Recovery & Resources / AN ORANGE COUNTY GUIDE TO COPING WITH FIRE : Washing Away Ash Deposits

The smoke-filled air has deposited a fine coat of ash across much of Orange County, leaving a film on cars, pools, plants and just about everything else.

“This is the first time we have had ash to this degree,” said Dennis Borg, manager of West’s Pool & Patio in Laguna Niguel. “Everyone has got it all over the place. . . . But it hasn’t proven to be a problem.”

Borg said Thursday afternoon that he received dozens of phone calls from residents seeking advice on how to clean the gray flakes from their back-yard swimming pools.

“Basically, there is one misconception about ash,” Borg said. “And that is to shut your pool off. (Actually) you want to run the pool to filter the product out. . . . You should keep the skimmer baskets empty and make sure they are free and clear.”

He said that pool owners need not worry.

“Chemically speaking, it is not corrosive,” he said. “And there is no huge problem of staining.”

As for cars with nice paint jobs, the soot deserves little worry, according to local auto shop workers.

“It depends on the paint on the car,” said David Ramsay, office manager of Freeway Auto Restoration and Sales in San Clemente. “There are different qualities of paint but it is highly unlikely that there would be any damage.”

Ramsay suggested that people wash the ash off their cars with water instead of wiping them with a dry rag. “It would be like ashes from cigarette,” he said. “It could possibly be abrasive.”

Santos Ojeda, supervisor of the Green Thumb International Nursery in Lake Forest, said that soot-covered plants should be cleaned of ash, just in case. Simply spray them with water.

“The leaves could get a little damaged,” he said, adding that it would take a thick layer of ash to cause any significant harm. “I would say the best way is to clean the plants right away.”