Your car is a germ breeding ground

You can’t see them, but microscopic bacteria are breeding in your car interior. The University of Michigan has teamed with Ford for a project to uncover the areas in a car that are germ hotspots.

Using vehicles in the Ford company carpark, the researchers took samples from the main 10 points we have contact with in our cars and measured the bacteria in the swabs. The main offenders turned out to be the steering wheel – which Carsguide has previously reported is covered with germs – and the cupholders.

“We weren’t surprised to find microbial hot spots on the steering wheel, since that is where a driver’s hands are most of the time,” Ford technical expert Cindy Peters said in a statement. “The console area near the cupholders is a common location for spilled drinks, so it provides an ideal feeding ground for microbes.”

The research is part of a program to develop new car interior materials and coatings that will help retard bacterial growth. “Our findings suggest car interiors are complex ecosystems that house trillions of diverse microorganisms interacting with each other, with humans, and with their environment,” said microbial ecologist Dr. Blaise Boles, who led the University of Michigan research team.

“The long-term goal is to define the microbial ecology of the car interior and to optimize the design of car interiors to promote comfort and environmental sustainability.” The most promising path could be using a coating containing silver-ion – which sterilises and kills microbes -- with the research showing parts painted with the compound contained lower bacterial growth.