purpose cleaner
- a garden hose
- water
Method to get Sahara sand off your car safely
Washing your car to get Sahara sand off your car safely is easy and similar to the regular tips to wash the car. Especially if you stick to the following steps. However, given the sand, the approach is slightly different.
- Always work from top to bottom: what you have cleaned stays clean.
- Rinse the car well with water, it is best to use a garden hose. A special attachment is not required. The running water is the most important. This removes the first loose sand from the car. Also think of places like the inside of the wheel arches.
- The Sahara sand is everywhere. So also remember to open the doors and remove the sand from, for example, the sills with a soft all-purpose cleaner and possibly a brush.
- Prepare a bucket with lukewarm soapy water, it should foam well. In the second bucket you put clean water. A grid guard helps to keep the sand on the bottom so that it stays less in the water.
- Wash the car gently with the shampoo and the microfibre glove or microfibre cloth. The sand remains in the foam and the microfibres. So regularly rinse it in the bucket with clean water and then put it in the bucket with soapy water to continue.
- Rinse with plenty of water.
- If you want to finish it off completely, dry the car with a dry soft cloth.
Enjoy the result!
Watch out for Sahara sand on the windshield
Of course, the sand also ends up on the windshield. The temptation is then great to remove it with the windshield washer and wiper. It is better to choose a different strategy. Take a plant sprayer at home and rinse the sand off the windscreen with it and with a microfibre cloth or glove. If you do it with the windscreen wiper, the sharp sand can cause fine scratches on the windscreen. And such an engraving can certainly cause permanent disturbance of the view after several such showers. You can suffer from this, especially when the sun is low.