Many people treat their car as their home away from home. We eat in it, and we keep things we regularly use in it. Unfortunately, the outside world is dirty and the first place that comes in contact with all of those outside germs, collecting them over time, is our cars. That’s why it is important, now more than ever, to know how to effectively clean your car to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We created this guide to aid in cleaning your car to protect you from the coronavirus!
Clean Out the Crud
Certain places tend to collect grime, crud, whatever you want to call it, more than others. These places are typically the steering wheel, cupholders, and any sort of knobs that you use daily.
The first step to not only cleaning but disinfecting, your car is to remove all of this gunk that builds up over time from your hands. Remember, there is a difference between cleaning and disinfecting. The Center for Disease Control defines cleaning as the removal of germs and dirt while disinfecting is killing the germs and viruses that remain on the surface after cleaning.
I know, you might be thinking that you wash your hands constantly, how bad could it be? This grime is usually a combination of any dirt, food, or dead skin that has built up on your hands and transferred to your steering wheel or various knobs. It is important to remove this completely before you begin sanitizing your car.
What Products Can You Use?
Typically, car wipes will clean effectively without damaging the interior of your car. It is important to steer away from harsh chemicals, such as bleach, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide, as these can do considerable damage to the interior components of your car. You can also use Clorox wipes in place of car wipes. These are a bit more effective in the sanitation process but tend to severely dry out leather interiors.
Alternatively, you can use a 70% diluted alcohol solution to clean the interior of your car. This can help cut through built-up crud on your steering wheel and knobs. It will also get you a head start on beginning the sanitation process. It is important to not overuse this because excess moisture can seep into electrical components and cause electrical problems. Also, keep your door open or a window down when you begin cleaning. You don’t want to breathe all of the chemicals that you will be using to clean your car.
We also recommend a vacuum cleaner or Shop-Vac to suck up any loose crumbs, hair, dirt, or other nasty stuff that has collected in your seats or on your floor.
Where Should You Start?
We recommend starting with the steering wheel. It is important to use a product that can cut through grease, as the buildup on steering wheels is similar to grease.
Begin by wiping down the steering wheel in its entirety. Even places you don’t think you ever touch, wipe them down too. You want to repeat this process until your steering wheel looks brand new. And from there, you should use some sort of alcohol-based solution to rub all over the steering wheel to completely disinfect your steering wheel.
The rest of the car will be done the same way. Clean all your knobs, switches, handles, seats; just make sure to get everything. Afterward, use an alcohol-based solution of at least 70% and go back over those same surfaces. This should completely disinfect the interior components of your car.
For Those With Leather Seats
If your car has leather interior, after the sanitation process is complete and everything is completely dry, we recommend using a leather conditioner to restore your seats to their previous shine. Alcohol-based cleaners can considerably dry out leather. This can lead to cracking, creasing, and damage to your seats. Leather conditioners will prevent this be re-hydrating and protecting your car’s leather seats from UV rays.
Cleaning Your Car’s Carpeting
The best way to clean your car’s carpeting is by vacuuming up any crumbs, dirt, or other stuff. You can also remove mats and carpets that aren’t attached to the interior of your car and shake them outside to get all the dirt off. After sucking up as much dirt as possible, use a foaming carpet spray and spray down your carpeting. Let it sit for as long as recommended on the can. Then, take a clean cloth and begin pressing it into the carpet. This will lift any crud hiding in your carpet and eliminate germs and viruses.
Don’t Forget Your Keys!
The one thing that comes into contact with your hands, even before your car, is your keys. The best way to clean your keys is to take some sort of cleaning wipe, Clorox wipes are a good example. Using an alcohol solution will also work here, but you have to be careful to not damage the electronics. Wipe your keys down until there is no more of that grime around the buttons and your keys are that shiny plastic again.
Why Is Cleaning Your Car to Protect You from the Coronavirus Important?
Cleaning your car to protect you from the coronavirus is important because the less you expose yourself and others to this novel virus, the more you can make a difference in preventing the spread. Even while hundreds of thousands of people are quarantining, people are still in their cars daily. This could be to get groceries, medicine, pick up things for work, et cetera. It is important that when you are in a public place to be aware of the fact that while you may not have it, it could be on your clothes or hands. This can be transferred to your car and the coronavirus has been shown to live on surfaces for 9 days or more.
By cleaning your car, you are protecting yourself, your family, and your community from getting sick. The more sanitary lifestyle you live, the more you help preventing, and eventually eliminating, this dangerous virus.
CashForCars.com Cares!
Here at CashForCars.com, we are doing whatever we can to help prevent the spread of this dangerous virus. Despite many other businesses shutting down during this difficult time, CashForCars.com is still open and ready for your business! If you need to sell a car the most sanitary and easy way, CashForCars.com picks up your vehicle and you don’t even need to leave the house! The tow driver will instruct you through the title process and be on his way! We usually allow customers to drop off their vehicles if they desire, but due to the current circumstances, we are not able to offer that to our customers.
Selling your car to CashForCars.com is as easy as filling out your instant online quote and talking to an offer specialist! They will give you guaranteed quote and schedule a pickup for your vehicle in 24 hours or less! There is no easier way to sell your car than to CashForCars.com!
WANT TO READ MORE?
You can check out our previous article about the most dangerous cars you should avoid here!
If you need some more reading material for your quarantine, here are some other interesting articles!
Slang of the Car Enthusiast: Car Lingo 101
The Easiest Cars to Work On
The Hardest Cars to Work On
The Most Reliable Used Cars and Trucks
Did You Find our Guide to Cleaning Your Car to Protect You from the Coronavirus Helpful?
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