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How to disinfect your floor mats and car interior against Covid?

13/08/2022

Now that the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron are on the loose, it is important to watch out for them and take proper measures to steer clear of them. Given that Covid can easily survive up to 72 hours on metal or plastic surfaces, regularly disinfecting your car interior is essential, even more so when you drive an entire family around.

But what are the surfaces and car accessories that need a thorough clean-up? What car cleaning kit to use? What are the different cleaning steps involved? You might ask yourself. Let us look at all these questions in greater detail, shall we!

Cleaning your car interior to protect it from Covid-19

As for anything else, you should prioritize all the parts you touch and are in contact with the most. You might be amazed to hear that a single cm2 can house close to 800 different bacteria! Breathing and the droplets excreted also contribute to spreading the virus all over your car interior. However, you will not be able to either refrain from breathing or steering the wheel. So, instead, start disinfecting all of the most exposed parts of your car interior, namely:

The dashboard;
The air-con vents;
The steering wheel;
Its control levers;
The gear lever;
The handbrake;
The seatbelts;
The interior and exterior door handles;
The floor mats.

Anti-Covid cleaning product to use for your car interior

Aerosol sprays, wet wipes, liquid disinfectants: cleaning products are aplenty and come in many different forms. Whatever your favorite pick might be, always make sure to prefer antibacterial AND viral cleaning solutions, as Covid is a virus! If you go for an aerosol, never apply it directly without spraying it onto a microfibre cloth first.

Also, never even think of using over 90° alcohol or bleach: they most certainly will eat away the plastic components and fabric of your car interior! You had better use either a non-diluted product, 60° alcohol maximum, or a 90° alcohol product mixed with 50% water.

3 steps to disinfecting your car interior against new Omicron variants

To properly disinfect your car interior, you will need to go through 3 steps, which are:

Prepping;
Disinfecting;
Tidying up.

Step 1: Prepping

Let us tackle the first of the three steps above: prepping. You will start by letting some fresh air into your car. Roll down your car windows after your daily trips and allow your vehicle to be ventilated well. It is recommended to aerate enclosed areas several times a day since the pandemic began. After doing so, with protecting gloves and a mask on, you can proceed with the disinfection of your car interior.

Step 2: Vacuuming, dusting, and disinfecting

Similarly, as detailed in our guide to car interior cleaning, vacuuming first will help clean up all outdoor debris that could have gotten in contact with the virus. With a microfiber cloth in hand to avoid unwanted scratches, proceed with dusting all the car interior parts listed above. Make sure not to overlook cleaning your car mats, as they gather dust and soil all year long and may very well harbor the virus.

Once the above is over, use the disinfecting product of your choice and generously scrub the areas most exposed to your hands or susceptible to having been in contact with droplets. Do not forget to finish it all up by disinfecting your car keys and exterior car door handles.

Step 3: Tidying up

Now that the vacuuming, dusting, and disinfecting are complete, leave the windows open to allow the smell of the cleaning product used to dissipate. In the meantime, discard your gloves and mask, give your microfiber cloth a good wash, and get changed not to bring back any pathogens.

Getting your car interior professionally disinfected against Omicron BA.4 and BA.5

Although daily disinfection is unnecessary, those who restrict the use of their car to their family alone had better have a weekly disinfection routine in place to ensure maximum cleanliness and safety of their car interior. Given the higher likelihood of infection, those who tend to transport larger numbers of people would greatly benefit from disinfecting their interior a little more often and with care.

There are options available, should you not want to have to spend hours cleaning your car interior, that could ease your life and guarantee the result: dry steam and ozone disinfection.

What is dry steam disinfection?

A natural deep cleaning technique that propels high-temperature steam, dry steaming kills every last surviving germ, bacteria, or virus left alive. Any accessories made of fabric, or any interior component that is plastic-based, will get thoroughly disinfected that way. Plus, this means of cleaning is chemical-free.

What is ozone disinfection?

Ozone disinfection is a natural antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral car interior cleaning method. This nature-occurring gas is used to cleanse and destroy the odors present in your interior. While lengthy - 30 minutes or so -, the process is as easy as easy can be. With all doors and windows shut, the ozone dispenser runs its cycle without any more needed supervision. Once it shuts off, the car is allowed to rest while the remaining ozone dissipates. And here is how you get a disinfected and odorless car interior!

Get the right car accessories for easier maintenance and cleaning

You will have understood by now that better protection against Covid-19 goes hand in hand with careful cleaning of the most exposed parts of your car interior. But the quality of your car accessories does also matter. Owning custom-fitted car floor mats made of the best material can save you a lot of time in cleaning and maintenance. At LuxAutoMat, we have got a wide array of premium leather diamond-stitched mats for your Mercedes, Fiat, Honda, Ford, Tesla, and many other car models. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us!

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