Nissan Offers Professional Advice On How To Disinfect Your Car, Crossover, or Truck

Here are tips from Nissan on how to clean your car to keep yourself safe.

The following is a public service story containing facts and advice from Nissan:

Nissan is offering suggestions on how to disinfect your vehicle in the era of COVID-19. We all know that frequent hand washing and masks as directed by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are a crucial part of staying healthy. In addition to those instructions, Nissan offers the following tips for disinfecting surfaces inside of your vehicle.

"Most people are still using their vehicles, whether they are essential employees commuting to work or someone running to the grocery store while in quarantine," said Ryan Fulkerson, director, New Model Engineering, Nissan North America. "We want to make sure they're informed on how to best keep their vehicle disinfected."

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The CDC recommends wearing disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in your vehicle. Wiped down and surfaces that appear dirty with soap and water prior to disinfection. A soft towel or microfiber cloth dampened with soap and water can be used.

Nissan recommends that you avoid cleaning solutions that contain bleach, hydrogen peroxide, benzene, thinners or other harsh and abrasive cleaners. These chemical products may damage your vehicle's upholstery and/or interior surfaces. Ideally, alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol are the best choice according to the CDC and can be safely used in your vehicle.

The infotainment screen is particularly tricky. It is a high-touch area that should not come in contact with aggressive cleaners. Nissan says to use screen wipes or a soft cloth dampened with soap and water to clean the screen surface. Then dry with a clean, soft cloth. Avoid ammonia-based cleaners on infotainment screens. They can damage the anti-glare and anti-fingerprint coatings. Once clean, using voice commands and steering wheel controls can help avoid touching the center screen altogether.

Nissan offers this checklist to help you remember vehicles surfaces to regularly disinfect:
-Steering wheel
-Key and remote fob
-Exterior door handles, both sides
-Trunk lid or lift gate grab areas
-Interior door pulls, both sides and interior door panels
-Start button, if equipped
-Rear view mirror, back, and edges
-HVAC vents
-Gear selector
-Turn signal lever
-Windshield wiper controls
-Center stack knobs
-Center console and armrest
-Seat belt and buckle. Avoid harsh cleaners on the belt itself, they can degrade the fibers and the belt's strength
-Parking brake handle, parking brake or release lever

Most Nissan and other brands' dealerships service departments are open and offer extensive cleaning and detailing services for a fee. If you have any suggestions that you have found work well, please offer them in the comments section below.

John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John's focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of a team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of battery thermal control designer. For 20 years he applied his engineering and sales talents in the high tech world and published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career and dedicated himself to chasing his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin.

Image notes: Images courtesy of Nissan media support.