[TusharK]

Windshield Experts has launched a car sanitization service. The prices range from Rs. 250-350 depending on the car's model.



The car sanitization service includes basic car wash, interior and exterior cleaning to alcohol spray-based sanitization. The company claims that the spray-based disinfectant is safe on car interiors and removes stains and smudges, while also killing bacteria and viruses.

The car sanitization service is available in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

According to the company, people are looking for car sanitization services especially after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Thanos-VV]

Business idea sounds effective considering how panicky people are. But is this really needed for Private cars and how does getting your car interior help against the virus? May be i am missing the bigger picture!

If i go out in the car, i am not going to get infected while being inside the car. In the worst case scenario, i can get the virus when i am outside and does this cleaning products kill the viruses on spots where i touch afterwards?

On the other hand, if the product is proven effective, then it might be a good idea for Taxis (then again it is not affordable for Taxis to do it after every ride right?).

[ash22]

Welcome move by Windshield Experts.
For the price range of 250-350 INR, Car wash, Interior, Exterior cleaning/sanitizing is good.
Have to wait and see the hands-on experience.

[Eddy]

I might opt for this if the feedback is good and the location is convenient.

Edit: No information on the WE website.

[reignofchaos]

Spraying alcohol inside the interior is a recipe for disaster especially if the car is kept in the sun.

[ike]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Spraying alcohol inside the interior is a recipe for disaster especially if the car is kept in the sun.

Alcohol based sanitizers will make leather & plastics whitish, and I don't think it'd be possible to get the original colour back. Not sure if the alcohol will create any other problems?

[GTO]

Good in concept, great pricing. Suitable for shared cars or rentals.

For private cars though, just the entry of a foreign body (i.e. the windshield experts employee) is bad news. IMHO, only you & your immediate family should be using your car and hence, there is little to no need to sanitize it . I've even told my car wash guy to stay away from the cabin...just exterior cleaning.

[yd_gli]

Polymers with cleaning agents are a lethal combination. Even the medical grade polymers used in operation theaters and ICUs are susceptible to crazing, discoloration and brittleness when subjected to disinfectants and sanitizing liquids. And most medical grade polymers are classified for chemical resistance based on long and short term exposure.
I know for a fact that automobile grade RMs are not qualified for these chemicals and they only have UV stabilizers for some external and dashboard components.
At 300 bucks, this is basically a locally available sanitizer/alcohol solution that will be diluted with water and sprayed all over the interior. I'd avoid this since the damage is on a micro-structural level and you'll have to live with it until you sell the car.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Thanos-VV

If i go out in the car, i am not going to get infected while being inside the car.

There is a case in Madras where the person picked up Covid-19 when he visited a quarantined neighborhood. He didn't get out of the car or he ddn't lower the glass. When you go slow in a narrow road in an infected area, what prevents the virus from getting inside if the AC is set to draw external air ?

[blackwasp]

Sorry guys but kinda skeptical on this just due to the pricing. Assuming a large city like Delhi or Mumbai, it will cost them a minimum 100 bucks to just reach the clients place (assuming a bike / CNG vehicle). Then you have the labour costs and the chemical cost etc.

On the other hand, if this is a marketing exercise, where they are taking a financial hit, then its ok.

[Annibaddh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Good in concept, great pricing. Suitable for shared cars or rentals.

For private cars though, just the entry of a foreign body (i.e. the windshield experts employee) is bad news. IMHO, only you & your immediate family should be using your car and hence, there is little to no need to sanitize it . I've even told my car wash guy to stay away from the cabin...just exterior cleaning.

Well there are other use cases also. My car was crying for a servicing and I intend to drive back home to Jaipur from Mumbai asap. So have given it to Sunil ji (Select Auto). Since I intend to not wait for more than a day once it returns, I was wondering how to go about disinfecting it. Here's an option. I'll get it disinfected. Keep it in the sun for a day, overnight. and then drive off!

I guess will have to personally oversee the cleaning to ensure they use spray disinfectants and stay out of the cabin as much as possible.

[gururajrv]

There’s a lot of liquids and sanitizers coming out, which is good. But, I’m having my own set of apprehensions around the safety of consumption. One of the bhpians have already told about alcohol mixed liquids could trigger fire easily if parked under sunlight day in and out. What about inhaling that liquid’s odour or fragrance. Is it safe? Who’s really regulating or certifying these liquids to be used?

Aside the above, I’m happy to get it sanitized but the usage of the car is strictly limited to me and no one drives / sits inside it for now except for my immediate family. Like, GTO suggested, may be I will only think of sanitising the car when it goes to servicing mostly next week as I’m not sure of the personnel who handles it.

Regards

RV

[V.Narayan]

Just thought I'd share my experience here for the benefit of other members. A service like this is a "to clean your car I'll have to contaminate it" type. The employee who will with all sincerity and innocence enter your car is a high risk contaminator!! I have two very old parents at my home aged 87 and 93 both of whom are very unwell. I won't go in here on how we manage their protection at home but for the cars they both need to be taken to a doctor once or twice a week. Other than that they don't travel much. So one car is kept sanitized for their travel. Only I drive that car on all occasion. The drivers are not given the keys to open it. Cleaning is done only from the outside. Any cleaning, once in a while, on the insides is done my either me or my grown up daughter. The solution we use is diluted dettol.

We don't yet know the limits of this infection. Till then self service is the best service. Just like we bathe on our own, brush our teeth on our own and address other such needs of personal hygiene on our own cleaning our cars, periodically, should be done on our own.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Prowler

There is a case in Madras where the person picked up Covid-19 when he visited a quarantined neighborhood. He didn't get out of the car or he ddn't lower the glass. When you go slow in a narrow road in an infected area, what prevents the virus from getting inside if the AC is set to draw external air ?

The person in question likely got infected somewhere else and not from driving through this so called "infected area". There is no such thing as an infected area. The virus doesn't float around in the air. You can get infected if you spend more than a few minutes close to an infected person in an enclosed area like a room or a car. Just because an area has had a number of cases doesn't mean that the virus is magically floating around there in the streets. Walking or driving in such an area presents no risk whatsoever. Even passing by an infected person in a street would pose no issues due to the large volume of air when you are outside. If a person simply driving through in his car would get infected then virtually 100% of the residents of that area should also turn positive as they are constantly living there. This hasn't happened anywhere , not even on cruise ships where people were enclosed in confined spaces for months. Even family members living in the same home with multiple infected persons don't have a 100% infection rate.

[anshu1101]

INR250-350 for car wash, interior and exterior cleaning and alcohol spray-based sanitization sounds VFM considering most car washes charger anywhere between INR250-400 just for a basic car wash. However, I'm not comfortable with any unknown person entering my car right now, even if it is for sanitization unless the car has been in others' hands, example servicing or repairs.