Is Your Vehicle Prepped For COVID -19?

• In-Car Sanitizing Stations
• Sanitizing Processes for…
  • Entering Public Areas
  • Reentering Your Car
  • Bringing Items into Your Car
  • Safe & Low Contact Refueling
  • End of the Day Usage

While the world is doing their best to be on lock down during the COVID-19 epidemic, we all have those few exceptions when we need to travel outside our homes to stock up on essential items or attend to necessary work activities that can’t be done from home 

Is Your Vehicle Putting You in Danger?

Your vehicle can help to keep you safe or put you in danger of becoming infected. It’s truly a hotbed of growing germs considering all that’s being touched from within, not to mention the items that are brought into your car from outside places.

Did you know you can protect yourself and your loved ones by turning your car into a disinfecting station! With the proper setup and processes, you can essentially sterilize yourself upon entering your vehicle before you go anywhere else. By making a habit of taking the necessary precautions in between trips and upon entering and exiting your vehicle, your ensuring the protection of your health and that of your loved ones. 

Prepping Your Car for COVID

To begin, you will need two containers, both no bigger than a standard size milk crate 12 x 12 x 10 1⁄2″. Keep in mind that the idea is to permanently leave these containers in your car for the remainder of the COVID lockdown.   One container will be for your trunk and the other one for your passenger side seat, or any place that’s easy to reach from your driver’s seat.

Sanitizing Station 1

Your trunk will serve as the initial disinfecting station before you enter your vehicle, after having been outside. For the trunk container you’ll need small garbage bags with one that’s already open and ready to easily capture any contents you’ll be placing in it. You’ll also need disinfectant wipes, disinfectant spray, a supply of masks and hand sanitizer.

Sanitizing Station 2

The inside of your car will serve as the second sanitizing station that will clean any items your bringing into your car  by way of drive through or grocery pickups etc. For this container we suggest you have the same contents as your trunk container.

Tips before Entering Public Areas

Before leaving your car to go to your destination be sure to place a 2 face masks and a pair of disposable gloves within a zip lock bag and the pocket size disinfectant wipes container to carry with you.

The extra masks will come in handy in case you feel you need a new one or you’ve accidentally touched your face after having touched a suspicious item. The wipes will come in handy for wiping down handles on bathroom stalls, sink handles or desks you may need to sit at. If you’re visiting a place like a grocery store you can wipe down the plastic, metal or cardboard containers or your credit card after swiping it.

Sanitizing Process before Reentering

The sanitizing process needed before you enter your vehicle after having been outside is the following:

 Open the trunk, take off your face mask by grasping the string around the ears and place them in a garbage bag, making sure not to touch the front of the mask since that’s where the mask is most likely to catch any viral germs from the air. Next, take off your gloves by placing your opposite hand, pointer finger under the sleeve of the glove, pulling it off. Place the gloves in a garbage bag as well

Proceed to take out the hand sanitizer and sanitize your hands making sure to get in between the fingers and around the nails. Take out the disinfecting wipes and wipe down your keys and whatever hard surface item you’re bringing into the vehicle. If it’s something like groceries in plastic bags you can spray them down before placing them in the trunk.

Then wipe down the hand sanitizer, the sanitizing wipes container, the sanitizing spray bottle, the handles of the vehicle doors and the trunk handle. Place the wipes in the plastic garbage bags. Put on new gloves and face mask and throw away the garbage bag. If there is no garbage bin nearby, you can leave it in the trunk until you find one at your nest destination.  

You’re now ready to enter your vehicle with less chance of bringing in any traces of the virus you happen to have come in contact with

Sanitizing Process For Bringing Items Into The Car

There may be situations in which you’re picking items up and placing them into your car from drive through or pick up stations.  In cases like these you may be giving and receiving your credit card from other people. You’ll want to make sure to wipe down the credit card before placing it into your wallet. Try to not use cash whenever possible. After handling the credit card you may want to sanitize your hands and or change gloves. It’s best to have these supplies ready so you can do this easily without scrambling.

If you’re picking up fast food take precaution to not eat in your car, but wait until you get to your destination to empty the fast food container into a clean container at home.

Low Contact Refueling

Your sanitizing station will be of assistance as well when it’s time to fill up on gas. Some tips include paying at the pump whenever possible. Before entering your card to charge it in the kiosk, you can wipe down the keys or touch screen before entering your information. When pumping gas, use the gloves to hold the pump handle, or at least use the paper towels available to have a barrier between your skin and the handle. And lastly upon entering your car, use hand sanitizer or the alcohol spray on your hands before you touch anything inside the car.

Virus Life Span on Different Surfaces

When you’re done with your trips for the day and you arrive to your home, take note of the virus life span on different surfaces before bringing items into your home.

The virus lives on plastic for 3 days, cardboard for 24 hours and metal for 2- 3 days. Any non perishable items you cannot afford to leave in the car for a few days, you can spray down with the sanitizing spray before bringing into your home.

Sanitizing Process Before Leaving Your Car For the Day

Before settling back home for the day or before your next trip you can sanitize your car by wiping the interior with the disinfectant wipes. You’ll want to focus on the areas you most touch such as…

1. Steering wheel
2. Door handle
3. Gear selector
4. Seat belt buckles
5. Wiper and turn-signal stalks
6. All buttons
7. Seat adjusters
8. Door grab handles
9. Door armrests

If your car has a touch screen, don’t use anything that has ammonia as an ingredient to clean it, as it can damage the antiglare and anti-fingerprint coatings. The rubbing alcohol solution and a microfiber towel work well.

If you’re low on cleaning supplies, a soap and water solution spray are also a safe bet for most surfaces. But no matter what you use, a gentle touch is recommended since; the surfaces inside your car are going to be more delicate than more rugged surfaces like the countertops in your kitchen.

Here at Family1st we care about your safety and understand how baffling it can be to take precaution against something that isn’t visible to the naked eye.  With these precaution, you can rest assured you’re doing all you can to keep you and your family safe. Family1st also houses affordable GPS devices, asset tracker GPS, battery GPS tracker, car GPS tracker, and really cheap real-time GPS tracker devices for the safety of you. For more information on how you can use tracking devices for the safety of your driving teenager check out more blog posts here.