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The inside of ours cars are more than 50% dirtier than our computer keyboards and smartphones, new research claims.
Dr Joe Latimer, a lecturer in antimicrobial resistance at the University of Salford, carried out the research as part of a survey by online car sales firm SellCar, and found hundreds of living bacteria while swabbing different parts of 20 cars.
On average there were 200 living bacteria per square inch on the handbrake, even MRSA in some cases.
The findings were backed up by a survey of motorists, which found that 54% clean out their car less than once a month, with 61% saying they were oblivious to the germs that can linger inside their car.
In fact, less than one in 10 identified their car as an item they own that could potentially house germs.
Hygiene specialist Dr Lisa Ackerley said of the results: “When you think of all the unhygienic things you see people doing whilst driving – picking their noses, coughing all over the steering wheel and eating food – we really ought to be cleaning the insides of our cars more, particularly the hand contact surfaces.”
