Using Your Car During The Outbreak Of Covid19 And Keeping It Clean
What is ‘essential travel’?
As of 24 March 2020, the Government advice is to “stay at home and away from others” until further notice, apart from for essential reasons or to visit a garage to keep your vehicle roadworthy.
Essential reasons are:
shopping for basic necessities, such as trips to the supermarket or other food stores, as infrequently as possible (social distancing still applies)
trips to pharmacies for any medical need
to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
travelling for work purposes, where the work cannot be done from home
Visiting a garage for purpose of repairs, servicing or MOT if required.
Can I use my car to go and see family and friends to check they are okay?
The Government is clear that you should only do this if you’re providing care or helping a vulnerable person. All other contact should be made by phone or internet instead.
Is it safer to use my car than public transport or taxis?
If you have access to a car, you may prefer to use this at the moment. But remember, you should only leave home for very limited reasons.
All Vehicles coming into us are cleaned using the following methods below
Heres a guidline on how to do this yourself.
How to clean your car interior to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus (COVID-19)
As COVID-19 continues to infect people across the world, it’s vital we all play our part in reducing its spread.
For drivers this means more than just limiting travel to essential journeys, we should also be thoroughly cleaning the inside of our cars.
This guide will tell you where the worst of the infected areas could be, what supplies you need, and how to thoroughly clean your car interior.
Car cleaning checklist
• Driver’s seat
• Steering wheel, including horn and infotainment controls
• Control stalks
• Ignition and power button
• Keys
• Dashboard
• Air vents – passenger and central
• Gear stick
• Infotainment/radio
• Heating controls
• All seats
• Seatbelts and clips
• Seat adjust controls
• Head rests
• Seat pockets
• Roof and doors
• Door handles and releases
• Door pocket
• Window switches
• Interior lights
• Grab handles
• Boot
• Parcel shelf
• Boot floor tab
• Other
• Glove box and log-book
• Central storage
• Cupholders
• Bonnet release lever
• Before cleaning
• Ideally wait three days after using your vehicle before cleaning for any traces of the coronavirus.
• Although official guidance tells us that we don’t know at what point there is no risk, “studies of other viruses in the same family suggest that, in most circumstances, the risk is likely to be reduced significantly after 72 hours.”
• If your car can be kept locked and secured for 72 hours, this will likely reduce the number of particles living on surfaces.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
The government recommends using personal protective equipment or PPE when cleaning in non-healthcare settings.
If someone with confirmed or suspected coronavirus has been in your car, you’ll need to protect yourself before you start. As a minimum you should wear:
• gloves (preferably disposable)
• apron (preferably disposable)
If an area has been contaminated with bodily fluids from someone with coronavirus you should consider wearing:
• goggles to protect your eyes
• a mask to protect your mouth and nose
What you’ll need to disinfect your car
With many shops closed to slow the spread of COVID-19 you might think you’d struggle to find the products you need. Thankfully a lot can be done with very little. All you should need for a decent clean is:
• bleach-free household disinfectant
• two bin liners
Cleaning your car during the outbreak
Once you’ve got the appropriate protective clothing on it’s time to tackle the cleaning. Before you start with the interior, just make sure you give all the door handles (including the boot!) a good wipe down first.
Driver’s seat
• Steering wheel, including horn and infotainment controls
• Control stalks
• Ignition and power button
• Keys
Of all the parts in your car, your steering wheel is probably the most exposed to human touch. Use disinfectant around the whole of your wheel, including those out-of-sight areas where fingers tend to grip.
Don’t forget to wipe the horn and any infotainment controls found on the steering wheel. You’ll also need to clean the full length of all control stalks for indicators, headlights and windscreen wipers.
Although they’re technically not part of your car, you’ll also need to clean your keys. Make sure you clean the handle, metal and the ignition itself, as these are the parts most often touched. If your car uses a button to start, give this a wipe too.
Dashboard
• Air vents – passenger and central
• Gear stick
• Infotainment/radio
• Heating controls
We come into contact with our dashboard when using radios and infotainment systems. Heating controls are also a major touchpoint and you should pay attention to the knobs and buttons found here.
Do not forget the air vents. Grips found on the vents are used to manually change the direction of air flow and are regularly touched by both drivers and passengers, so these will need to be wiped too.
Gear sticks are among the most touched areas of your car – make sure you scrub yours thoroughly, and the remainder of your dashboard towards your windscreen.
During this Eclipse Autos wish you to be safe and well,
If you have any questions or advice about your vehicle call 01908 643603 and speak to a member of our team.
