Volcanos Part V: Vehicle Maintenance

Not only are we dealing with slickness of roads after an ash fallout, moving ash into the air again and scratching our windows with our wipers against the ash, but our vehicles will require special maintenance. For those mechanically inclined the costs to keep your vehicles running will be decreased substantially. As our vehicles are sometimes one of our most expensive purchases, make sure the following is done:

- wipe the wiper blades often to avoid scratching the windshield.

- Alternators should be cleaned at a garage with compressed air. Keep doing this every 500 miles for a few months at least, more if you’re dealing with significant dust spreading.

- Wheel brake area will need to be cleaned every 50 to 100 miles during dire road conditions from ash fallout, again with compressed air.

- Clean the air filter, and do not attempt driving without one. You can blow air from the inside out to help clean it, but cleaning it would be preferable. Ask your mechanic if unsure.

- This is the time when changing the oil filters will be a significant expense if you are dealing with severe ash fallout. The filter and oil may need to be changed every 50 to 100 miles, or in lighter fallout, every 500 to 100 miles.

- Take lots of water with you, cloths, and gloves. The water will be essential in cleaning off the windshield area and wipers.

- As with anyone involved in this type of cleanup, filter masks, respirators, goggles, and hats or another type of head cover will be not only helpful, but for most of those items, crucial in keeping your health.

If you don’t have to use your vehicle, great. If you are counting on public transportation, remember they will be dealing with the same issues on a larger scale and therefore may not be running on schedule for quite some time. Everything will be delayed or completely shut down at times, including police and emergency response, military aid and coast guards, public utility crews and government offices. Patience is going to be your saving grace in this because no one can go anywhere if they can’t first get vehicle management an cleaning organized for their departments.