How Clean Is Your Car? | ExpatWoman.com
 

How Clean Is Your Car?

Posted on

30 July 2013

Last updated on 19 January 2020

How Clean Is Your Car?

Not the shiny outside… the potentially grubby inside?

That’s got you thinking hasn’t it!

I’m writing this even though my hands are in agony to raise awareness for this issue. I’m having a severe allergic reaction to my car steering wheel, caused by the heat of the sun degrading the chemicals in the steering wheel which has now presented itself as a painful, swollen, itchy condition on the palms of my hands!

car interior
 

After realising the only thing that could have caused this reaction on both hands in the same place, I did a bit of googling and found that it is quite a common problem but also one that is easily solved. I went to the doctor’s and after a process of elimination she concurred that this is the source of the irritation. If you think about what the interior temps of cars must get up too it’s no wonder that degeneration of the interior components can happen and start to release irritants.

Cars in the Middle East are extreme environments for plastics, as extreme air temperatures of 88C and dash temperatures of up to 120C can increase the concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) and break other chemicals down into more toxic substances, according to HealthyStuff.org.

Some car manufacturers are taking this issue to the next level and producing allergen free cars as well. For example, Volvo in 2009, changed all the leather used in its car interiors to the type that has been tanned not using any chrome in the process as this can cause contact eczema and rashes in peple who are allergic to it.

Ford engineers tested more than 100 materials and components on the new Fusion and other Ford vehicles for allergy issues. Engineers avoid – or minimize – materials such as natural latex, hexavalent chromium and nickel, which can produce an allergic reaction in some people. Components requiring allergen testing include common high-touch areas such as the seats, steering wheel, armrests, door handles and shifters.
WebMD says more than half of all Americans test positive to one or more allergens. Allergies have been increasing for the past three decades across all age, gender and racial groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ford seeks to reduce the irritation of allergens – associated with seasonal weather and possibly rash-inducing materials – by rigorously testing its vehicles and installing cabin air filters that prevent airborne particles such as dust, spores, fungus and pollen from entering the vehicle.

From dust to hexavalent chromium (a chemical sometimes found in dyes, paints and plastics), natural latex to pollen, almost any material or substance can be a potential allergen. Ford testers make sure dyes and formaldehyde are strictly limited to levels that are acceptable even for clothing.

Disturbingly, that “new car smell” that people like is actually chemicals seeping from the various components of your car interior! The chemicals that off-gas from parts such as the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests and seats and can contribute to a variety of acute and long-term health concerns.

If you can't afford to get a new allergen- free car, there are a few things that you can do to keep your car “healthy” inside.

• Make sure you wash and hoover the interior of the car regularly- at least once a week. Use mild cleaning agents. Include hoovering the seats as well as the floor as dust mites can live in the upholstery.

• Antibacterial solutions can help clean a normal car and disinfect it, removing all fungus and bacteria.
• Damp dust the dashboard and wipe off your windows regularly.

• Use a steering wheel cover made of more natural products and change every year for a new one.

• Wear thin gloves whilst driving so that you aren’t coming into direct skin contact with any of the parts that may affect you.

• If you can’t park in a covered space make sure you use a sun shield to reflect some of the sun’s rays away from the interior of your car.

• Don’t leave rubbish in your car- always clear it out at the end of every journey- especially food waste… imagine the horrors that could start breeding in your car if you left that in for too long!

• If you purchase a new car, leave the windows rolled down a bit for the first few days if you can…. So that the “new car smell” fumes being given off have time to escape and not become an irritant.

Hopefully this reaction I am suffering should clear up in a week but it has been extremely uncomfortable, painful and not something I would want to go through ever again. Hopefully this article will help prevent someone going through what I have and we can all have nice, clean and healthy car interiors!

Here’s the link to the “healthy car” surveys that HealthStuff.org have been doing since 2006 so you can see where your car brand comes in on the healthiness scale…

www.healthystuff.org/release.021512.cars.php

 
 

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