The inside of your car could be dirtier than the average toilet, according to a university survey.
Commissioned by Scrap Car Comparison, the study found that the worst places are the boot and driver's seat where faecal matter was identified.
The survey by Aston University's School of Biosciences took samples from car interiors with varying ownership histories, to establish bacterial contamination levels within the vehicles, and to highlight just how thoroughly people actually tend to clean their cars.
The results reveal that certain areas of our cars contain a significantly higher level of bacteria than the average toilet
Every car studied contained faecal bacteria, such as E.coli.
The gearstick, dashboard and back seat also saw higher levels of bacterial contamination than is found on, or even inside, the average domestic toilet
The steering wheel was found to be the cleanest area of the car, likely due to the uplift in hand sanitiser use due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Older cars were revealed to have higher bacteria loads than those that have been on the road for a shorter time.
The filthiest areas of a car
- Boot - 1,425 bacteria identified
- Driver’s seat - 649 bacteria identified
- Gearstick - 407 bacteria identified
- Back seat - 323 bacteria identified
- Dashboard - 317 bacteria identified
- Steering wheel - 146 bacteria identified
In particular, the car boot plays host to significantly high levels of bacteria, with E.coli likely to be found in every boot and potentially on your driver’s seat.
Beyond the boot, the other areas tested including the gearstick, dashboard and backseat also saw higher levels of bacterial contamination than is found on, or even inside, the average domestic toilet.
The bacteria found included Pseudomonas, a bacterium with strains that can’t easily be treated with antibiotics and Staph Aureus, a germ associated with coughs and sneezes that in some cases is linked to MRSA.
There was also a correlation discovered between the age of a car, and the levels of bacteria likely to be found within it. The older cars sampled for the study exhibited higher bacteria loads than those that have been on the road for a shorter amount of time.
However, the study did highlight some good news for drivers, as the researchers found that out of all areas within our cars, the steering wheel is generally the cleanest. This high-contact area saw very low levels of bacterial contamination, which is potentially thanks to the uplift in hand sanitiser use following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Jonathan Cox, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at Aston University, said: “The results of this study are fascinating, as they help to show that despite cleaning our cars, the older they are, the dirtier they generally are.
"This becomes key when thinking about areas such as the car boot or driver’s seat. Many of us have placed loose food shopping in our boots, or dropped the odd crisp onto our seat, before picking it up and eating it. These results however highlight that we should instead change how we think about our cars and cleanliness.
"Often, we will clean our cars based on whether they ‘look’ clean versus whether they actually are clean, but you would never even think about eating off of your toilet seat. Upholstery, in particular, should be given deep clean and I for one, will always clean any used car I buy in the future myself!”
