[TROOPER]

Once the lockdown is lifted, we'll slowly try getting back to normal life. This includes getting back onto our rides, for work, essentials runs, a leisure drive, etc.

Kotak expects a YOY spike in car sales. Source (Kotak: Consumers would prefer car ownership over public transport due to virus fears) Whether car sales see a spike or not, existing car owners will actively try avoiding public transport.


Also, many of us will be getting our cars serviced/repaired. We don't know how mechanics will handle our car, and for no fault of their own, neither of us would know whether they are an asymptomatic carrier. The last thing anyone wants is an asymptomatic carrier to spend some considerable amount of time or worst case scenario, sneeze in their car!

Then there will be the non Maruti/Hyundai brands whose cars could wait for more than a couple of days for spares. During this time, one won't know if their car is being used as a lounge. For example, here's MOD Sheel sharing his friend's Endeavour's condition while waiting for parts. Source (Ford Endeavour : Official Review)


Keeping all this in view, and the virus's ability to survive on different surfaces for extended periods, it's essential to keep one's car clean and disinfected, for the safety of oneself and their family.

First, let's take a look at how dirty the average car could be.

Here's some information from a survey reported on CarRentals.com

Roughly half the drivers surveyed neglect cleaning their car on a regular basis. But just how dirty does that make the average car? We pulled the numbers for the average amount of bacteria per square centimeter, or colony-forming units (CFU), to see which commonly touched surfaces of an average vehicle harbor the most bacteria, then compared them to public surfaces many of us touch on a daily basis.

The average steering wheel, which was was found to have 629 CFU per square centimeter, was far dirtier than some of the most frequently touched spaces, including:

• Six times dirtier than an average cell phone screen at 100 CFU

• Four times dirtier than a public toilet seat at 172 CFU

• Two times dirtier than public elevator buttons at 313 CFU

Assume the gear lever to be as dirty as the steering wheel in the Indian context, since we have a way higher number of MTs on road than America.


So how do we go about keeping our car interiors virus and bacteria free?

First, one needs to know the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing.

Here's what the CDC says

Know the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing

Cleaning removes germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces or objects. Cleaning works by using soap (or detergent) and water to physically remove germs from surfaces. This process does not necessarily kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.

Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces or objects. Disinfecting works by using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces or objects. This process does not necessarily clean dirty surfaces or remove germs, but by killing germs on a surface after cleaning, it can further lower the risk of spreading infection.

Sanitizing lowers the number of germs on surfaces or objects to a safe level, as judged by public health standards or requirements. This process works by either cleaning or disinfecting surfaces or objects to lower the risk of spreading infection.

How to clean the interiors?

Here's some info from an article from Marketwatch

What’s the best way to clean your vehicle to reduce the existence of coronavirus?

Alcohol works best in your automobile or SUV’s cabin. It is the cleaner most used by manufacturers of most automotive interiors today. All it takes is a quick wipe to clean most germs and fingerprints. Soap and water will work, too.

We suggest spending extra time on the steering wheel. The steering wheel has four times the amount of germs found on an average toilet seat, thanks to all the cracks and crevices on the rim and spokes, according to Expedia Travel Group’s website, CarRentals.com. For this reason, we suggest using disinfecting wipes to clean all the surfaces on the steering wheel. These include the redundant controls for radio, voice control, cruise control, navigation, and paddle shift levers. And don’t forget about the gear selector lever or the turn indicator stalks.

Also clean the door and center console armrests, display screens, cupholders, cubbyholes, air conditioner vents and even the door “grab handles.” You touch them more than you realize and are rife with bacteria and could carry coronavirus. You will very likely be surprised by the amount of dirt your wipes will pick up.

What not to use

We would advise against using any type of bleach or hydrogen peroxide on the vehicle’s interior. Both chemicals will put an end to the coronavirus germs, but they will also cause damage to the vinyl and plastics used in most modern vehicles today.

Under no circumstances should you use any ammonia-based cleaning products. These can be found in “blue glass cleaners.” (You know which we are talking about.) The ammonia breaks down the vinyl on the dashboard, making it sticky when subjected to heat and light. Additionally, to avoid damage to anti-glare coatings, the glass cleaner should not be used on touch display screens.

Finally, if you find yourself without any alcohol or other cleaners, a good scrubbing with soap and water will fill the bill. The coronavirus resides in a protective pocket that acts as a facilitator to infect other cells, but is broken down by soap. Heavy-duty cleaning will weaken the coronavirus. It just may take a little bit longer to effectively clean it properly. Don’t scrub too hard, though, as you might find you are removing some of the surface coatings or dyes.

Do note, many Indian news and even auto news sites are advising to use hydrogen peroxide & ammonia based products to disinfect car interiors. While they get the job done, they'll end up damaging car plastics and vinyls.


Here's a video on how you could go about cleaning and disinfecting your car:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFuVNoYeo7Q&t=850s

Now some of the stuff mentioned in the above video are not available in India. So here's a rather simple procedure one could follow.

