Bacteria Study Reveals Our Car Interiors Are Dirtier Than Our Toilets Scrap Car Comparison
go to original February 9, 2022

Whether you’re taking your car for its last clean before being scrapped, or down to the car wash every other Saturday morning – there’s nothing better than a freshly cleaned car.

But are we cleaning our cars thoroughly enough? And how dirty actually is the average vehicle?

We wanted to find out, so we partnered with Dr Jonathan Cox, a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at Aston University, and his research team, to conduct a study to reveal which areas of our cars are the dirtiest.

To do so, the Aston University team sampled five used cars of varying ages to discover the areas of the car which play home to the most bacteria, reveal what bacteria can be found in our vehicles, as well as revealing whether or not our car interiors are dirtier than a toilet seat!

For each vehicle, samples were taken in the six key locations of a car’s interior, using a sterile cotton bud swab, hydrated with phosphate buffered saline. Each swab was then spread onto inoculated agar plates and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours in order to identify any bacterial growth.

For anyone with a weak stomach, it’s time to brace yourself, because the study found a lot of bacteria living within our cars... and it’s not exactly the ‘good’ bacteria either!

The Areas of Our Cars With the Most Bacteria

• Trunk – 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

The bottom line is that people generally do not typically get ill from the bacteria in their cars, because we naturally do things in our everyday lives (such as handwashing) to reduce the impact. However, knowing the bacteria that can build up in our cars can be really useful in cleaning our cars properly and regularly, and reducing any risks.

Read the rest at Scrap Car Comparison