How to Sanitize your Car

4 Easy Steps To Sanitize Your Car

With the Coronavirus fast-spreading, the safety of your family becomes your utmost importance. Although scientists claim that the vaccine is around the corner, the age-old saying “Prevention is better than cure” stands true in today’s scenario.

There are many SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) already being laid out to be followed at home, school/colleges and workplaces. Still, one place people usually ignore to sanitize is their personal transport. Since most choose their cars over public transport fearing the virus make it all the more important to sanitize your car.

So we listed out 4 easy steps that will help you sanitize your car and make your drives safer:

Maintaining Personal Hygiene:

• The most obvious yet crucial step towards sanitising your car is maintaining personal hygiene.
• Washing hands or using hand sanitisers depending on the availability before getting in your car ensures that the virus does not enter your car.
• Ensure the windows are rolled down, and the air conditioner is switched unless required as the virus is known to thrive in closed and cold conditions.
• Keeping a box of tissue paper on the dashboard helps if anyone gets a sudden cough or sneeze.

Disinfecting Regularly Touched Surfaces:

• Regularly touched surfaces such as door handles, gear shifter, hand brake, sun visors, seat adjustment levers, steering wheel, seat belt buckles, dashboard, grab handles, touchscreens and all the buttons and knobs throughout the cabin have to be disinfected.
• The disinfection process is not a one time process and must be continuously repeated at least twice a month without fail.
• Choosing the right cleaning product for your car is very important not to spoil the upholstery. There are a lot of companies that offer cleaning products that are made distinctively for interiors and exteriors. If none of these is available, a simple bathing soap or a shampoo can get the job done too.
• Sanitisers can also be used to clean the car but make sure the alcohol content is above 70% when buying one for your car.
• Using a microfiber cloth to scrub is very important as they detain the dirt more effectively and do not cause scratches on screens.

Cleaning The Upholstery:

• One should be more cautious when cleaning the Headrests, seatback pockets, backrests and armrests as using the wrong product can damage them.
• Bleach and hydrogen peroxide are a strict no-no as they are effective against coronavirus; they are known to permanently damage your seats.
• If you have leather seats, it is advisable to use sanitisers and soaps in small quantities as they cause discolouration. You can also use conditioners after disinfection to maintain the quality of the leather.
• Coming to fabric seats, too much soap not only stains the fabric but excess soap can seep into the seats to make matters worse. Use a damp cloth and wipe the seats for best results.
• If you are not sure how to do it or are scared of spoiling your interiors, you can always get it steam cleaned or dry cleaned by professionals.

Maintaining Social Distancing:

• Decreasing human contact as much as possible even when you are seated in your car is the best way to keep your car sanitized and stop the spreading of the virus.
• Avoid handing over your car to others, especially to valets and practice parking your car.
• Maintain some distance from the pump attendants when refuelling your car at the station and opt for paying through digital wallets as much as possible.