We all know our cars get dirty with time, but how dirty? Nobody knew until now. Scientists from the UK have done the research and found out that the inside of your car is dirtier than an average toilet seat. So, if you think washing your car and dusting off the interior is enough car care, think again!
Aston University Research
A UK company Car Scrap Comparison partnered with Aston University to conduct the study in December 2021. The researchers from Aston University took samples from five used cars, including a 17-year-old Peugeot 307-SW, a nine-year-old Honda Jazz, and a 13-year-old Ford Focus. All cars had different ownership and usage histories.
On the flip side, the researchers took samples from two domestic toilets that had been used in the past 24 hours.
The results uncover the hidden bacterial dangers inside our cars and warn us of taking car care and cleanliness seriously.
The Dirtiest Place
The dirtiest place in our cars is the boot, where we dump all our groceries and all kinds of stuff. The car boot has the highest level of bacteria, followed by the driver’s seat, where we enjoy our drive-through meals.
The third and the fourth dirtiest places in our cars are the gearstick and the back seat.
The Cleanest Place
The driver’s seat turned out to be the second dirtiest place in a car, while the steering wheel in front of it was found to be the cleanest. How strange is that? Could be because of the frequent use of hand sanitizer because of the COVID-19, but still odd.
In the words of Dr. Jonathan Cox, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Aston University— ‘These results highlight that we should change how we think about our cars and cleanliness. Often, we will clean our cars based on whether they ‘look’ clean versus whether they are actually clean. But you would never even think about eating off your toilet seat.’
If this bizarre research freaked you out, get car interior cleaning products and get to work to have a good night’s sleep.
