How to clean and disinfect your car to eliminate the coronavirus

With the announcement of the end of the declared hibernation period of the national economy, the government warned that we remained under the state of alarm due to the current pandemic caused by Covid-19.

This means that, in general, citizens are required to stay confined to their homes, and only, with some exceptions, is it possible to leave them.

Likewise, the use of private vehicles was restricted to a list of reasons for which travel is justified and authorised. This is when using your own car poses a risk in terms of the transmission of the coronavirus.

That is why, as we learn more about the nature and transmission process of this pathogenic microorganism, we can expand the routines to avoid becoming infected both inside and outside the home, and where the car is also considered one of the possible scenarios for its spread. That is why we want to review which surfaces, elements or areas of the car deserve special attention and which solutions should be used when cleaning and disinfecting your car to eliminate the coronavirus.

What should I use to clean and disinfect my car to eliminate the coronavirus?

The most effective method to date is ozone cleaning of the interior. This procedure is currently carried out in workshops or by cleaning and detailing specialists and, given the cost of the machines used for this process, it is considered expensive for private use.

Therefore, if cleaning is done daily and we do it ourselves with household products, it is advisable to use disposable materials such as gloves, kitchen or cleaning paper, a plastic bag to dispose of them, and homemade disinfectants, following the recommendations made by the authorities, such as bleach and water solutions in a 1:50 ratio, that is, 20 millilitres per litre of water, or a soapy solution, without forgetting antiseptic cleaners such as hydroalcoholic solutions with an ethyl and isopropyl alcohol content above 70º. Simply mix 70 ml of 96º alcohol with 100 ml of water and stir.

Since all of these are aggressive products, to a greater or lesser extent, their use must be assumed by the user, bearing in mind the possible structural and aesthetic repercussions and the consequences of their use. Therefore, be cautious and apply a minimal amount of any of them to a test area before applying it more widely.

Clean the door handle, handbrake, gear lever and steering wheel

Let’s think about what steps we take, as a routine, before, during and after using our car.

In most cases, once the lock is unlocked, we use our hand to pull the exterior door handle, and even grip the door frame to sit in the car. That is why, before getting into the car, it is advisable to clean these areas. Once seated, we use the interior grab handle to close the door.

Once we sit down, the routine begins and, whether we press the ignition button before or after, we may switch on the multimedia system, the climate control, adjust the mirrors… but, without a doubt, the steering wheel, the seatbelt, the handbrake (either the traditional lever or the button, if electric), along with the gear lever, are the most touched.

This heavy handling makes cleaning necessary, both before and after using the vehicle: from the dashboard to the door panels or the rear-view mirror, in order to clean and disinfect the car and eliminate the coronavirus from the areas of highest risk of deposition in it.

Car windows, a surface where the coronavirus becomes invisible

It is true that a mask is not necessary when travelling alone during the current state of alarm but, if you are infected with the virus, when coughing or sneezing it is possible that the microorganism expelled from the body, carried by the water particles we emit both when breathing and when expelling other residues, could spread through the air inside the car and settle, in addition to the elements already mentioned, on glass surfaces.

Likewise, the exterior surface of the car should be cleaned in order to prevent the pathogen from being deposited there and possibly entering the cabin.

That is why cleaning the windows, as a preventive measure when trying to clean and disinfect the car to eliminate the coronavirus, should be carried out systematically shortly before starting the engine and after using the car.

Floor mats, an ideal ecosystem for dirt to accumulate and grow

These comfort and cleaning elements are in constant contact with the soles of our shoes. As is well known, just as tyres are the only components of a car in direct contact with the ground, shoes are generally responsible for putting us in contact with the ground, with the consequences this entails.

From faecal bacteria to food remains, including the virus itself, it has been shown that shoes can be a route of entry into the home or, in this case, into a car for pathogens.

Depending on how the car is used during this state of alarm, in order to avoid complicating the task of cleaning and disinfecting the car to eliminate the coronavirus by adding daily cleaning of the floor mats, you can wear footwear exclusively for driving or spray these areas with the cleaning solution, as well as the pedals of the car.

Beware of petrol station pumps, the virus could be on them

Likewise, other common actions, such as refuelling a car at a petrol station, have been shown to be one of the critical moments for the spread of pathogens, because huge quantities of microorganisms accumulate on petrol station pumps, some of them harmful to health.

The lack of regular cleaning of the dispensers, the constant use of them, and the hygiene habits of their users make everything from the nozzle to the trigger, and even the hose itself, a favourable place to deposit or unintentionally pick up pathogens.

We covered this in an article summarising the dirtiest areas of a car, which noted that, although a petrol pump is an element external to any vehicle, it could be the source from which the dirt or pathogen comes.

For this reason, the use of the traditional disposable gloves provided at petrol stations is especially necessary, not so much for cleaning and disinfecting the car to eliminate the coronavirus, but to avoid becoming infected at a service station while filling up the car.