5 AREAS YOU SHOULD DISINFECT IN YOUR CAR DAILY

In this article you will learn:

How to disinfect cars in a hurry or on the go

Why you should disinfect your vehicle on a daily basis

The most common high-touch points inside your car

Disinfecting your car interior is just as important as keeping it clean. Bacteria and viruses can live on nonporous surfaces inside your car for hours, days or even weeks, spreading quickly among you and your passengers. To protect everyone who gets in and out of your vehicle, it's important to make disinfecting these surfaces a part of your daily routine.

While it would be ideal to wipe down every surface inside your car, you may not have the time for a deep cleaning treatment. Instead, you should target your vehicle’s high-touch points—areas that you and your passengers are more likely to touch—to get rid of as many germs as you can.

Here are 5 high-touch points you shouldn't miss while cleaning and disinfecting your car!

1. Steering wheel

One of the most obvious high-touch points inside your car is the steering wheel, since your hands wrap around it in order to operate your vehicle. Any bacteria that's on your hands from touching door handles, shaking other people’s hands or pressing the elevator button have probably made their way onto your steering wheel.

Wipe both the front and back sides of your steering wheel with a folded and quartered microfiber cloth. You can use a gentle combination of soap and water to safely remove germs and bacteria from your steering wheel, or use a quick disinfectant spray, like Turtle Wax Multipurpose Cleaner & Disinfectant, that kills over 99.9% of germs.

2. Door Handles

Both you and your passengers use your car's door handles to enter and exit your vehicle; but, unlike you, there’s no telling where your passengers’ hands have been! If a passenger has been in contact with someone with the flu, they can easily transmit the virus to you or one of your other passengers simply by touching one of your door handles.

Use an edgeless detailing towel to clean and disinfect your door handles to prevent scratches or other damage to your soft plastics and metallic finishes. Don’t forget to wipe down the lock, latch grab bar and the area behind the handle with your Multipurpose Cleaner & Disinfectant to keep surfaces sanitized for a full 24 hours with only one application.

3. Seatbelts

As the old NHTSA slogan goes, “click it or ticket.” Seatbelts are required in order to ride or operate a vehicle, so it makes sense that they would be one of your high-touch points. Seatbelts can be difficult to disinfect because they’re made of an absorbent, woven polyester material. And because your seatbelt fastens into such a tight space, germs can accumulate between your buckle and clasp.

Luckily, most multipurpose cleaners and disinfectant sprays are safe to use on the synthetic fabric of your safety belt. Pull out your entire seatbelt until the safety lock engages and spray both sides of the strap with your disinfectant. If you have a fresh detailing brush on hand, gently scrub the polyester fibers to push the disinfectant deeper into the fabric material. Then spray and wipe both sides of the buckle and the areas both inside and outside the clasp.

4. Dashboard

Your dashboard includes a number of interior surfaces and a multitude of displays, touch screens and controls that allow you to switch stations on the radio, turn on your air conditioning and adjust your vents, so naturally, you and your front passenger touch this area often.

You can use an interior detailer spray like Dash & Glass or a multipurpose cleaner and disinfectant spray to wipe down the glass and plastic of your dashboard. Turn your microfiber towel over to a fresh side to buff out your finish to prevent streaks and smudges to your tech screens and auto glass.

As a precaution, always wash your hands before and after touching your dashboard or steering wheel.

5. Car seats

Finally, you should always disinfect your leather, vinyl or cloth-covered car seats to keep your passengers safe and prevent the spread of the flu, norovirus, COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down the cushions, headrest and supportive backing, as well as the surrounding upholstery.

Disinfecting these surfaces ensures that one passenger doesn’t spread germs and illnesses to the next to help make carpooling, using a rideshare or taking the kids to school a risk-free experience for everyone!

The next time a passenger gets into your car, be sure to offer them some hand sanitizer to reduce the spread of germs inside your car as much as possible!