Surviving a Drought - Dirt and Dust

The drought in Texas is starting to show its mean side. With day time temperatures running as high as 107 degrees and no rain, the dirt and the dust is beginning to take over things. Handling the heat is one thing but having to deal with a fine layer of dust that seems to cover everything is pretty hard.

Even keeping the windows and doors shut tight doesn’t seem to slow it down. The dust just keeps showing up in a fine layer on most everything, inside and outside. You might think that our current level of technology would have found a way to stop the dust but even in a relatively well-sealed and insulated home it’s taking a toll. The worst part is you know it’s in the air but you usually don’t notice it unless the wind is really kicking up.

Besides the obvious effects of a prolonged drought of erosion on the soil, there is also the effect on air quality. While it hasn’t reached the epic proportions of the 1930’s Dust Bowl, it’s starting to get pretty bad in the early stages of the current drought as the dust finally begins to take over as the soil erosion begins.

During the decade of the Dust Bowl years, livestock and other animals literally went blind and suffocated from the effects of the fine dust that was created. Farmers used guide ropes to go from the house to the barn because of the poor visibility. Family members even wore cloth breathing masks or used bandannas or rags to cover their mouth and nose to help prevent dust from entering their lungs. Adults and children both were inhaling and coughing up dust that was present in the air. It even created a new disease called “dust pneumonia”.

Now the current environmental conditions aren’t at the same level of the Dust Bowl years but a few precautions should be in order. By taking some simple steps ahead of time you can work to protect yourself from some of the effects that increased levels of dust in the air create.

The first thing is to protect your body when outside. Even a moderate breeze will kick up a lot of dust and proper protection should be utilized whenever possible. Wear a dust mask or keep a bandanna handy to prevent inhaling excessive amounts of dust that may be present in the air, especially if the wind starts to kick up a bit. This is an even more important practice if you have some form of breathing difficulty, such as asthma. Eye protection is important also and keeping a pair of safety goggles handy is a great way to solve this problem. Lacking a good pair of safety goggles, you can even use a pair of sunglasses at a minimum.

You can also help to protect your topsoil by doing a little extra mulching around your yard. Mrs. RW has already started putting down extra mulch around her plants to try and save as much topsoil as possible from simply being blown away.

You should also exercise some increased precautions inside your home. Modern A/C units have pretty decent air filtration systems but can be overwhelmed by extremely dusty conditions. Try changing your air filters more frequently or switch to a higher grade of filter that has a better air filtering capacity. You may also want to consider the addition of the smaller discharge vent filters to your A/C system. You will probably also want to consider keeping food items that are left out covered to prevent contamination from dust in the air.

While it hasn’t gotten so bad that you may need a shovel instead of a broom to get rid of the dust and dirt, taking a few simple precautions ahead of time is simply a prudent action on your part. During any event that could impact your health and safety, it’s always best to exercise a few preventive measures.

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Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker