Coronavirus And Cars – What You Need to Know

Corona Virus and cars. A phrase we never imagined writing on MotoringFile much less even uttering it ourselves. Yet as we navigate this new reality of Corona Virus, it’s important to understand how to protect ourselves and others in our daily lives. For many of us this means making sure our cars are clean and virus free. This was brought home to me yesterday when I took our JCW Clubman in for its 10,000 mile oil change.

After dropping off the car I was happy to see everyone (Including technicians) had on disposable rubber gloves. They also told me that they’ve ramped up their cleaning program focusing on the interior touch-able areas of the car and using real disinfectant soap. But that made me question what I could be doing to make sure my car is as clean as possible for myself and passengers.

A quick look at the CDC’s website shows that it’s part common sense and part disinfection. And one key thing – normal soap is a key player in your defense. Here are the high-level suggestions:

• Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. Clean hands immediately after gloves are removed.
• If surfaces are dirty, they should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
• For disinfection, diluted household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective.
  • Diluted household bleach solutions can be used if appropriate for the surface.
    • Prepare a bleach solution by mixing:
      • 5 tablespoons (1/3^rd cup) bleach per gallon of water or
      • 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water
  • Products with EPA-approved emerging viral pathogens claimspdf iconexternal icon are expected to be effective against COVID-19 based on data for harder to kill viruses.

It’s a lot of common sense and some hard work but cleaning your car in the age of Corona Virus is something we should all be prepared for.