You are taking all of the proper steps to avoid the spread of Coronavirus. Washing your hands, wearing gloves and a mask, but what about the inside of your car?
Car interiors often have more germs than the average toilet seat! That is why cleaning and disinfecting the inside of your car is a must. Especially in light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak.
The more people that are in your car, the higher the amount of germs and bacteria. If you participate in ride-sharing services or carpooling, you should be cleaning and disinfecting the inside of your car regularly.
You may be asking, “How can I clean and disinfect the inside of my car?” We have come up with a list of all the areas that need to be cleaned.
Where Do Germs Hide Inside Your Car?
There are endless amounts of nooks and crannies in the interior of a car that are the perfect hiding spot for germs and bacteria. The bigger the vehicle, the more possibility of hiding places! Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to give your vehicle the attention it needs to be cleaned and disinfected without damaging the interior of your car. If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, consider taking it to an auto shop that has trained professionals to give your car the love and attention to detail that it needs!
Cabin Air Filter
If you have your windows rolled up for a majority of the time, your cabin air filter likely contains a lot of trapped mold, pollen grains, and germs. When that filter gets too dirty it can’t do its job, which will eventually lower your cabin’s air quality.
Think of all the germs that blow directly into your face when your Air conditioning is on. It is a good idea to have your air filter changed frequently. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, this will also help with outside allergens that get inside your vehicle.
The friendly staff at East End Auto Body can give your air filter the service that it needs to keep your car free of germs and pollen.
Upholstery
Carpets and seat upholstery are home to bacteria, germs, food crumbs, sweat, and dirt. It is important to regularly clean and disinfect your car’s upholstery. Your car mats may need replacing over time depending on how much wear and tear on them.
If you think that your car may have been exposed to the virus, consider wearing gloves and a mask when cleaning.
Keys
We take our keys with us wherever we go. How often do you think to sanitize your keys? Probably never, or definitely not often enough. When you think about all of the places you take your keys with you, especially during this time of social distancing and isolation because of the pandemic. You’ll realize all of the dangerous germs you’re subjecting yourself to by not sanitizing the one thing you most definitely have with you when you’re out and about in the public. Car keys are probably in your hand, in your pocket, your purse. You’re touching everything around you and then touching your keys to go home.
If you don’t sanitize your keys in that time between being out in your car and running errands and going home, you’re exposing yourself and others to germs you could be carrying on them. Before getting back in your car with your keys, you should properly sanitize them with disinfectant wipes, or other disinfectant cleaners to prevent cross contamination into your vehicle and home.
Steering Wheel
Your steering wheel is something you’re constantly touching in your car. It’s probably one of the most important places to keep clean. Whatever you touch after driving, will carry the same germs that your steering wheel has on it. That’s why it’s so important to keep it clean and sanitized at all times.
Say you go into the grocery store, touch the cart, touch the food items, touch the card reader and other things. You then get back into your car without sanitizing your hands and grab right onto your steering wheel. Then whatever you touched in the store, any germs you came in contact with, they’re now on your steering wheel. From there those germs will stay and only spread to other areas in your car and home. Properly cleaning and sanitizing your steering wheel is a very important way to keep more germs from spreading.
Other Frequently Touched Surfaces
Some frequently touched surfaces include the ignition, buttons, touch screen, visors, sunglasses holder, window and lock buttons, cup holders, glovebox, seat belts, and shifter.
The simplest way to attack COVID-19, is with soap and water, and since most dish soaps use only mild detergents, it is a much less stressful cleaning agent on your car’s interior, and more than likely a cleaning agent you have readily available. If you don’t have any of those soaps or detergents available to use on your car, that’s okay. There are businesses designed specifically to deep clean your vehicle. Now is a great time to support local businesses and pay to get it cleaned through one of them. It keeps businesses running and keeps your car clean.
Getting into a regular routine of cleaning and disinfecting the inside of your vehicle is a great habit to start, especially during the time of COVID-19. All of the surfaces in your car are probably touched at some point. If not by you, then probably by germs. It may seem like a hassle to include another item to deep clean in your routine, but it should be seen as a priority too.
How To Protect Yourself and Your Passengers
When cleaning and disinfecting your vehicle, you can’t keep only yourself in mind. You have to also include the thought of the passengers you’ll potentially have inside too. May it be kids, spouses, friends or anyone else. You want to make sure your car is a safe space and germ free.
If you have kids, their car seats and other protective seating equipment is so important to regularly clean and sanitize. It could hold so many dirt and germs for them to be infected by each time they ride in your car. From the car seat, they can spread it to your home or other people. Analyze and properly execute the cleaning of your children’s spaces to ensure they aren’t being exposed to any germs or viruses.
