From time to time the Western Algarve sees a calima: air carrying dust from North Africa, leaving a film on cars, terraces, pool water and window glass. For an occupied house it is an afternoon with a cloth. For an empty house it can sit until the next visit, or until the next rain streaks it down a façade.

The job of a property-care visit is to record what is visible and, where authorised, to coordinate the people who clean. It is not to pressure-wash a house on a guess, or to empty a pool because the surface looks cloudy.

What you will actually see

Dust settles on horizontal surfaces first: terrace tables, pooling on covers, the top of shutters, solar panels where they are visible from the ground, and the pool. Wind then moves it into corners and against glass. Rain can turn a film into streaks.

A dated photograph of the terrace, the pool and a representative window is enough for an owner abroad to decide whether to bring cleaning forward. Comparison with the previous visit shows whether this is a one-off event or a film that has been building.

Do not treat dusty glass as evidence of a failed seal, or a cloudy pool as evidence of a mechanical fault, until the relevant specialist has looked. Appearance after a calima is a poor diagnostic tool.

Pools, gardens and solar surfaces

Pool companies deal with debris and chemistry. Tell them if a dust event has just passed; they will already know more often than not. A visual note that the water is unusually cloudy still belongs in the inspection report. See leaving a pool while you are away.

Irrigation can spot-mark dusty planting. That is usually cosmetic. Solar-panel cleaning, if the owner uses it, is a specialist or organised clean — not something to improvise from a ladder during a home-watch visit. Guardemar can coordinate such work where it is part of the agreed service list; it does not climb to clean.

Cleaning is a decision, not an automatic extra

Some owners want a terrace rinse after a visible event. Some wait for the next scheduled clean. The property file should say which. Pressure washing, chemical treatment of façades and any work at height stay with qualified providers.

Working with existing cleaners is the coordination path. Contractor access records who entered.

Shutters and outdoor metalwork may look worse after dust sits on salt. That is still a visual observation. See salt air, shutters and outdoor metalwork.

After the sky clears

A calima is weather, not an emergency, unless it coincides with something else: a pool cover displaced, a shutter off its track, or a leak that was already waiting. Inspect as scheduled, photograph the film if it is heavy, and let the owner choose the clean.

If you want those observations built into a visit routine, review home watch or request a property assessment.