Tips On Disinfecting Your Car By Yourself

Tips On Disinfecting Your Car By Yourself. With the cold weather approaching fast, it’s time to think about what you can do to help keep your family healthy. One of the best ways to prevent illnesses caused by airborne contaminants is to clean your car regularly, but this isn’t always possible if you don’t have the right equipment or don’t know how to use it properly.

However, there are plenty of simple steps you can take to disinfect your car yourself, and we’ll cover all of them here in our tips for disinfecting your car yourself. Read on!

Tips On Disinfecting Your Car By Yourself

1. Air Vents

One of the best places to start disinfecting is in your car’s air vents. These tend to collect dust and grime easily, no matter how well you clean them, so they need extra attention.

All you need to do is grab some rubber gloves and a bottle of bleach (or whatever disinfectant you prefer), then get to work by spraying down the air vents with cleaner and wiping them down with a cloth.

To make sure all of the soap gets completely washed away, rub the vents with a clean cloth after each spray until it’s completely dry. If possible, try not to lock yourself out of your car while cleaning the air vents since it can be difficult to get back in.

2. Car Seats and Door Panels

Any area of your car that gets a lot of use is often the perfect place to start treating with disinfectants:

1. If you haven’t already done so, clean the seats by wiping them down with a cloth soaked in bleach or soap and water.
2. Vacuum out any loose particles that might find their way back into the seat after you’re finished cleaning it. After vacuuming, spray down any areas you missed with some cleaner (or whichever disinfectant you prefer), wipe them off again with a cloth and repeat until your seats are completely clean.
3. For the door panels, spray down the areas with a disinfecting spray (or whatever disinfectant you prefer) and wipe them down with a cloth until they’re completely dry.

3. Carpets

If you have carpets in your car, especially if they’re full of holes or rips, your family might be at risk of catching illnesses like colds or flu viruses carried on carpet fibers.

It’s best to completely clean any carpets in the car by removing all of the mats and cleaning them well with a combination of bleach and water, then drying them carefully so that no water can re-enter the carpet through any gaps that might have formed.

However, if you don’t have the time or supplies for this process, you can also try using a disinfectant spray to remove any possible contaminants that might still be lingering on the carpet.

For more tips on how to disinfect your carpets with your supplies, read our article on how to make your disinfectant sprays.

4. Clothes in the Trunk

While cleaning things like the interior of your car tends to be less important than those extra tasks like vacuuming and cleaning out the seats after a car wash, something as simple as cleaning out your trunk might keep you and your family healthier.

All you need to do is pull out all of the things from your trunks like muddy boots, jackets, and other items that have been sitting in the trunk for a while, and spray them down with some bleach or whatever disinfectant you prefer.

Then, wipe it down with a clean cloth to remove any lingering dirt until the item is completely dry.

5. Pet Hair on Carpets

While pet hair tends to be one of the most common sources of bacteria contamination, especially in households where cats or dogs are regularly allowed free run of your home, it can also create problems in your car.

If your car has carpets or even floor mats, consider doing some spot-cleaning of the carpet to remove any stray pet hair that might be hiding in the fibers.

You can do this by spraying down areas of the carpet with a disinfectant cleaner, wiping them clean, and using a cloth to work out any leftover soap. This can help you keep your family healthier by preventing illness caused by pet hair that might be lurking on your car’s carpets.

6. Headlights and Taillights

Your headlights and taillights are another important part of your car that’s worth disinfecting regularly. This part of your car is often exposed to a lot of weather, airborne contaminants, and the accumulated grime that can make it easy for bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants to build up on the surface.

Unfortunately, most car waxes are not effective at cleaning these parts of your car because they can’t reach into the tight spaces between the lights and the frame of the car.

However, there are several methods you can use for this task, so here are some tips for disinfecting your headlights and taillights with bleach by yourself.

Benefits Of Disinfecting Your Car

1. It protects you, your family, and your pets from colds, flu, and other airborne illnesses

By disinfecting regularly, you’ll reduce the risk of illness caused by germs that can easily build up in your car.

If you don’t want to use bleach to disinfect your car, there are plenty of other options including household cleaning sprays or wipes made specifically for cleaning cars. Just make sure that whatever you choose is appropriate for treating your car’s interior surfaces.

2. It reduces the risk of dirt and dust build-up

Keeping your car clean is one of the easiest ways to keep it in good condition, but it’s also a great way to keep it clean and safe for you and your family. If you let dirt, dust, and grime accumulate on your car for too long, these contaminants can easily get into the crevices that are otherwise difficult to reach with regular cleaning.

By regularly disinfecting your car with a bleach treatment, you’ll help reduce the risk of getting sick from exposure to dirt and other airborne particles.

3. It reduces your vehicle’s resale value

By cleaning and disinfecting your car frequently, you can keep it looking newer and clean longer. Most likely, this is something that you don’t think about unless you consider buying a used car as an option, but many buyers prefer to purchase used cars that show signs of normal wear and tear, but are still in good condition.

This shows the seller’s confidence in their car’s condition which makes it more desirable for potential buyers. If you show signs of neglect like dirt and grime on your vehicle, this can cause potential buyers to question the condition of your car more and potentially make it less desirable.

4. It helps keep your car clean for longer

By regularly cleaning your car, you don’t have to keep doing it every time you take it for a wash or even after a simple detailing session.

When you clean the exterior of your car with a car cleaner designed specifically for that purpose, only a small amount of chemicals are required and most of the work is done quickly and easily.

This can help reduce the frequency that you need to clean your car’s interior which will allow it to stay cleaner for longer.

How Often Should I Clean and Disinfect Car?

You should aim to clean and disinfect your car as often as possible, especially after any major events like car washes, and getting your oil changed.

If you have pets in your family, it’s also a good idea to disinfect your car often because pet hair can easily hide bacteria, especially if you let your pets roam free inside your car.

Tips On Disinfecting Your Car By Yourself – Conclusion

You should clean and disinfect your car every month to help keep your family healthier. If you live in a warm area, you might find that every other month is sufficient, depending on how often you drive and the temperatures in your area.