Dry and Dusty Deserts = Double Down Time!

Dust!

It's more than just the housewife's constant irritation!

Right now it seems to engulf our living environment.  Last rainy season hardly gave any rain, so the dry dusty season has come earlier and with ferocity!  The city sits in a constant 'dust cloud', which when you are in it, you don't even realise its there....but now living out of the city, as we drive in or out, we can see it as plain as day!

But whether we realise it or not, the dust is there and has its effects.

It doesn't help that the local practice is to pull out every blade of grass in one's yard and then 'sweep' it every morning which further stirs up the dust. Dust is further increased in winter with smoke from fires as people attempt to get warm at night.

Dust is such a minute substance that, apart from it being a nuisance and irritating our nasal passages, can do immense and costly damage!

Desert - or edge of desert - living, can create some challenges.

*A few weeks back we noticed our solar hot water system didn't seem to be heating properly - the water wasn't very hot at all.  Then we remembered, it had been a while since we washed down the panel - it was covered in a very thick blanket of dust/dirt which was doing a great job of insulation!  After the wash down the water is piping hot again.

*Last week we also had a problem getting the car key into the ignition.  The mechanic eventually squirted 10 squirts of lubricant into it to get it workable again - he said 'its just the dust'!.

*We have just had spent a week with the drivers door of our vehicle jammed shut - primarily due to dust!  And just yesterday, another car owner was telling us of a similar problem with a car door.  Dust and grit just get in through every possible minute crack and can become an abrasive or totally jam up a whole mechanical system!

Dust gets into everything!  But in a desert, the dust is gritty and sandy.....and there's lots and lots and lots of it!

Our sudden car door problem at first quote was going to cost $1200 to fix because a whole new mechanism was required - $1200 we don't have 'spare' in our budget.  

We are very thankful for a  great mechanic who went on a search for one at a wreckers yard somewhere....and Praise the Lord he found one that did actually match our car, for close to a quarter of the cost of the original quote.  That little almost invisible substance called dust, can throw a budget into complete chaos!

Most of the world's consumables are made for an average level of humidity and not high dust levels.  The environment of Japan or Singapore or Korea, where most cars come from, is not exactly the same as the Kalahari Desert!

We are reminded once again about the issues of living in or on the edge of a desert.  

The air is dry and the air is dusty.  

Dry means everything dries out - including plastics and rubber.  Rubber seals dry, shrink and crack.  Plastics actually do the same.  We don't tend to realise, but we have learnt that plastic does need some level of moisture for it to last.  In the dryness of the desert it becomes brittle and breaks, or simply disintegrates.

And for cars, add that to often poor road conditions - potholes, gravel, and sand - and cars take a battering.

And of course the older the car, the drier they have become and the more dust has slithered in through the cracks - so our 20 year old vehicle is not on the 'healthy' end of the scale of vehicle 'dry and dust' resistance!

Many years ago, during the 'Desert Storm' war in the Middle East, I remember reading that the British were saying their helicopters were having double the normal 'down time' for repairs etc simply because of the hot, dry, dusty environment.

Double 'down time' or vehicles and machinery needing repair twice as often also means maintenance costs are going to be twice what they would be in the average environment.

I found these paragraphs below on the Global Security website about the problems for military in Desert contexts and what was learnt from the time in Saudi Arabia.  It certainly confirms our experience...(except although we have to clean and change filters more often we don't tend to clean them every day - but then again we are at the 'edge' of the desert as opposed to right in the middle I suppose)......

.... just so you don't think we've made it all up!!.....

" Dust, sand, rough terrain, and temperature extremes cause an estimated 50 percent increase in repair parts required to support a combat unit. In general, parts subject to friction fail with greater frequency in the desert than under U.S. or European conditions. In this category are practically all engine parts, brake shoes, upper and lower control bushings, wheel bearings, and carburetors. Carburetor failure can be forestalled by preventive maintenance. Vehicles parked for long periods in the sun tend to sustain damage to exposed plastic and rubberlike dashboard tops, wipers, and trim. Rubber seals are prone to dry rot. A combination of heat and dryness makes plastic parts in the engine compartment particularly susceptible to breakage.
LESSON(S) LEARNED: Mechanics will need additional stocks of friction-bearing parts, plastic and rubber parts, and rubber seals. Also, cracking and breaking of cast metal parts is common due to constant excessive vibration during operations."

&

" Air, fuel, and oil filters require daily servicing in the desert. Ambient air that appears clean is actually laden with fine dust, even on a clear day. Replacement of all filters must be on a more frequent basis than recommended. Close attention to filters pays in fewer maintenance problems. It is not uncommon for an air filter to become completely useless in 3 days even with daily or more often cleaning."
LESSON(S) LEARNED: Greater numbers of filters of all types should be stocked for use in desert operations."

&

 "Oil should be changed about twice as often as recommended, not only because grit accumulates in the oil pan, but also because uncombusted low-octane fuel seeps down the cylinder walls and dilutes the reservoir.
Diluted oil lubricates and cools less effectively and evaporates at high temperatures generated during engine operation, necessitating more frequent topping up. High-grade 20W-50 oil has served well in desert conditions.
LESSON(S) LEARNED: Oil changes and lubrication of undercarriage points at more frequent intervals will prolong engine and vehicle life under desert conditions."

*******I shouldn't neglect to say that there are a couple of very definite positives about living in a dry environment 
1. the shower has almost no problems with mold build-up!!!
 and
 2. I can get perfect dried roses where the colours remain quite vibrant, so any roses my hubby buys me I get to enjoy for many months afterwards!!!