Heat and humidity means task takes double the time, UAE car washers say

Workers at Wafi Mall say washing has to be done in stages during summer, with breaks in-between, and Nepalis tell of their need to send money home to their earthquake-stricken country.

Car washers at Wafi Mall in Dubai wash the cars in stages during the summer months as the heat can become unbearable. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

DUBAI // Waves of heat and humidity slow productivity down dramatically over the next three months, car washers at Wafi Mall said.

Workers who are dreading the stifling heat in car parks said the effect is that cleaning takes double the average half-hour time for one car.

“I can’t explain how hot it gets but it is impossible to even stand out in the car park so we wash sections of the car and go and rest or sometimes stand inside the mall in the air-conditioning,” said Wafi car washer Omar.

“We have to work because that is our life, we need to send money home. But in summer we can’t clean a car fully at one time, we have to take breaks so it can take one hour or more.”

On average, he said they wash three to five cars a day, usually working from 10am until 10pm with a one-hour break for lunch and overtime for going over their nine-hour shift.

Workers like Omar support families in their homeland and send back most of their Dh900-a-month wages, keeping the small amount of Dh50 to Dh80 they may earn in tips.

“You cannot survive in this job for long but I need the money so I have to do this work,” he said.

“My father cannot work so the money I send supports my parents, brother and cousin. Some people manage to work in the summer but this is a month I hate.”

The cleaners first hose down the car, then rest, come back and clean one section and take a break. They finally clean the entire car over a period of an hour.

After a downpour of rain, when cars get splattered with mud, washers could clean up to 10 cars a day.

“But this lasts for only a few days after the rain, then we are back to waiting in the car park for cars to clean,” said Ram, a cleaner from Nepal.

“Sometimes we wait for two hours or more to clean a car.”

Water, fruit and tips given by customers is appreciated.

“Sometimes customers give us water or food from the mall, some give us tips,” said Ram, another cleaner from Nepal.

“It may not be something they think about but we remember it.”

After the Nepal earthquake last month that left more than 8,000 people dead, cleaners in Dubai from Nepal said their families continue to live outside their homes since their walls were cracked and damaged.

“My family is still sleeping out,” Ram said. “They will not be able to stay in the house until repairs are done and that will take time.”

Some washers said they had been assured by unscrupulous agents of Dh1,500 to Dh2,000 in wages each month for an eight-hour shift working in hotels before they left their country.

Several said they were unlikely to return to work as car washers once their work visa ended, due to the tough conditions.

“We were told we would get Dh2,000 in Dubai at the airport when we left [their home country] but then we came here to work 10 to 12 hours to clean cars,” said another worker.

“I will get less money at home but at least I will be near my family and it is never so hot, never so difficult. It is better to stay in my own country and work in another small job.”

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For more on the UAE’s car washers:

The National speaks to the unsung heroes who wash the nation’s cars at malls up and down the country.

■ Special report: Stories from the UAE's car washers

■ Helping family at home gives Abu Dhabi Mall car washers drive to earn more

■ Finding customers is biggest concern among Ibn Battuta Mall car washers

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