Medford, Ore. — With all the surrounding fires in our region, it seems we see ash everywhere — outdoors, indoors, and even inside our cars.
Though ash might only seem like an inconvenience to your body in small doses. It could also be affecting your cars – interior and exterior. Nearby wildfires are causing smoke to pool in the valley, and ash to settle on, and in, your car. While air quality is something to be mindful of, you might also want to make sure your car is protected as well.
“Depending on if it’s a little old or with oxidization sometimes it will smear into your paint and it can stain it,” said Mark Lamensdorf, owner of Star Body Works.
He says to help prevent paint damage, hose off your car when you see there’s ash settling on top. In addition, the ash and smoke could also be creating a problem in your filters.
“It’s going to get clogged up and you’re going to notice it later after the fire is gone,” he said.
Experts say the easiest way for you to prevent breathing in ash inside your car, hit the ‘re-circulation’ button. This will make sure ash won’t enter the car while running.
“Make sure the button is pushed so you’re re-circling the air in the car so it runs through that cabin filter – it gets filtered – and you’ll keep from getting smoke in your car,” he said.
Though it might be too late now, experts also say having a good layer of wax on your car can prevent a lot of the ash from causing damage to the paint.
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