How to Sanitize Car Interiors Without Damaging Surfaces at Your Car Wash

Car wash owners have had to come up with new cleaning and sanitization methods, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. These methods extend from keeping the car wash sanitized and cleaned to ensuring customers’ vehicles are cleaned and sanitized using the right COVID-19 car wash supplies.

While cleaning and sanitizing the exterior is easy because you can use hot water and soap, how to sanitize car interiors is another matter. You cannot roll down the windows and run the car through the car wash to also clean and sanitize the interior!

The thought of washing the inside of a car might seem funny, but it won’t seem funny to the customer—not to mention the potential for damages to electronics used in modern vehicles.

So, how do you kill coronavirus in your customers’ vehicles? The first step is to ensure your employees are protected with the right Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). They need gloves, facemasks, goggles or face shields, and possibly disposable coveralls.

Gloves should be changed after each vehicle is sanitized. Coveralls should also be changed after each vehicle if the employee enters the vehicle and touches any part of the interior with the coveralls while cleaning and sanitizing the vehicle.

Once your employees are properly outfitted, they should follow these steps to clean and sanitize vehicles at your car wash:

Step 1: Vacuum the car’s interior.

Vacuum up dirt, dust, and other debris from floor mats, carpeting, and the seats. Don’t forget to get underneath the front seats and down the sides and backs of seats too! You can use a brush attachment to clean air vents and other attachments for hard-to-reach areas. If you are doing a full-service vacuum, remember to vacuum out the trunk as well.

Step 2: “Wash” the car’s interior.

To “wash” the car’s interior, it will depend on the type of materials used inside the vehicle. Rubber and all-weather floor mats can be removed and washed with soap and water, and then rinsed and hung up to dry while you work on the rest of the interior.

You can sanitize cloth upholstery, carpeting, and floor mats with an EPA-registered disinfectant spray like Lysol®. Just make sure to not over-saturate cloth and carpeted materials. Hang the floor mats up outside the vehicle so that the carpeting can air dry.

You can use a small fan to help speed the drying times of cloth seats and carpeting. Once they are dry, take a hand scrub brush with soft bristles and gently rub the seats and carpeting to help maintain the material.

For leather upholstery and trim, you should test an inconspicuous area first to see if the leather fades or bleeds. One COVID-19 sanitization product you can make yourself that can be used in leather is a 1:2 ratio mixture of water to vinegar.

Basically, for every liquid cup of water, use two cups vinegar and mix well. Pour the solution into spray bottles so you can spray it onto leather seats and trim. Allow it to sit for about 30 seconds before wiping it off with a microfiber towel. Make sure the leather surfaces are fully dry, and then apply a leather conditioner immediately.

Step 3: “Wash” the rest of the car’s interior.

The best way to “wash” the rest of the car’s interior is to use disinfectant and sanitizing wipes. Just make sure to use multiple wipes to properly sanitize the vehicle. For instance, you would use one wipe for the dashboard, another wipe for each door, and another wipe for the glovebox and center console.

Step 4: Use a checklist of high-touch surfaces to ensure they were cleaned and sanitized.

You and your staff already know to clean and sanitize steering wheels and door handles. Yet, there are many other high-touch surfaces that could be forgotten if you don’t make and use a checklist, including:

• Touchscreens
• Radio Controls
• Climate Controls
• Air Vents
• Air Vent Adjustment Controls
• Manual Window Cranks
• Interior Windows
• Trunk Release Button
• Gas Tank Cover Release Button
• Rear Seat Heating/Ventilating Controls
• Rear Seat Climate Controls
• Seat Adjustment Knobs, Switches, and Handles
• Handles/Clothes Hangers Above Car Doors
• Rear View Mirror
• Sunglass Holders
• Gear Shifters/Knobs
• Key Fobs
• Glove Box Latch
• Center Console Latch
• Rear Seat Air Vents
• Rear Seat Air Vent Adjustment Controls
• Interior Lighting Controls/Buttons
• Electric Window and Door Lock Buttons
• Rear Seat Infotainment Systems/Touchscreens
• Sunroof Controls
• Sun Visors
• Visor Flip-Down Mirrors
• Turn Signal/Windshield Wiper Controls
• Seat Belts
• Seat Belt Release Buttons
• Headrest Adjustment Buttons
• Rear Seat Release Pull Straps
• Baby/Toddler Car Seats
• Door Locks
• Hood Release Latch

Essentially, you and your employees want to clean and sanitize the entire interior of the vehicle.

