Since the coronavirus outbreak 2 years ago, people have become cautious about sanitisation, be it their hands, home or car. It is a known fact that the virus can easily survive on the surface for a few hours. Many people enter and exit your car throughout the day if you are a car owner. As a result, properly disinfecting your car is important because of all the germs, viruses and bacteria that get in your vehicle and stay in the car. 

Moreover, getting your car disinfected by a professional service can be costly and may not always be available around your vicinity. So here are a few tips on how to sanitise a car at home.

If you want to know how to disinfect your car interior and exterior, then here are a few tips for you:

1. Gather All Kinds of Trash

The first step to sanitising your car is removing any garbage or debris inside your vehicle. While driving, we carry many outside materials like dirt, food wrappers, plastics, etc. These items not only keep the vehicle dirty but also bring germs and act as a breeding ground for many insects. You must bring a trash bag or garbage bin to clear out the garbage from the car before you start your vehicle sanitisation.

2. Clean the Floor Mats

Car floor mats are the dirtiest part of a car's interior. They carry all the dirt, germ and bacteria residue from outside that comes in with the shoes. First, remove the floor mats and wash them with shampoo mixed with lukewarm water. After drying it, you can use a mix of isopropyl alcohol if you wish to eliminate all the residual viruses and germs. You can also use disinfectant solutions readily available in the market while washing the mats with water and shampoo. However, you can do these steps for silicone, rubber or vinyl mats.

On the contrary, if your car floor is carpeted, use a mini vacuum or upholstery cleaner. 

3. Cleanse Car Windows, Door, Dashboard and Mirror From Inside

One can use a microfibre cloth and commercial window cleaning spray to clean the windows from the inside and the car mirror, door and dashboard. However, you need to ensure that the cleaner is ammonia free as it can cause damage to the interiors. You can also make a DIY cleaner by mixing dish soap with water at 1:1. This homemade cleaner effectively cleans grimes, dirt, fingerprints and germs.

You can also use household disinfectant wipes that do not contain bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Choose a disinfectant wipe that only contains isopropyl alcohol so you can use it to eliminate germs. 

4. Thoroughly Clean the Steering Wheel and Navigation / Central Console

The steering wheel and navigation console are the two things that should be cleaned thoroughly. These are where water droplets can stick easily when you or somebody else sitting on the passenger seat sneezes. Moreover, all the germs transfer to the steering wheel from your hands while driving. The best way to clean these areas is with an ammonia and bleach-free disinfectant cleaner. You need to thoroughly wipe down the navigation console and get into every nook and cranny of the HVAC system, every knob, the console and radio.

5. Cleaning Car Seat

If you have leather car seats, you should use a commercial leather cleaner specially manufactured for automotive care. However, if one cannot find these kinds of automotive care leather cleaners, then shampoo or dish soap with lukewarm water works just as well. Experts advise using leather cleaners because it maintains the shine and softness of the seat upholstery. Additionally, one can use a mini vacuum cleaner to clean out any leftover debris from the crevasse. 

If you have a cloth car seat, vacuum the seats thoroughly and use isopropyl alcohol spray to eliminate germs and viruses. However, you should buy a spray that does not stain the upholstery. 

6. Spray the Entire Car With Disinfectant Spray

After wiping and vacuuming down every part of the car, you can spray your car with an isopropyl alcohol solution. Ensure that the alcohol does not contain bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or any other harmful chemical that can harm the car's body or interior. Moreover, car disinfectant sprays are readily available in various car spare part workshops and supermarkets. 

7. AC Servicing

AC servicing is one of those few things you cannot do alone at home. However, it is not necessary to get it cleaned every month. You can get your car's AC cleaned once in a while when you take your car for general servicing. However, the air con system in the car collects the greatest number of viruses in the form of water droplets. You wipe the AC exterior with the wipes while wiping down the dashboard and the central console.

Wiping down your car's interior is not enough to eliminate germs and viruses. It would be best if you cleaned the car exterior to stay safe and virus free. Here are a few tips for sanitising for car exterior:

8. Wash Your Car Exterior

Washing your car thoroughly every day is not possible. However, you can do this task once a week. Set a particular day like a Sunday to get this task done. Wash your car exterior with shampoo and lukewarm water. Remember not to use any products that contain chemicals as they might harm the shine and colour of your car's exterior. Moreover, after washing down your car, dry it with a clean and dry microfibre cloth to dry the body often. Keeping your car wet will leave water stains when they dry off naturally. 

9. Wipe Down the Handles With Disinfectant Wipes

Washing your car exterior may not be possible for you every day. However, you can wipe down the handles whenever you can. Wiping down the handles is especially necessary when somebody other than you holds it or you see the other person sneezing and then holding the handle to open your car door. Moreover, you can wipe the handles every day at the end of the day when you finally park it in the garage or wipe it in the morning before taking out the car for the day. Again, ensure that these disinfectant wipes do not contain bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

10. Cover Your Car

Keep your car covered whenever you are not driving and it is parked somewhere. This way, you can protect your car exterior from getting dirty and prevent any germs from sitting on top of your car. For instance, your car is parked in an open space, and somebody passing by your car sneezes on your car. The water droplets from that person will now land on your car's body and stay there for a few hours. So, it's best to keep your car covered whenever possible.

Just cleaning your car from the outside is not enough; one must clean the car's interior properly to eliminate all the germs. Individuals need to keep the following items at home while sanitising their car:

• Spray bottles
• Microfibre Cloth
• Gloves and mask
• Brushes like shaving and toothbrush
• Shampoo mix with lukewarm water
• Mini vacuum cleaner
• Air freshener
• Disinfectant and sanitising sprays

Post pandemic, everyone's outlook toward cleanliness and sanitisation has changed completely. Even without the deadly virus in the picture, there are a lot of other harmful germs that are on the car service. We touch those surfaces and later might touch our face or eat something with those hands, and the germs will transfer to us. So, it is extremely important to keep our vehicles sanitised. 

Additionally, when you disinfect your car, you also give a thorough clean-up to your car, and it helps keep your car clean and hygienic. It also helps to maintain the longevity of your car's aesthetics. 

You do not need to get your car professionally cleaned until and unless someone from your family suffers from transmissible disease and has travelled in the vehicle. Cleaning is not your own, with 70% isopropyl alcohol will be enough. 

Washing your hands and keeping your home sanitised and clean is not enough. Your vehicle is where you spend the most time outside your home and workplace. Hence, it is important to keep your car sanitised. Hopefully, the tips on how to sanitise a car in this blog will come in handy if you are a car owner and don't want to spend huge bucks for car cleaning and sanitisation.