The inside of your car could have MORE bacteria than your office bin or computer keyboard
How clean is your car? New research has found car interiors to be home to more bacteria than a bin lid
YOUR car's interior could be even dirtier than the inside of a bin, according to a recent study.
Research compared the amount of germs found in a car with those found on common office items - and the results were alarming.
Conducted by Euro Car Parts, the study found that three of the five cars tested contained more bacteria than the inside of a bin lid.
Swabbing the steering, gear stick, dashboard controls and door handle, the car interiors also contained more germs than a kitchen bench top and sink.
Just two of the cars had levels of contamination deemed "safe", with one passing as "OK" and two marked "not safe", or "extremely dirty".
According to the research, three per cent of drivers admitted to cleaning their cars only once a year, while almost half would only clean if the interior "looked dirty enough".
Bill Stimson, Marketing Director at Euro Car Parts, said: “Some of us can spend upwards of two hours a day in our cars, travelling to work, school or running errands meaning dirt can easily build up unnoticed - sometimes we have no choice but to eat in the car and our children and pets aren’t always the tidiest.
"Our experiment showed that ‘dirt’ doesn’t always have to be visible to be harmful, so it’s worth having a cleaning routine for your car to keep on top of it.”
Some cars manufactured overseas are made with anti-contamination properties built into their materials, eliminating the risk of bacteria inside your vehicle.
But most models made in the UK and Europe are yet to adopt the technology.
Paul Morris, CEO of Addmaster which provides anti-contamination additives to a range of products, said: “Cars today are much more than just a means of getting from one place to another.
"Transport has become more comfortable, sophisticated and connected which means vehicles can be everything from our office, to our kitchen, to our bathroom.
“With all of these things happening in such a small space, the chance for bacteria to multiply and potentially cause illness is very real.
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"The steering wheel, indicators and gear stick are obvious routes for cross infection and in countries like Japan it’s not unusual to see these made with an inbuilt antibacterial additive.
“In Europe we are just catching on to the potential threat from poor hygiene in our cars, so it’s important we don’t forget it’s not a hygienic space.
"If we do things like eating on the go it’s important we use hand sanitisers before and after."
Earlier this year, we revealed the grime hotspots where the germs collect inside your car the most.