Daily Living with RVNAhealth offers glimpses into the daily and household processes of RVNAhealth clinical team members during the coronavirus. While many of us were unprepared for the level of caution and circumspection the virus would introduce into our daily lives, our nurses and clinicians were clearly ready to go. Their education, steeped in the practices, repetition and criticality of infection control, gave them a head start. Please enjoy and learn a thing or two, but don’t be daunted. Not even the CDC can keep up with these experts.

Keeping my car safe and germs out!

By Theresa Santoro, MSN, RN, CHCA

I like to keep my two front seats covered with thick beach towels. Depending on where I sat all day, placed my bag, lunch bag and brief case during the day, it’s unknown what may have been picked up along the bottom to bring into my car. The towels serve as a barrier to protect the car seats. Each night when I get home, I remove the towels, wash and reapply in the morning. And, of course, I wipe down the bottom of all my bags before I bring them inside.

At all times, I keep hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes in my car. I keep both in the driver side door for easy access in and out of the car. I wipe down the steering wheel with an alcohol-based wipe NOT a bleach-based wipe. My understanding is that bleach can wreak havoc on leather steering wheels and damage interior.

I pay special attention to: armrests, display screens, cup holders, vents and door handles. Anything that is frequently touched.

Most important is that steering wheel!

I wipe down my phone and key fob before I put them in the armrest well or back into my bag.

I use a clean hand/dirty hand system to put sunglasses on and take them off if I’ve worn them and taken them out of my car. I wipe down in between.

I try to use full-service gas stations to avoid getting out of the car. (Limestone on Danbury Rd in Ridgefield is a favorite.)

With gloves on, I hand the attendant my debit card through the passenger side window and have handy a disinfectant wipe ready to cleanse my card when he hands it back to me.

And I always drive with the windows cracked open to get some fresh air while I’m at it.

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