Top 5 Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Car Germ-Free

Arya

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We are learning more about the Coronavirus every day, but what we do know is that the virus can live on surfaces for hours and sometimes days. If you use your car every day to get to work or even just pop out and get some groceries, it is essential that you know how to thoroughly clean and disinfect your vehicle.

Here are our top five vehicle maintenance tips to keep your car safe and germ-free.

1. Clean and Disinfect

If it has been a while since you cleaned your vehicle and your car requires a heavy-duty clean, especially winter tires in Hamilton. You may want to separate the job into a few steps. Vacuum out the dirt and remove any garbage that was left behind your seats. Use an upholstery cleaner to remove stubborn stains and wipe down hard surfaces with a microfibre cloth.

Your Car Germ-Free

Washing your hands with soap and water is the best defence against the virus, and it will work for your car too. Soap and water will kill off the Coronavirus and can also disinfect leather surfaces. Just be sure to use a mild soap, so you don’t damage surfaces and be sure to scrub gently. Also, be careful not to use too much water, or you can have moisture pooling in your upholstery.

Now that you’ve cleaned and removed the dirt, it is time to disinfect. Cleaning gets rid of grime and dust, but to kill viruses, you need to disinfect. Soap and water do a good job, but you can also use Isopropyl alcohol or hospital grade disinfectant spray to safely wipe down surfaces and kill off viruses.

2. Focus on High-touch surfaces

Viruses are more likely to spread on high-touch surfaces of your vehicle, so these are the areas that you need to concentrate on when cleaning. Think about what you touch every time you get into your vehicle – your door handles, steering wheel, seat belt and gear shifter. Now think about what you touch at the grocery store, gas station or any other, and you can imagine how easy it is to spread the virus.

3. Stay Away From Bleach

Although bleach does an excellent job of killing viruses, it is not recommended that you use it to clean your car interior. Bleach and other disinfectants like hydrogen peroxide
can damage your upholstery and other surfaces in your vehicle.

4. Have Your Car Checked

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You may not be driving your vehicle as much as you usually would, and cars that sit idle can develop problems. Now that we are entering stage 2 of opening in many areas in Ontario, it is essential to get your vehicle checked by your garage or mechanic to make sure it is working as it should. This care, along with regular maintenance, will help prevent unexpected breakdowns.

Things to check for include:

  • alignment of your tires
  • proper tire pressure
  • brake pad wear and tear

Also, make sure you visit a transmission shop in Oshawa that helps you connect your vehicle to the computer, which can diagnose any car electrical problems.

5. Wash Your Hands

Now that you’ve done the work and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected your vehicle, keep it free from germs by washing your hands every time you get into your car. If you can’t get to a sink with soap and water, keep some alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your vehicle to disinfect your hands.

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