1. Dilute Dettol handwash soap in a spray bottle and get to work on the 'hotspot' areas, with a soft bristle brush. The steering, gear knob, door handles, cup holder, seatbelts, AC vents, grab handles, window switches & doorpads. A bottle with a stream & spray nozzle would be helpful. Wipe down post cleaning.
   
2. Do not directly spray onto the touchscreen and buttons. Rather spray onto a cloth and then agitate and wipe down the console.
   
3. For fabric seats, spray on a certain area, scrub with soft scrub pad and blot the area with a microfiber towel.
   
4. For pure leather seats, steering wheels, door pads spray, scrub very gently and wipe down with a MF cloth. As per Volvo, a solution of soap and water is enough for cleaning leather. IPA or Sanitizer can discolor leather by damaging the coating on top of it.

The above cleaning method is quick and fairly reliable. You can even carry it out in case you have to rent out a Zoomcar or Revv.


Disinfecting

Once done cleaning, you can move on to disinfecting. Do not use any disinfectant available from the store shelf. As mentioned above, you cannot use disinfectants containing ammonia or bleach. The most commonly available disinfectant, and recently made even more famous by POTUS, is Lizol. You can use it to disinfect all non-porous surfaces.

Here are some FAQs from India's Lizol site.

Don’t go on a jet-spraying spree! Fill up a spray bottle with lizol. Spray it on to an out of direct sight plastic/vinyl surface and gently scrub with a cloth, and let it stay for 4 minutes. Then wipe it down with another mildly damp cloth. See how the material reacts and move on to the rest of the car. For safety, see to it you do this when all the surfaces of your car interiors are cool. Preferably in the morning/evening or under shade.

Do not use disinfectant on leather, or any other non-porous surface. As mentioned above, proper cleaning with soap and water would be enough for pure leather surfaces.

Lastly, use a water based dresser for the vinyls and plastics to maintain the sheen.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Very useful, thanks for sharing! Here's one more tip from my side = don't let anyone else access your cabin. As an example, am going to tell my watchman NOT to clean my car interiors for a while. I don't know where he has been and who he has met.

[R2D2]

Useful thread, thanks!

Lizol is a harsh disinfectant cleaner mostly used for floor mopping, instead of which I would recommend a diluted solution of Dettol or Savlon antiseptic. Dilute it per instructions on the bottle. I currently use this mild(er) solution for door knobs, mobile and other device screens, mice and keyboards. Spray a bit on a microfiber cloth and gently wipe off. I leave it to dry on door knobs and other metal surfaces

About car interiors, as GTO said, they are best left alone for the moment. Enthusiastic owners could clean the interiors themselves. I'll give my cars a good scrub inside once the lock-down is lifted.

[Divya Sharan]

An insightful thread!

Last to last weekend I gave my car a thorough wash inside out. It was spread over 2 days, day 1 being just interiors. Since Punto Evo has fabrics all around, I generously cleaned seats, door pads and even the roof liner with 3M fabric cleaner.
Dashboard trim was also wiped with the same (fabric area). Plastics all around were cleaned with soapy water with mixed Dettol disinfectant.

Steering wheel and gear knob are leather wrapped and they were cleaned and wiped with soap solution in warm water (didn't use Dettol here though as I was unsure if it would end up causing harm to leather).

Carpets were washed and dried. All nooks and corners vacuumed including boot area.
Glasses were cleaned from the inside with glass cleaner. This took around 4 hours.

Later in the evening, after much needed rest for my joints, I washed the engine bay with soap. Battery was disconnected and AF box and inlet were covered with a polythene bag for safety and I hosed the entire area, including the underside of the bonnet and the much touched bonnet holding rod/strut. Then I wiped clean and dry whatever I could, as deep as my hands could reach. Once the car dried by night time, I sprayed rat repellant in the engine bay after connecting the battery and rechecking if everything looked proper. Carpets had also dried by then and they were placed inside the car.

I washed the car cover and let it dry overnight.
That night I slept like a baby!

Next morning, I got up and did the exterior and wheels and its arches. Starq W3 pressure washer performed like a champ and I was able to foam wash and dry the car in around 2 hours flat.

Things I left due to tiredness and some laziness were tyre dressing and polishing the exterior. Also, car's underbody couldn't be hosed completely since I have no means to lift the car and I could barely wash it lying at ground level.

Once the car dried completely in a few hours, I covered it and called it a day. Polishing can wait for when I actually get to use it.

P.S: I did start and idle the car and observed no errors on MID.
P.P.S: I was not fully aware about Lyzol's /Lysol's effects in cars back then, but then should I do anything about it? Is it really necessary after having done all of this and the car has only been idled every 3-4 days for sometime for the battery to maintain charge?

[landcruiser123]

The most basic thing to do: Don't share your ride with anyone outside your household.
Sedan or hatchback users can use the boot for carrying items and reduce the risk of spread of the virus. Once the interior is clean, driving with re-circulation mode would be the best option.

