Safe way to disinfect door panels?

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scanlessfool

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I have a car with very dirty door panels. I'm not just talking about your typical grime and dirt, but food stains and who knows what else. Before I actually cleaned them, I wanted to disinfect them, but I wasn't sure what to use. I was at Target and was reading the back of a 409 anti-bacterial bottle and just when I was about to purchase it, I read ". . . do not use on vinyl". With that said, can anyone recommend alternatives please.

P.S. I may be mistaken in the material on the door panels, but just to be safe, here are pictures just in case someone can correctly identify the material.

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Any specific reason for disinfecting, rather than cleaning? I'm sure any standard all purpose cleaner, like opc will clean well.

Most common disinfectants are very harsh and will discolor the plastic. Even the all natural products will.
 
Ted S. said:
Any specific reason for disinfecting, rather than cleaning? I'm sure any standard all purpose cleaner, like opc will clean well.

Most common disinfectants are very harsh and will discolor the plastic. Even the all natural products will.
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Primarily as a sanitary precaution more than anything.
 
scanlessfool said:
Primarily as a sanitary precaution more than anything.
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I would just recommend cleaning with a good apc as mentioned above. After that you can try this:

1. Make two small (1-2 gal. buckets).
2. Fill one with warm water.
3. Fill the other with warm water + a dish safe antibacterial soap.
4. With the soapy water and a microfiber towel, carefully wipe all vinyl areas of interior, one panel/ section at a time. Let the soap solution set o the area for at least 20-30 seconds before rinsing using a separate microfiber towel to rinse and another to dry.
5. Go back over the sanitized surface with an apc to remove any soap/water residue may linger.
6. Dress the trim with your favorite dressing/protectant.

This may be time consuming.

Be careful and do a test spot on an inconspicuous area, just to make sure you get the desired results.

Other forum members may even know of products that can be used like an apc to disinfect without discoloration.

Good luck, and show some pics of the results!:props:
 
Using a steamer would be the way to go.
 
I would just go straight to APC (diluted) and some microfibers, maybe scrub them if necessary. If you have access to a steamer that will definitely work great to loosen all the grime.

If you really worried about your hands getting dirty, through on some gloves.
 
Easy. Spray Nine. Safe on almost all surfaces, it a very good cleaner and best of all, it contains a broad spectrum disinfectant. I mostly use it on boats to remove mold/mildew and inhibit its regrowth. Never felt a need to disinfect a car. You get mines from homedepot.
 
take a look at some of kc's write-ups. The interiors he does are 100 times worse and they all come clean with opc
 
A steamer is the route I would like to go with, but unfortunately, I do not have access one.

lasthope05, is the product that you speak of?

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Spray Nine. It's a good APC along with a discinfectant. Great stuff and usually available locally!
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Is your concern "catching" something? Or is there an odor involved?
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There is already an odor problem in the cabin of the vehicle, so it would help address that issue in addition to me cleaning upholstery with a rug doctor. I'm not concerned about catching something, it's just nasty and I want to rid of bacteria from the leftover food stains, etc.
 
scanlessfool said:
There is already an odor problem in the cabin of the vehicle, so it would help address that issue in addition to me cleaning upholstery with a rug doctor. I'm not concerned about catching something, it's just nasty and I want to rid of bacteria from the leftover food stains, etc.
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For the odor problem you might find something like CarPro's So2Pure, or (for a locally available option) OdoBan more effective....
 
scanlessfool said:
There is already an odor problem in the cabin of the vehicle, so it would help address that issue in addition to me cleaning upholstery with a rug doctor. I'm not concerned about catching something, it's just nasty and I want to rid of bacteria from the leftover food stains, etc.
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I guess I would approach it the other way, clean everything first, disinfect after. I mean, if you had a cut on your arm with mud all over it, you'd wash the mud off with water before you put any peroxide or betadyne on it, right?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I guess I would approach it the other way, clean everything first, disinfect after. I mean, if you had a cut on your arm with mud all over it, you'd wash the mud off with water before you put any peroxide or betadyne on it, right?
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Hmm, very true and good analogy!
 
scanlessfool said:
A steamer is the route I would like to go with, but unfortunately, I do not have access one.

lasthope05, is the product that you speak of?

139794_300.jpg
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Looks to be an interesting product. Much easier than the process I suggested. I will have to look around for some.
 
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