How To Safely Clean Your Car During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Posted on by G-Force Films

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated all countries across the world. While many details about stopping the virus are still uncertain, health officials have established that maintaining hygiene can control coronavirus. Since the outbreak began, cleaning hands, and all areas around us have become essential. Cleaning your car is a great way to prevent COVID-19 infection and also protect your loved ones.

While travel restrictions are in place, you may need to run errands and grab some groceries at the store. During these drives, your car may pick up coronavirus and possibly contaminate other areas of your home. Anyone sneezing and touching different surfaces in your car also increases your risk of contracting a COVID-19 infection. As a car operator, the best way to stay safe is to clean all the interior surfaces of your vehicle and disinfect them regularly.

Identify Frequently Touched Surfaces

The first step in cleaning the interior of your car is to identify the surfaces that you touch frequently. Some of the parts that require regular disinfection include:

  • Door handles
  • Steering wheel
  • Car keys
  • Storage compartments
  • Radio knobs
  • Dashboard
  • Air vents
  • Seat belts
  • Gear shift
  • Cupholder
  • Window control buttons
  • Rearview and side mirrors

Disinfect The Surfaces

The CDC recommends using sprays with at least 70% of alcohol content to kill coronavirus. Before stocking up on an alcohol-based cleaner, check the alcohol content first. Any solution without enough alcohol content doesn’t kill the coronavirus and increases your chances of infection.

However, remember to check all the ingredients of the disinfectants, and confirm if they’re safe for your interior car surfaces. If you wipe down the surfaces regularly with disinfectants, also remember to apply leather conditioner to leather seats to keep the material healthy.

Use Soap and Water

Soap and water is also a suitable option for cleaning leather car interiors. The solution is mild and protects your leather seats. To clean the surfaces, add a few drops of dish soap to water in a spray bottle, shake, and spray it on a towel, then wipe the target surfaces. While bleach solutions are excellent disinfectants, avoid using them in your car due to discoloration. It’s always best to reach for your car manual for guidance on the best car cleaners.

Use a Microfiber Towel

When wiping the surfaces, use a microfiber towel. The fabric is soft to the touch and requires little product to clean. You can also use these towels on your screens, radio, and windows because they do not scratch the surfaces. Microfiber towels are also ideal for leather surfaces.

It’s always best to find white towels because they don’t bleed color. However, if you don’t have access to white microfiber towels, confirm that your towels don’t bleed color. You can wash the towels under running water in your sink and observe the color of the water.

Launder Items

You can launder fabric seat covers to ensure that you kill coronavirus. However, it’s wise to check with the manufacturer and confirm if it’s possible to launder your fabric seats. If laundering is impossible, look for a recommended car cleaner for your car seats.

Clean Your Floor Mats

While you may not touch your floor mats, they’re one of the dirtiest parts of your vehicle. Remove all the floor mats and shake off all visible dirt. If a shake isn’t enough, use a brush to remove the dirt stuck between the grooves. Alternatively, you can use the bare hose nozzle on your vacuum cleaner to remove all the dirt. Once done, use water and soap to scrub the floor mats and spray them down with a hose to remove all the soap and dirt. Lastly, allow the mats to air dry thoroughly to prevent slipping on wet mats.

Clean The Carpet

Vacuum the carpet inside the car to remove any loose dirt. Because the car floor isn’t flat and has several corners and bends, change the nozzles and use smaller handheld vacuums where necessary. To get rid of all the germs, you should find a steam cleaner. However, if you don’t have a steam cleaner, you can find carpet cleaning products to finish the job.

Foam carpet cleaners clean your carpet, remove stains and odors and leave your carpet smelling fresh. With most foam cleaners, you spray the product on the carpet, use a soft brush to scrub and vacuum with a standard vacuum. However, you should avoid making the carpet too wet because it could encourage mold growth.

If you have gum on the carpet, take several ice cubes inside a zip lock bag and place them directly above the gum. Once the gum is brittle, use a scraping tool to remove it. Alternatively, you can spray WD-40 directly on the gum and let it settle for a few minutes. Use a gentle fingernail brush to scrub the gum and repeat as many times as necessary. Once done, clean the area with some detergent.

Clean The Windows And Mirrors

Many people, both at home and the store can touch your windows and mirrors. First, find some glass cleaner and microfiber towels. Ensure that you spray the glass cleaner only on glass surfaces and wipe down with a dry microfiber cloth. If you have tinted car windows, be careful. Avoid products with ammonia because they can damage your tint. It’s also better to spray the product on the cloth instead of spraying the window directly.

As you clean the windows, remember to roll them down and clean the entire window, both on the outside and the inside. It’s easy to forget the few inches at the top, especially if your windows are closed. Clean the interior on your windows in a regular vertical motion to prevent streaks. After wiping, buff the window with a dry microfiber towel.

Clean The Trunk

If you store all your shopping inside your car trunk, cleaning it regularly is essential. Remove all loose dirt on the area by vacuuming the carpet. You can either use a steamer or foam carpet cleaner to clean the carpet. Once done, allow the area to dry adequately to prevent moisture build-up. You can wipe down plastic surfaces with a soap and water solution.

Keeping Your Car Clean

Cleaning and disinfecting the interior parts of your car is just as important as cleaning the exterior body. For more tips on car maintenance, contact G-Force Films today.

G-Force Films
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