How To Protect Your Car From Covid-19

Even if you’re diligent about sheltering in place and self-distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, you need to get out of the house occasionally. That might be to get groceries or relieve some cabin fever, but whatever you plan to do, your vehicle is your best asset. With the convenience of a car, you can get things done and get back home without putting yourself at greater risk. Plus, you’re better protected outside the home when you’re inside your vehicle. 

Having a vehicle at your disposal undoubtedly makes your life during this unusual time more manageable and safer, so make sure whatever you drive in continues to serve you well. You can use this car safety advice to protect your vehicle (and yourself) from COVID-19. 

Safe Things To Do During COVID-19

• Clean High-Touch Areas – The areas you touch are the ones most likely to contain the virus. Direct your efforts towards high-touch areas like the steering wheel, the seat belt buttons, the HVAC controls, and the door handles. Ultimately, you’re going to want to address the entire interior, but make sure to be extra thorough on areas that you or your passengers touch often. Be prepared: when you start to think about everything you touch during the average drive, the list runs a lot longer than you might expect. 
  
• Make Your Own Solution – The CDC recommends using solutions made from soap or alcohol to clean surfaces. Alcohol can damage leather upholstery and other types, so your safest bet is to use a soap solution. Fill a bucket with soapy water, wear protective gloves, then use a clean cloth to wipe down surfaces inside the vehicle. Take care not to get the upholstery too wet because you don’t want moisture to seep into the cushions underneath. Use caution on electronics as well, and put extra effort into the steering wheel, which tends to be the dirtiest part of the car. 
  
• Take Your Time – You need to wash your hands for 20 seconds to get them fully clean, and the same is valid for surfaces inside your vehicle. Don’t just wipe things down once. Clean each surface carefully, and let the solution sit before wiping it off. Admittedly, this process can be tedious, but the more time you spend on car safety, the more risk you eliminate. 
  
• Stock Up on Supplies – Your vehicle is the perfect place to keep cleaning supplies and protective equipment for when you go out. Find space to keep hand sanitizer, gloves, face masks, and disinfecting wipes. Use these to give your hands a quick clean or your steering wheels a wipe-down after being out and about. 
  
• Ride Strategically – Even the most oversized vehicles won’t let you put six feet of distance between the driver and passenger. Therefore, you’re safest from COVID-19 traveling alone. But if you must have passengers, put them in the back rather than the front. Even more importantly, ride with the windows cracked at least three inches so that air ventilates through the cabin instead of allowing traces of the virus to build up inside. 
  
• Travel Safe – Before the pandemic ends, you might find yourself in someone else’s car, whether a friend, family member or ride-share driver. If you must ride with someone else, be as cautious as possible by wearing a mask and gloves while avoiding contact with anything unnecessary. Remember, during COVID-19, it’s not an insult to the driver – it’s the responsible way to keep yourself and everyone else safe. 
  
• Drive With a Mask? – You may have seen other people wearing a mask while driving and wondered if you should follow their lead in car safety. Technically, orders to wear masks in public don’t apply to a vehicle, so you’re not legally mandated to wear one. And if you find that it impairs your driving, you should wait until you arrive somewhere to put a mask on. That said, you run less risk of transmitting COVID-19 to a surface inside your vehicle if you’re wearing a mask. The choice is yours. 
  

Auto Transport – An Important Resource During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the Department of Homeland Security considers the auto transport industry essential, vehicle shipments are still crisscrossing the country as usual. And contrary to what you might expect, this is a great time to consider car shipping. If you need to get a vehicle across long distances, you don’t want to take the risk of doing the drive yourself. 

Car shipping keeps more drivers off the road, which helps everyone in the long run. It makes perfect sense to ship a vehicle right now, and the process is more manageable and affordable than you realize. 

The Original Car Shipping Quote Calculator

Direct Express Auto Transport originated the instant car shipping quote calculator in 2004. It is still the best, most sophisticated, reliable tool available anywhere online. We offer three options that we call tiers of car shipping estimates. The standard rate is the cheapest car shipping quote, but it may take longer. Use it if you are patient. We recommend the expedited car shipping rate and have countless satisfied customers because the shipping process tends to go quicker. The rush rate is our highest level of car shipping service, and many customers are glad they went with that method.