Cleaning: the key to your future hires

The sanitary crisis for COVID-19 is strongly impacting your hiring business and requires some changes to your routine in order to continue renting out your vehicle safely.

Indeed, even though cleanliness was always a part of your concerns for each rental, it is now crucial to take all necessary measures in order to keep the spreading of all viruses.

Please make sure to read the necessary steps to include in your cleaning routine for each of your hires.

Before you start

Before you proceed to cleaning your vehicle, start by:

  • Washing your hands according to the recommended guidelines
  • Keep an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol close by or wear gloves
  • Choose cloths that will solely be used for the cleaning of your vehicle and which will have to be washed at high temperature before reusing them, or choose disposable wipes
  • Air out your vehicle for thirty minutes before you start cleaning and leave doors, windows and skylights open during the cleaning process if the weather allows for it.

Clean and disinfect the vehicle

Beyond cleaning to remove visible dirt, impurities or dust in regards to the usual maintenance of your vehicle, disinfecting is compulsory. Indeed, depending on the virus, their resistance time on surfaces vary, which is why disinfection is important to prevent the virus from spreading . Choose disinfecting products adapted to each surface favouring bleach-based disinfectants (Source: WHO).

Cleaning the smart way: if a surface or an element is dirty, it is important to clean and then disinfect. Indeed, dirt can keep the disinfectant from reaching germs in order to kill them. For the cleaning part, use soap and water, or your usual cleaning product. Follow up by disinfecting with a bleach-based product or its equivalent.

Think to check the use-by date on your disinfectant and the recommended doses if the product must be diluted in order to preserve its effectiveness.

Risk zones

The entire vehicle must be cleaned, however, certain areas tend to be more at risk for the spreading of germs, as they are frequently touched. However, they often will not show signs of dirt. It is still crucial to disinfect them with the appropriate product:

  • The steering wheel and the dashboard
  • All the car commands such as the indicator, wipers, etc.
  • The gearstick and handbreak
  • Door and window handles
  • Control panel and switches
  • Retractable shade parts
  • push button locks for drawers and cupboards
  • kitchen furniture (tap, fridge, coffee machine...)
  • bathroom furniture and utensils available (hairdryer, shampoo...)
  • various items like the vehicle key, tv remote or board games.

A detailed list is available on your rental contract.

Bedding and textiles

After each rental, bedding, towels and hand towels or any other textiles made available to renters must be washed at a temperature of 60°C, for at least thirty minutes. This will ensure potential germs are removed. In regards to curtains and upholstery, we recommend to machine wash them whenever possible (check instructions on label). For textiles that are non-removable, we recommend using a bleach-free disinfectant spray.

After cleaning

Put used rags in the wash and disinfect the items used for cleaning such as cleaning product containers, laundry baskets, vacuum cleaner after emptying it, etc. Afterwards, wash your hands thoroughly according to the recommended guidelines.

Contact with renters

When handing over the keys and returning the vehicle, it is important to follow rules, avoiding handshakes and keeping a distance of one metre. This can be tedious to show how the vehicle works but is essential.

We encourage you to make a video explaining how your vehicle works, this will save you time during the inventory of fixtures, and facilitate the introduction of certain equipment, which may require proximity for a better explanation, renters can also refer to this during their trip when in doubt.

To help you not forget anything, a list of items to be disinfected is now part of the rental agreement. A checkbox will allow you to indicate that you have properly secured your vehicle by disinfecting it. This is a sign of trust for renters and a compulsory measure for their health and yours.

Remember to leave disinfectant products in the vehicle for renters. This will allow them to regularly disinfect surfaces and thus to be in a clean environment throughout their hire.

Before accepting a new booking request, remember to leave enough time (at least 24 hours) between each rental to carry out proper cleaning and disinfection.

These instructions are subject to change based on information provided by the World Health Organization as well as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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