Cars Become Bacteria Havens
Would you eat off your toilet seat?
No, of course not. But you probably wouldn't mind eating off your car's dashboard. A study by British scientists suggests you may want to reconsider this practice.
The study found that cars play host to a large number of germs and bacteria, including 356 germs per square centimeter on the gear stick and up to 850 per square centimeter in the trunk (where many people put groceries). They concluded that you are as likely to get sick eating off a car dashboard as you are a toilet seat.
Not surprisingly, car owners with small children and pets tended to have the worst problems and were the most likely to host a variety of potentially dangerous germs. All told, every surface of the typical car has around 283 different kinds of bacteria teeming per each square centimeter.
More mileage on a car tends to correlate to more severe bacteria problems. Also, those vents blowing hot and cold air significantly increase the amount of airborne bacteria every time they are switched on.
Keep that bottle of hand sanitizer close by.
Feeling Car Sick? Blame the Bacteria (Reuters)
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Wonder if a cabin air filter really does any good with regard to preventing airborne bacteria. It might only prevent some pollen from entering the cabin.
The solution is quite simple. Use an ozone "shock" treatment every few weeks to kill 100% of the bacteria in the car, period. Ozone generators cost as little as $300 and will provide years of service. Why this fact isn't more publicized is beyond me. It's a well known fact among mold and smoke remediation contractors and IAQ experts.
Germaphobes.
I just clean out my car every so months with a vacuum, a wet rag, and paper towels.
I may disinfect the heavily used things (gearshift, wiper controls and turn signal controls, door handles) but beyond that water will do just fine. Interestingly enough Windexing the windows from inside helped out a lot, more so than I thought...
The Terra Clean company has an award winning product called " The Mist" treatment. Kills mold,mildew odors, bacteria on contact. The affordable service is available all over the globe, mostly through car dealers and independent garages. I've used it myself. Works great. Very fresh smell.