Your car is dirtier than the average toilet, Aston University study reveals

The inside of your car is dirtier than the average toilet - with most driver's seats and boots playing host to faecal matter, a new study by Aston University reveals.

The study took samples from car interiors with varying ownership histories, to establish bacterial contamination levels within the vehicles.

It found the highest level of feacal bacteria, such as E.coli, was found in the car boot as well as on the driver's seat.

The gearstick, dashboard and back seat also saw higher levels of bacterial contamination than is found on, or even inside, the average domestic toilet.

Lead Aston University professor Dr. Jonathan Cox states the findings should make drivers rethink how we clean our cars, as well as the need to wash all food after transporting it in the boot.

What is the dirtiest part of a car? How many germs are in your car?

• Boot - 1,425 bacteria identified 

• Driver’s seat - 649 bacteria identified

• Gearstick - 407 bacteria identified 

• Back seat - 323 bacteria identified 

• Dashboard - 317 bacteria identified 

• Steering wheel - 146 bacteria identified 

Dr. Jonathan Cox, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at Aston University said: "The results of this study are fascinating, as they help to show that despite cleaning our cars, the older they are, the dirtier they generally are. 

"This becomes key when thinking about areas such as the car boot or driver’s seat.

"Many of us have placed loose food shopping in our boots, or dropped the odd crisp onto our seat, before picking it up and eating it."

He adds: "These results however highlight that we should instead change how we think about our cars and cleanliness. 

"Often, we will clean our cars based on whether they ‘look’ clean versus whether they actually are clean, but you would never even think about eating off of your toilet seat.

"Upholstery, in particular, should be given deep clean and I for one will always clean any used car I buy in the future myself!"