Step 5: Clean and sanitize the roof.

If the vehicle has a sunroof/moonroof, you will want to clean and sanitize the sunscreen and the glass. For the interior glass on the sunroof/moonroof, you can use a cleaning and sanitizing wipe.

Make sure to use an EPA-registered disinfectant that is safe for the roof material. Most vehicles use some type of cloth material for the roof, so the same disinfectant spray you use for the other cloth upholstery areas can be used for the roof too.

If the material is leather, then you can also use the same leather sanitizer used on seats and leather trim. Just make sure to apply a leather conditioner to the roof as well!

Step 6: Clean and sanitize the gas cap.

Even though the gas cap is on the exterior, it is often hiding away behind a covered door with the release inside the vehicle. Go ahead and pop open the door so you can clean and disinfect inside the door and the gas cap.

Since most gas caps and their housings are plastic, you can use the same type of COVID-19 cleaning product you use on the other plastic interior surfaces. For the gas cover, use a product that is safe on metal and which won’t remove the paint.

Step 7: Detail the car’s interior.

Now that the car’s interior has been cleaned and sanitized, you can finish detailing the interior. Use the right auto detailing products like Armor All to protect vinyl, plastic, and leather surfaces. You can also hang up a new air freshener in the customer’s favorite scent. Last, double-check the windows for smears or streaks.

Where can I find a list of EPA-registered disinfectants?

Both the EPA and CDC have published a list of EPA-registered disinfectants that can be used as COVID-19 car wash supplies to clean and sanitize vehicles. You can also check any current cleaning and sanitizing products you have to see if they are on the list of recommended ones that can be used to sanitize for COVID-19.

Are there any car interior cleaning and sanitization products I should avoid using?

The most obvious one is chlorine bleach. Bleach will discolor the surfaces it is used on and can damage cloth, vinyl, and certain plastics. Other products you should avoid using are any that are ammonia-based.

The only exceptions would be ammonia-based glass cleaners. These are okay to use on the interior windows to help kill coronavirus, yet you do need to be careful to not get the glass cleaner on the dash, door, or other areas, as ammonia can also cause color bleeding and fading.

Additionally, any products that contain harsh chemicals should not be used. The chemicals could damage interior surfaces—not to mention the unpleasant smell of chemicals could linger afterward and pose health risks to your car wash customers.

What else should I know about cleaning and sanitizing my customers’ vehicles?

Since the COVID-19 crisis, something most car wash owners are discovering is that car washing, cleaning, detailing, and sanitization processes now take longer per vehicle. You will need more time to be thorough and ensure each vehicle is properly cleaned and sanitized.

Some car wash owners are assigning two employees to each vehicle to help speed up the process. Each employee is responsible for cleaning and sanitizing one side of the vehicle. Taking this approach can make the time per vehicle seem more “normal” for your customers.

Another option, when you cannot afford to have two employees working on one vehicle, is to allow customers to drop off their vehicles and pick them up later in the day. This way, you and your employees can work on one vehicle at a time and not feel rushed since the customer is not standing there waiting for their vehicle.

You could even use a combination of both approaches to provide a range of car washing and car detailing services for your customers.

To find COVID-19 car wash supplies, car wash vending supplies, car wash parts, car air fresheners, and car wash items at wholesale prices, please feel free to browse and shop online at Superior Car Wash Supply today!

You may also contact us at 800-554-9274 with any questions or for help placing an order.