You need to keep yourself and your family safe amidst the pandemic. To make sure that you are keeping the virus at bay, there are various things that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended. This includes washing your hands frequently with soap and water, keeping your house clean, and disinfecting your car.
Since your car is your only means of transport for essential tasks such as getting groceries, it is exposed to the outside world regularly. In addition to this, the interior of your car has several spaces that you frequently touch, like the steering wheel, car doors, gear shifter, and so on. Viruses and bacteria can easily stick to your car from your hands, which is why it is vital to disinfect the interior of your car after every use.
Here are a few pointers to help you keep your car clean and safe in a pandemic
- Vacuum regularly
Did you know that your car attracts and collects dust all the time? This makes vacuuming the car regularly extremely important to minimize infections. You should also make sure to scrub and clean the floor mats, levers, pedals, carpets, as well as the cargo space. You must also make sure to wipe down the centre console, door locks, and instrument cluster regularly.
Deep clean your seats with soap water or consider getting a steam clean-up by a professional. Fabric seats are prone to soaking the bacteria that can become a breeding ground for infections.
- Notice the grey areas
While you may not touch some areas, you do come in contact with them. Some such examples include the headliner, headrest, and window glass. Make sure to do a thorough clean up of these areas as well. Remember to wipe the exterior door handles as it is highly exposed to outside touch.
- Clean the high touch surfaces
High touch surfaces include all the knobs, screens, buttons, switches, and other parts that are frequently used by you or other passengers in the car. You can use a cleaner made with isopropyl alcohol (at least 70% strength) to clean most of these parts. Remember not to use it on the leather as it can damage the fabric. For touchscreens and leather components, soap water and a microfiber cloth will work just fine.
- Disinfect the HVAC unit
The HVAC unit in your car circulates the air in the cabin. It can carry a lot of infections and viruses. The only way to combat this is by thoroughly cleaning the complete system down to the air filters. Maintaining hygiene and topping up the coolant every now and then is a good thing and will help in minimizing the build-up of germs.
The cabin filter behind the glove compartment should also be paid attention to. Make sure to remove it and spray it with a disinfectant before putting it back in place. Alternatively, you could visit a professional and ask for the ozone treatment. This involves spraying ozone molecules in the car that attack and break down any kind of virus, bacteria, and mould.
- Clean toys and gadgets
If you have some toys for your children in your car, then make sure to clean them as well. Stuffed toys are easy to disinfect with detergent, and plastic toys can be sanitized with soap and water. If you are using a child seat for your infant, it would be wise to remove it, clean it, and then install it again. The same goes for any electronic tablets or handheld games the children might be using in the car. - Store sanitizers, wet wipes, and mask
To help keep your car safe, make sure to compile a kit in which you store some essentials like masks, wet wipes, and a sanitizer. Keep this kit in the glove compartment for easy access and use it to frequently clean the high touch surfaces like door handles, steering wheel, handbrake lever, gear shift knob, and other controls. This will help you kill germs and avoid exposure to bacteria. - Get car insurance
While car insurance will not sanitize your car, it will certainly cover other aspects, such as:
- Car accidents
- Theft, burglary/riot, strike
- Fire, explosion
- Earthquakes
- Natural calamities
- Landslides, and much more
You will also get protection from third-party liabilities and enjoy an accident cover for yourself. You can calculate car insurance premium today and acquire the cheapest car insurance possible.
Conclusion
While coronavirus continues to plague the globe, some of the best minds in this world are working towards a vaccine that will bring normalcy back in our lives. Until then, we must take small steps and contain the virus as much as possible. For now, you can keep your car disinfected and insured. Make sure to also maintain social distancing norms and wash your hands regularly. We will get out of this soon!
