Tech is always evolving to help us. Due to recent events like the coronavirus [1], people have increased their awareness of viruses hiding on plain surfaces and inside your car! But that isn’t the only virus you should worry about. Viruses and germs are pretty much everywhere and the number of them in some places is just ridiculous. A report from CBS Baltimore [2] showed that taxi vehicles like Uber and Lyft have 35,000 times more germs than your average toilet seat! Those are some insane numbers!
Rental cars change users a lot so it is no wonder that they are also a massive carrier of germs and viruses. A report by NetQuote [3], put rental cars between taxies and rideshare cars, germs-wise. But there is a technology being developed that should help combat germs
HEPA Filters Against Viruses
Hight-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filtration filters out around 99.9% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns. Companies are trying to develop and improve the tech even further. The Air Purifier By JVC [4] can fit into a cup holder and gets its power from the 12-volt outlet. It filters particles and removes foul smells from your car. It can filter up to 8㎥ air each hour. That means that the Air Purifier can filter the air inside your car every half hour.
The tech is relatively new and not so well integrated as it should be. One of the first models to integrate Sharp’s Plasmacluster technology [5] into a car was the Toyota Camry Hybrid from 2007. Recently the tech started gaining momentum as Tesla’s Model X got a new filtration system mode called “Bioweapon Defence Mode” [6]. Unfortunately, even tho HEPA filters are useful, they can’t combat coronavirus as it is smaller than the filters. But they can be useful against it, just like N95 facemasks [7].
What Other Options Are There?
This is where another tech comes into play. Ultraviolet light or UV-C. This is used in hospitals and labs to sterilize viruses and bacteria [8]. Even some ambulance cars are fitted with these special lights to combat a variety of situations [9]. This trend trickled down to cars. So some brands like Jaguar, Land Rover, and Yanfeng [11] developed some UV-C filtrations systems as a part of their HVAC systems [10]. However, these lights aren’t as safe as they might seem. Direct prolonged contact with the skin can cause skin cancer [12]. Car manufacturers are aware of this so they use it in areas that the user can’t access or get in contact with.
Safer lights are also in development. A study at Columbia University [13] showed that certain types of UV-C lights cause no harm to human tissue while combating viruses and germs.
What to do about it now?
While the future sounds good, our concern should be the present. Disinfecting your car interior [14] in form of sprays is getting popular but there isn’t any hard proof that they actually work. So maybe it is better to skip these products and go into a proven car detailer service that offers interior disinfections.
[3]https://www.netquote.com/health-insurance/health-insurance-articles/driving-with-germs
[4]http://www.us.jvc.com/car/accessories/ks_ga100/
[5]https://www.sharp.net.au/microsite/plasmacluster-ion-technology
[6]https://www.tesla.com/blog/putting-tesla-hepa-filter-and-bioweapon-defense-mode-to-the-test
[9]https://www.frazerbilt.com/blog-ambulance-disinfection-system/
[10]https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/jaguar-land-rover-ultraviolet-light/
[11]https://www.presseportal.de/pm/117551/4366740
[12]https://www.klaran.com/is-uvc-safe
[13]https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/can-uv-light-fight-spread-influenza
[14]https://www.safespaceco.com/product/safespace-auto-germ-odor-eliminator/
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