Health authorities, automotive business organizations and brands have distributed decalogues and methods so that everyone can eliminate possible viral contamination in their car. Another option, usually satisfactory, is to go to professionals. Now that, with phase 1 of the de-escalation , spaces will be opened for greater contact with the steering wheel of our car, we discover what general brands in vehicle care and others specialized in comprehensive cleaning can offer us.
This week of phase zero in the de-escalation has launched some businesses, which are stocking up to meet the demand that is coming , but which at the moment do not register waiting lists, such as hairdressers . Many are still closed waiting for next Monday, May 11 to open their doors, in some cases with the inauguration of phase 1 of the de-escalation .
There are businesses focused on other automotive specialties that are preparing to give priority to cleaning and disinfecting cars, as confirmed by Renovauto , a specialist in vehicle restoration in Madrid. " We are going to make a difference to this facet due to the psychosis that exists , but I estimate that the machines and the material necessary for cleaning and disinfecting the cars will not have arrived in about 15 days," the owner confesses.
'Ozone therapy'
Also in vehicle repair chains there is a renewal of materials. For example, the firm Norauto maintains an activated protocol and its stores throughout Spain are supplying themselves with a new and more effective disinfectant product, as Francisco García points out to us from his Seville workshop Norauto Tomares . The auto repair and care chain has long been using an ozone-based disinfection machine . "When we go out to change a battery on the street because the car has stopped, we always carry it and disinfect it," continues the owner of this Norauto store, which will open Monday and will serve customers by strict appointment order .
The ozone-based virus and bacteria removal process takes about 25 minutes and is performed with the engine started and the air conditioner activated with recirculation mode . But in Norauto they are also renovating the machinery and a new version of the ozone generating machine is already coming to the workshops . In the new protocols the change of air filters is also included . Everything can cost between 30 and 50 euros depending on the car and the treatment .
'Self-hygiene kit'
The Midas network workshop on Via Augusta in Barcelona opened on Tuesday and is also taking more advantage of the ozone machine than before the health crisis, which applies 20 minutes with the car running, air conditioning fully ventilated and well closed doors and windows. Although this has always been done by Midas and for free when they leave a car for repair or revision. "With this method, there are very few places where ozone does not pass and the car is completely disinfected , " says the head of the Barcelona workshop, Jesús Flores.
Midas also uses a disinfectant spray to go over the most critical areas, which are logically the door handles on the outside and will soon offer their customers a complete self-hygiene kit (gloves, mask, disinfectant products). It should be noted that Midas has not been dedicated specifically to car cleaning, but at the moment they are obliged to offer this service in view of the foreseeable high demand that it expects as soon as we have greater possibilities of using our car. The price of a general cleaning and ozone with the system that the firm has called 'aircare' is 30 euros .
Nebulizer
Outside of the classic fast repair companies, we find a good number of family-type workshops that are exclusively dedicated to the complete or partial cleaning of vehicles , in which the detail to avoid any collision with the Covid-19 or any other virus and bacteria is more than elaborate.
This is the case of Art d'Car, in the Madrid town of Alcalá de Henares, which has already passed 25 years of customer service. Its owner, Sonia Sánchez, is pending each publication of the health authorities to incorporate the recommendations regarding treatments or products that may occur . And yet, looking again, "but I could not contact either the Ministry of Health and the Ministry Madrid if they could certify me that what we are doing is the best. I like to have all proven, but it's hard to answer you nor phone or email . "
In the words of Sánchez, by way of summary, " now everyone sells motorcycles with the ozone generator , but it is not enough, it does not reach all parts of the car. So, in addition to ventilating the car with the machine, we use always another oxygenated water mist machine and a disinfectant product specifically recommended for the coronavirus for greater safety. "
Ultraviolet lamps
Art d'Car is confident that it is doing a perfect job and guarantees it 100% . If you want to take your car to leave it untouched, Sonia Sánchez tells you what, roughly , they will do with it.
"The client comes with the car, leaves it started and with the ventilation circuit switched on. Inside we install the ozone generator for a period of half an hour, more or less. Then, with the other machine, we nebulize with a biodegradable product for a short time more than five minutes. After a while, we remove the leftovers that have remained in the humidified areas . Finally, we use germicidal ultraviolet irradiation lamps to ensure the elimination of all microorganisms, "synthesizes the head of Art d'Car. A special solution is used to clean exterior surfaces, such as door handles, and you're done.
Adjusted prices
The process lasts an hour , if it is limited only to this disinfection, and the price is around 50 euros, although the size and condition of the vehicle that we leave in the workshop can vary it. By appointment and budget, the car can be left as new, although Sonia Sánchez tells us about the Audi A5 that has just entered her property, made a few foxes. "To leave it completely well, you will have to work thoroughly and it can cost around 300 euros," he confesses.
We went to another Madrid establishment specifically dedicated to cleaning cars, this time in the Európolis industrial estate in Las Rozas, where Rocío López, who has been running Ecopolis for four years , has been waiting for us . Now his ozone generating machine, which he used occasionally and as a courtesy to customers who asked for a comprehensive car wash, is going to be doing overtime. In half an hour, with the air conditioning on full blast, the coronavirus - in case it has been installed somewhere in the vehicle - raises the white flag. Or that, at least they assure us when picking up the vehicle after paying 50 euros, a rate that includes normal and medium washing, disinfection and the 'ozonated' interior.
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