As you step up COVID-19 hygiene and sanitizing practices, don't forget your vehicle, because germs can lurk on the steering wheel and other surfaces.
Since March, most of us have been practicing new habits to help keep ourselves and others safe from COVID-19. Such habits include wearing masks, washing our hands frequently, social distancing, and wiping down frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, countertops, computer keyboards, and smartphones.
There’s another item you can add to that checklist: your car. Disinfecting your car’s interior is important—even if you’re driving less than you usually do—because you might be less aware of contaminated surfaces there. And there’s a way to do it that will both destroy pathogens and protect and beautify the surfaces.
Your car’s interior is far less sanitary than you might think. For instance, CarRentals.com found that four times as many germs lurk on the typical steering wheel than on a public toilet seat. And, oh, those dirty Brits: European insurance company Ageas found the typical British car interior to be 19 times germier than a toilet seat—a distressing thought during a flu and cold season, and even more so in the midst of a pandemic.
CarRentals.com says the dirtiest parts of the interior are, in descending order: the steering wheel, cup holders, seat belt latches, door handles, gearshift, and the audio controls. Ageas found car trunks and child seats also to be particularly nasty. Car keys, too, frequently become contaminated.
Porsche Cars North America and car-care products company Meguiar’s have developed a cleaning/disinfecting protocol for Porsche dealers. Porsche owners are notoriously fussy about their cars, and dealers take great pains not to damage customers’ vehicles. Here are the two companies’ recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting your car: