Corona: How to clean your car, bike, shopping cart

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Public transport should currently be avoided as much as possible and keep your distance when shopping. Some supermarkets even impose a shopping cart requirement in order to control the number of customers and safety distances. But how do you protect yourself against viruses on the shopping trolley bar, the car door or bicycle handlebar?

Shopping venture

A shopping cart goes through dozens of hands every day, even in Corona times. It is likely that there will be some with viruses on them. This is why some supermarkets now offer disinfectant wipes to clean the bar and hands before (and after) use. If this is not possible, you can clean your hands before and after shopping using a disinfectant you have brought with you. Gloves are also possible, but they should be disposable gloves - and you should not touch your face with them. If you take the latter into account, it is usually sufficient to wash your hands thoroughly with soap at home before and especially after shopping.

Unpackaged food

So far, there is no evidence that a Covid-19 infection has ever been transmitted through food at all. If you want to be on the safe side, you should rely on heat. Because viruses are sensitive to heat: the risk can be reduced by heating, explains the consumer advice center Schleswig-Holstein on its website (https://www.verbüberszentrale.sh). Wash fruit for a long time under hot water (at least 65 degrees), rolls and bread can be heated in the oven.

Car and bike

The ADAC Hessen-Thuringia explains how to properly disinfect cars and bicycles and which agents are suitable despite the lack of disinfectants in most cases.

General

If you don't have a disinfectant on hand, you can make a lye from commercially available soap or normal washing-up liquid. It is important that no aggressive additives such as alcohol or bleach are added. Otherwise, according to the ADAC, there is a risk of damaging materials. If in doubt, test in an inconspicuous place.

With a clean cloth you can moisten all surfaces with the lye that are touched, sneezed on or coughed on.After a short exposure time, the remaining moisture can be wiped off again.

Which parts in the car should you clean?

In the car, you should regularly clean the steering wheel, gear lever, sun visors, dashboard, screens and the controls for the navigation device, radio, air conditioning and all other switches such as indicators or windshield wipers. It is essential to ensure that the sensitive electronics inside the devices cannot get wet, according to the experts.

Which bike components should you clean?

Cyclists and e-bike riders not only clean the handles and brake levers, but also the gear shift levers and the lock. Don't forget the on-board computer and control unit on e-bikes, but be careful here too - no moisture must be able to penetrate. (caf / dpa)

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