close up of spray water on black background

Contributed by AFFLINK

Electrostatic sprayers are now being used by facility service providers in all types of locations to help eliminate the pathogens that cause COVID-19. However, an overlooked use for these systems is to help disinfect vehicles, according to Michael Wilson, vice president of Marketing for AFFLINK.

“This would include the cars cleaning professionals drive, delivery vehicles, taxis, car-for-hire services, school busses, and public transportation," said Wilson.

Just so we are all on the same page, electrostatic sprayers add a positive electrical charge to disinfectants as they are sprayed on to surfaces. This charge allows it to attract and adhere to most surfaces in buildings and inside vehicles.

When used in vehicles, Wilson said, “the goal is to disinfect surfaces most commonly touched by passengers as well as drivers,” such as the following:

- Seats, grab handles and arm rests

- Partition glass

- Door handles

- Safety belt buckles and surrounding fabric

- Dashboards, rear seat controls, and credit card processing units in taxies

- Doors and windows

They can also be used on vehicle carpets, headrests, headliners, trays, and trunks.

“But before using the electrostatic sprayer, all these surfaces must be cleaned first,” said Wilson. "Because cleaning all these surfaces can take time, look for disinfectants that ‘persistently’ and ‘continuously protect’ surfaces. These terms should be on the label; they usually mean the disinfectant is engineered to eliminate pathogens for up to 90 days.”

As to the application, Wilson advises the following:

- Always wear a mask; goggles are recommended

- For small vehicles, leave doors open and stand about six feet away

- Allow the disinfectant to air dry for at least 15 minutes before using the vehicle.

“The disinfectant will go to work immediately,” said Wilson. “Depending on [the] product selected, not only will it help eliminate COVID pathogens, but should eradicate many other types of disease-causing bacteria, mold, mildew, and fungi.”