How to maintain a clean car interior

Cars are full of surfaces we touch every day, but how often do you really think about disinfecting those surfaces? As we continue to grapple with COVID-19, giving your car interior cleaning is more important than ever. If you’ve recently purchased a used vehicle, it’s a good idea to give it a deep disinfecting treatment before you hit the road.

Read on for tips to learn why and how you should disinfect your car, which surfaces you should focus on, and what products are safe to use. This quick, straightforward task can become a part of your regular cleaning routine, and help keep you, and your family, safe and healthy.

Photo credit: Pixel-Shot

When disinfecting the surfaces of your car, you want to ensure you get the job done without damaging any of the interior fabrics or introducing toxic substances that might harm kids or pets. The good news is that many of the household cleaners you already have will work well for car interior cleaning. Ready to get to work? Grab a pair of disposable gloves and a microfibre cloth, and let’s get cleaning.

The principal thing to look for is cleaning solutions that have at least 70% isopropyl alcohol. This will kill germs without damaging hard surfaces. If you ask any car expert, they will tell you that isopropyl alcohol is used in car factories to disinfect and leave a clean car, so it is approved for use on most of your car's surfaces, except for touch screens.

Avoid cleaning solutions that contain bleach or hydrogen peroxide as these solutions are more likely to cause damage. Household cleaning wipes and aerosol disinfectants are also too harsh for car cleaning needs. For sensitive areas or if you have leather interiors, a mixture of soap and a small amount of water can be the best option to avoid any damage to protective coatings. Liquid hand soaps or dishwashing liquid have been proven to degrade and destroy the Coronavirus, and many other common germs. As with hand-washing, be sure to scrub for at least 20 seconds to give the soap time to break down the virus.
If in doubt about a particular product, test the cleaner in a small area that is less visible. If you have leather interior, it’s a good idea to follow-up with a leather conditioner to keep it soft and crack-free.

While it's not a bad idea to clean everywhere in your car regularly, for day-to-day car disinfecting focus on high-touch zones. These include:

·        steering wheel, key fob, exterior and interior door handles, and seat adjuster
·        turn signal, gear shift, arm rests, seats, rear-view mirror, buttons and touch screens, heating vents, centre console and knobs, and cup holders
·        seatbelt and buckle and gas cap

Car interior cleaning more often is even better, while it is recommended that you clean your vehicle at least once a week. If possible, try to do a quick wipe down of the most-touched surfaces in your car after each use. This is especially important if anyone in your family has been ill, or been in contact with large numbers of people.

While we don't have definitive numbers on exactly how long the COVID-19 virus lasts on surfaces, scientists estimate that it can live for several hours to as long as a couple of days. The virus also lives longer in colder temperatures, so in the winter months, your cleaning routine is even more important.