pinguhk

Have you ever driven a vehicle that had a sticky steering wheel? It's probably one of the most disgusting feelings there is, and a report in IBN Live shows that the adhesive can be more than just grape jelly. Researchers at Queen Mary University in London claim that there are, on average, 700 different kinds of bacteria per square inch of steering wheel. That compares to 80 distinct bacteria types on a public toilet seat. Even worse, the trunk has 1,000 bacteria types per square inch. The most common form of bacteria was bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning.

The reason cars are filthy is simple; we simply don't clean them. While we vacuum, dust and disinfect our home on a semi-regular basis, only one third of study participants cleaned their vehicle once a year or more. That sounds pretty crazy (and a bit lazy), but think about it. You may jettison the trash and vacuum the carpet on a somewhat regular basis, but how often do you wipe down that nasty steering wheel? And when you think about how many Americans regularly eat in their vehicles, our cars could be a solid reason why we are sick as often as we are. Now we know why valet parking attendants tend to wear white gloves.

Beyond cleanliness, the study also shows that many drivers know next to nothing about their vehicles. For example, two-thirds of us don't know how to change a tire, while one third of those surveyed don't even know how to put air in the tires. It's a sad, sad world.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/27/s...public-toilet/

Thank god that I clean my car every week in and out.
I have seen so many e60 with very shinny steering wheel in HK, they never cleaned it yuck :thumbsdown:

DD_545i

Checkout this 2011 study and this 2008 study and this 2004 study and this 2010 study that show that being obsessed with cleanliness results in a reduction in the effectiveness of your immune system and can cause allergies.

Keep it dirty

pinguhk

I know this 10 years ago, that why I only get ill about 5 time a year which is very low for HK standard.
too clean will kill you in the end
1 more thing about clean stuff.
did you know that the air outside is always cleaner that the air inside the house.
but with my car it is not just me that drives it my dad drives it too and I always see aload of liquid on the steering wheel, that why I clean every week.

melimel

what a putrid thought, thank god I clean my steering wheel alot. I cant stand the feeling of a dirty wheel... lol.. Does that sound wierd or is it only me?

porsche911targa

I don't obsess over cleaning the wheel, but my car gets a once-a-month interior cleaning, which includes cleaning the steering wheel. I don't need to clean it more often than that because I generally do not allow children in my car and I just a wipe off the dashboard every couple of days with a cloth I keep in the glove box that keeps the interior clean looking.

There are a couple of things that I have done for the last three years that seem to have cut down my colds from five very nasty and long (2 weeks or more) colds a year to one mild and short (a week or less. 1) I take 2000 i.u of vitamin D3 per day. 2) In addition to thoroughly washing my hands every time I go to the bathroom, I also wipe my keyboard with a sanitary napkin every day. 3) I think most important: I always have a small bottle of hand-sanitizer that I use right after I pump my own gas. I came up with this idea after I saw a lady picking her nose and then started pumping gas. Bleaaah!!!

melimel

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.... some women are grosser then men! ewww thats NASTY! lol... im old fashioned, a drink now and then, some exercise and some laying around and good ole stress keeps me pretty sick free... Oddly enough I just got back from Turks and Caicos and I got strep and pus in my thriat on the night I landed.. go figure!!! But thats the first time this whole year I was sick...

pinguhk

I also take 7 vitamin a day and every day including winter I only take cold showers, never hot or warm

porsche911targa

Ouch Mel, you might want to get your doctor look at it. Sounds like you might need some antibiotics. How was Turks and Caicos?> That's one of the destinations we're thinking of visiting next winter.Hope you feel better.

I only take cold showers whenever my wife walks in the room.

mmitev

I can't stand a sticky steering wheel. I clean it every 2 months or so with soap and a brush. It looks and feels like new after that. Interior is hoovered and mildly cleaned once a month, and a deep clean (leather) is done every spring. The thing I hate though is cleaning the glass from the inside.. There are always some smears and it takes much longer than expected.

On long journeys I also wear "old-fashioned" driving gloves. They isolate any sweat from the hands and just give a very nice and supple feeling to the hands.

pinguhk