The WHO lists washing hands and cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces as two of the best ways to defend against spreading the coronavirus. In the past couple of months, we have all learned about the proper techniques to keep ourselves and our homes sanitised, but what about your vehicle? Once the lockdown ends, we will surely need to travel, and for your safety and that of your loved ones, it’s important to know how to sanitise your car’s interiors.

Start with Vacuum

Start off your car sanitisation drive by vacuuming and generally cleaning any heavy debris inside the cabin. While our is on germs, it won’t hurt to get some general cleaning done before we start. However, do maintain proper precautions such as wearing gloves and a mask to avoid the off chance of getting infected by a dormant virus.

Choice of materials for cleaning your car’s interiors

The second step is to choose the right cleaning agents and materials. The choice of materials will depend on the type of upholstery in your car, e.g. leather, cloth, or imitation leather. Isopropyl alcohol is a disinfectant that is safe to use on most car interior surfaces. Another advantage of using Isopropyl alcohol based disinfectants is that, they will remove many stains, smudges and residues, while killing the bacteria and viruses. But, do note, using very hard Isopropyl alcohol solutions can cause damage to leather upholstery.

If you do not have access to a chemical disinfectant, relax, you can make do with household soap and water. This coronavirus in particular can be killed using cold or hot water, combined with soap.

Cleaning the touch points and surfaces

You can use a rag or washcloth for cleaning the interiors, but we advise using a microfiber towel. Make sure that you soak the cloth completely, and wring out excess water before wiping surfaces each time. Keep the water bucket or container outside the vehicle, you don't want the water to spill and pool up anywhere. As, it can lead to moisture build up below the surface later on.

There are more touch points in your vehicle than you may believe, they extend beyond the door handles and steering wheel. Think about all the things you do while spending time in your car, and proceed with the sanitisation. Some common touch points include the stereo or radio, the cupholders, the glove box, the seatbelts, dashboard, etc.

Things to remember while sanitising your car or SUV interiors:

• Use soapy water, light disinfectants with isopropyl alcohol, avoid hard chemicals and stain removers like bleach.
• Use leather conditioners on the sanitised leather upholstery.
• Don’t leave chemicals to linger, wipe off what you wipe on using a microfiber cloth.
• Clean the surfaces you touch. Don't forget buttons and switches, and things like your rear-view mirror.

We hope these tips will help you clean and sanitise your car for safer drives in coming days. In the meanwhile, read about our tips for keeping tyre and battery health intact while your vehicle is parked during the lockdown in our blog post here.