Here's my favorite mechanic describing an easy cleaning routine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oosUk7ityw

[TROOPER]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Useful thread, thanks!

Lizol is a harsh disinfectant cleaner mostly used for floor mopping, instead of which I would recommend a diluted solution of Dettol or Savlon antiseptic.

Even Dettol has a disinfectant available, which can be diluted and accordingly used. I recommended Lizol since couple of pro detailers on Youtube were using the same, just to be safe.

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

P.P.S: I was not fully aware about Lyzol's /Lysol's effects in cars back then, but then should I do anything about it? Is it really necessary after having done all of this and the car has only been idled every 3-4 days for sometime for the battery to maintain charge?

No worries. You seem to have already used Dettol's disinfectant liquid. And as GTO and landcruiser123 have said, don't let anyone other than family in your ride. Unless you tend to visit any contaminated area and then touch your car interiors, or hand over your car for servicing/repairs you'd have to repeat the process.

[dhanushs]

Toyota Australia mapped out the top contact areas to focus on keeping clean to help reduce germs.







And, here's one video from Mazda.

http://www.facebook.com/saundersmazd...8598738780477/

[Reinhard]

Keeping the car exclusive like GTO said is the safest bet. No people other than immediate family (with whom we share home) should be taken onboard and we should ensure we sanitize the car surfaces regularly. Never touch facial parts after touching any part of the car till we reach destination & sanitize hands thoroughly. If possible, ensure the car gets a nice hot baking under mid-day Sun everyday to destroy at least some pathogens in the cabin. (Luckily my parking is such that the car always gets exactly 1 hour of direct sunlight around mid-day.)

Avoid reusing clothes no matter how less the use is - throw them for a hot wash after every use. That would minimize pathogen exchange between clothes and seat fabrics also.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Toyota Australia mapped out the top contact areas to focus on keeping clean to help reduce germs.

Well on a lighter note - they could simply have shown an overall picture of the car & put a large circle over all of it. They've pretty much done the same in these images, inefficiently.

[Kosfactor]

My usual weekly interior cleaning using CIF or Colin covers all the common touch points , the intent was to keep it looking new rather than disinfect - I guess it now serves both purposes and I wash the microfiber towels and dry them in the machine as usual after every use.

Vehicles have been in use throughout the lockdown , so nothing additional is being done on this front. From today one of the vehicles are back to normal routine as my wife's office is open.

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

Things I left due to tiredness and some laziness were tyre dressing and polishing the exterior. Also, car's underbody couldn't be hosed completely since I have no means to lift the car and I could barely wash it lying at ground level.

Once the car dried completely in a few hours, I covered it and called it a day. Polishing can wait for when I actually get to use it.

A good practice would be to use the vehicle after a water wash, as well as not to park the vehicle where it has been water washed (moisture) , the idea is that everything warms up and dries preventing rust, especially in the undercarriage / suspension, drive train etc. A rinseless/dry wash does not need this step.

[phamilyman]

My SOP is to use a spray version of a sanitizer. I use Tjori spray sanitizer but you can achieve it using a Colin head on a Savlon handrub liquid (NOT the gel) but that's harder to procure outside of select supermarkets (as of 5 May, Gurgaon).



You could try this on any 250ml handrub.
As the forwards do, I keep it in the arm rest and spray it liberally every time I enter the car after a shopping excursion. Immediate sanitization as a habit reduces the likelihood of touching the face (something I am horribly prone to!)

[hondafanboy]

Also, how about , once in a while park your car out in the open under the hot sun ? We are quite fortunate to have this around the year. Would that help somehow ? They say some viruses cannot survive beyond 40c.

[pravint]

Internal temperature of parked car in Indian conditions can go well beyond 50 degrees.
So i don't buy claims that say car interior has more germs than everyday objects(At least not in India)
Keeping bottle of sanitizer in our bags is more suitable solution. Keeping sanitizers in car is dangerous since it is flammable

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by pravint

Internal temperature of parked car in Indian conditions can go well beyond 50 degrees.
So i don't buy claims that say car interior has more germs than everyday objects(At least not in India)
Keeping bottle of sanitizer in our bags is more suitable solution. Keeping sanitizers in car is dangerous since it is flammable

They are mostly invisible but they are there , more found in common touch points and microbes can very well survive 50 Degrees Celsius, the temperature changes inside a car are not like a pasteurization process

Leave a vehicle for an extended period of time and watch a 'mushroom' garden inside later on, cars that are regularly cleaned with an agent that contains some sort of anti microbial agent, alcohols, vinegar, bleach etc are more resistant to this mold formation.

something like this : picture from https://www.detailingwiki.org/guides...mold-interior/


Mold can easily be removed in many cases - if you can see it, how about behind the door cards, under the seats, under the capet, inside the seats, inside the dashboard, inside the cooling\ evaporator coil , inside the headliner etc and you can now scrap the car.

[srishiva]

I can certainly clean the interiors with alcohol spray.

But wouldn't parking the car in the sun for complete day take care of killing the germs on most exposed surfaces ?