It turns out that there’s some seriously dirty driving going on, and by that, we don’t mean undertaking on the motorway or middle lane hogging…

A new and updated survey conducted by Intelligent Car Leasing has revealed some eye-opening statistics on how regularly drivers in the UK actually give their car a full clean inside and out.

Why was this study conducted?

Lockdown and movement restrictions have given us more time to think about the future and changing human behaviour. The catalyst for this survey came when Piers Morgan famously challenged Dr. Hilary Jones on Good Morning Britain about car cleaning earlier this month. We wanted to see the difference in people’s attitudes because of the current global crisis as the car has become a breeding ground for bacteria in recent years

A sample of 1490 drivers were asked the following question “How often do you give your car a full clean inside and out?” and were presented the following choices to answer from:

Never	❒
Weekly	❒
Monthly	❒
Every 2-3 Months	❒
Less Than Once Every 6 Months	❒

Here are the overall findings:

• 3% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle weekly
• 7% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle fortnightly
• 19% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle monthly
• 26% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle every 2-3 months
• 14% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle every 4-6 months
• 22% of those surveyed claim to clean their vehicle every 6 months
• 6% of those surveyed claim to have never cleaned their vehicle

Why should we clean our cars more?

• Cars are a breeding ground for different germs and viruses.

We all use our vehicles for a variety of reasons. Each journey that you make creates an opportunity to contaminate the interior of your car with whatever you may come into contact with. Whether you’re picking up a take away meal, doing your weekly shop or inviting people into your car, each action brings an element of risk with what bacteria could grow.

• Viruses stay on surfaces for longer than we think.

We need to be conscious of this more than ever. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 (Coronavirus) a global pandemic and we’ve all had to experience various forms of lockdowns or restrictions. We have created a car cleaning checklist which will not only help you with cleaning during the coronavirus pandemic but also for a regular routine going forward.

• A clean home, a clean car

A car is no different to your house. We all know the value of cleaning the interior of your home because this is where we live. We also ‘live’ in our cars. Many of us spend long periods of time commuting and we also do a lot of what we’d do at home within our cars. Eating, drinking and we touch everything! It’s important to put the same level of focus with cleaning your car as you do your home.

To read more about this survey, please visit this link.