How dirty does a car interior get?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, car interiors are among the dirtiest places on Earth.
Specifically, scientists have discovered that there are approximately 700 types of bacteria that exist inside a car's interior.
To understand how dirty car interiors are, the research team measured surface area in square centimeters or in colony-forming units (CFU).
The results were then compared to public surfaces that are primarily touched daily. The findings showed that the average steering wheel had 629 CFU per square centimeter and was dirtier than some of the most frequently touched surfaces.
Surprisingly, it's dirtier than the average mobile phone screen (100 CFU), public elevator buttons (313 CFU), and even the average public toilet seat in the US (172 CFU).
In particular, the results showed that steering wheels are four times dirtier than the toilet bowls we use every day.
Additionally, the results also revealed the two most common types of bacteria found inside cars. The first is Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria that can cause many illnesses such as food poisoning and skin infections. The other is Propionibacterium, which can cause inflammation and infection.
The main cause is also due to the habits of drivers who often leave trash or leftover food and drinks inside their cars. Therefore, the best way to protect the health of those inside the car is to regularly clean the car's interior and abandon the bad habit of littering.
According to the study, only 32% of the 1,000 drivers surveyed clean their car interiors, and even then, very rarely. Those who did said they clean their car cabins once a year. Even worse, 12% of drivers responded that they have never cleaned their car's interior.