The driver’s side is probably ridden in the highest majority of the time, but don’t forget to also include the passengers seating in the routine of deep cleaning. They may not be as high risk in germs spreading, but they’re still a risk and you want to protect your passengers from any previous germs your vehicle may have been exposed to.
Vacuum
Your vehicle should have a thorough vacuuming, with a fabric brush, once a month. It’s important to pick up all of the germs and dirt in the upholstery and carpet that collect over the course of time. If you just let it build up, it may become a major germ collection spot and create the perfect place for them to hide.
Shampoo
Shampooing your carpets and upholstery should also be done periodically. That helps bring out all of the pollen, germs and other particles that need to be deeply washed out of the embedding of your car’s fabrics. You could get it done at a local business that provides this service and knows how to properly execute it.
Disinfect
One of the most important parts of cleaning your car is disinfecting it. Getting rid of all the potential germs and viruses harboring in your vehicle is the best way to prevent the spread of germs. Using sanitizing wipes, or disinfectant spray and disposable towels is the best way to clean and disinfect the hard surfaces in your vehicle.
A/C and Cabin Filters
Your air filters that lead into your car cabin can collect things like pollen and germs that blow into your cabins when you use the A/C, or heating system. It’s important to regularly change out the filters to prevent unwanted particles from entering your vehicle directly. It can be done yourself, by purchasing and replacing filters, or just have your local auto body shop replace them for you during routine maintenance.
In Conclusion
After you are finished cleaning and disinfecting your car, don’t forget to wash your hands. Washing your hands before and after driving is a good habit to get into, even outside of the COVID-19 outbreak. If you’re somewhere where handwashing is readily available before you enter your car, then carry hand sanitizer on you. It’s the next best thing to prevent germs from spreading into your car.
Here at East End Body Shop, we’re mainly known as a collision center, but did you know we also do auto detailing? That’s right! You don’t have to find yourself in need of auto repair to stop by and receive some amazing service.
We know that every car is special. Each owner has a different relationship with each car they have owned. Your car has its own personality, its own style. Maybe it is high maintenance, maybe its common appearance is a bit rough. Either way, we take care of your car like it’s your brand new baby. When you visit East End Body Shop for auto detailing you should expect more than a simple car wash and vacuum. We’ll make sure your high maintenance car looks as expensive as the day it was driven off the lot, and we’ll make sure your clunker looks just as good as that high maintenance car we just detailed.
If you give East End Body Shop a Google search, you’ll see that we are a top rated auto detailing and collision center in Huntington, West Virginia. Our testimonials speak for themselves, but just in case you want to learn more about us as a company, you can see how we give back to the Huntington, West Virginia and surrounding communities.
Not only can you get your car detailed by us, but we offer gift certificates, which can make the BEST present. Know someone who desperately needs their car cleaned? We’ve got you covered! Know someone that’s overworked and hasn’t had the time or maybe the money to get their car cleaned up? We’ve got your covered!! Maybe you just want to take something off someone’s plate, or spoil them in a way they might not think of. No matter what the reason, we can help get anyone’s car detailed and looking good as new!
Learn more about our auto detailing packages below and choose the best one for your needs.
Family-owned East End Body Shop in Huntington, West Virginia’s finest collision repair shop. We take the stressful situation of an accident and handle all the details, making your auto body repair experience seamless and easy as possible. Stop in for a free estimate and good ole Southern hospitality. Marshall University students are most welcome, too!
Owen’s Detail Packages
Owen’s Auto Shine – $49.99
Hand Wash & Dry
Wheels & Tire Shine
Vacuum Interior
Wipe & Shine Dashboards, Door Jambs, & Plastic
Interior Glass Cleaning
Owen’s Prime Shine – $99.99
Hand Wash & Dry
Wheels & Tire Shine
Vacuum Interior & Spot Cleaning
Wipe & Shine Dashboards, Door Jambs, Plastic Vents,
Cracks & Cup Holders
Interior Glass Cleaning
Rain X applied to Windshield
Bug & Tar Removal
Engine Clean
Owen’s Deluxe Shine- $149.99
Hand Wash & Dry
Wheels & Tire Shine
Vacuum Interior, Spot Cleaning,
Steam Clean Carpets & Seats
Wipe & Shine Dashboards, Door Jambs, Plastic Vents,
Cracks, & Cup Holders
Interior Glass Cleaning
Rain X applied to Windshield
Bug & Tar Removal
Engine Clean
Trunk Clean
Stop in and let East End Body Shop detail your car! We’re located at
3117 Ferris Ct. (31st Street)
Huntington, WV 25702
Or give us a call! (304)525-5361
