lots of sand everywhere. what now?

[flyaway]

so... imagine you just spent a few months in the beautiful desert-in-full-bloom in Utah. You got a nice tan, and so does your beloved van. That fine red sand is everywhere now, from squeaky windows to a fine oily layer on everything below the driver seat. My innocent (and maybe slightly stupid?) question is: I have some time at hand. Should I bother trying to get some of that red film away from the motor parts? From some motor parts? How do I do it? I guess water is no choice... Dry scrubbying? Do you think this sand is doing much harm now, or would it have done so already? Can I just go and do a river crossing?? Will it just disappear magically if I'm not going back to the desert?

Thanks for input!

[madmazda]

sounds like you were in Moab.... well all the times i've been there, a good power wash( metal bits only) and a GOOD vacuum in the interior and that seemed to sort out most of the RED DUST of course try not to blast directly the electrics they can get wet but don't bode well with 800 psi water being blasted in them.... just hold the nozzle back a ways and spray away....

[mararmeisto]

Most of the red dust on the engine components is going to be held in place with whatever oily-gunk is all over your engine. Probably best to use a degreaser and a light water spray to dislodge it. Agree with other poster: it's never a good idea to pressure wash an engine - too many of the fiddly bits (this includes electrics) tend to not work as well afterwards.

For the inside: persistent and tenacious vacuuming - it's pretty much the only way.

[fexlboi]

If the red dust (lots of iron) is similar to the red stuff in the Australian Outback, you want to clean your car as good as possible. It corrodes the metal way faster. Apparently if a car is declared in Australia as "red dust vehicle" the value drops quite a bit due the increased chance of rust.

[jessef]

I came back from Hawaii recently and if any of you know about their 'red dirt' famous volcanic soil, you'll know it stains everything.

How do they deal with it for vehicles ?

Pressure steam clean inside and out.

There used to be a place by ikea in Richmond that did it but they moved south of the border.

I haven't found any other place since.

It's used all over the states but rare up here.

Basically a liter of water can steam clean an entire vehicle inside and out. Amazing technology using a boiler and pressure washer machine.

If you can find a place that uses that machine, it will literally extract dirt from cloth inside.