For most people, owning a car is synonymous with independence, freedom and, why not say, well-being. However, a study carried out by researchers at the School of Biosciences at Aston University, in the United Kingdom, revealed that the automobile may not be such a safe place.
According to research, commissioned by Scrap Car Comparsion, vehicle interiors can be dirtier than a toilet bowl. The researchers analyzed samples from five cars and two bathrooms in order to verify the bacteria present in each environment.
In the end, the analysis revealed that the trunk is the most contaminated space in cars, with 1,425 bacteria. Then comes the driver’s seat (649 bacteria), shifter (407 bacteria), rear seat (323 bacteria) and dashboard (317 bacteria). Furthermore, the researchers revealed that samples taken from the driver’s seat and the luggage compartment contained fecal bacteria at levels higher than those found in an average bathroom.
In Brazil, a survey carried out by the Faculty of Biomedicine at Devry Metrocamp, in Campinas (SP), also showed worrying results. The study analyzed 76 internal car parts and indicated that all items were contaminated with up to 10,000 fungi and bacteria.
The work collected samples from 26 passenger cars and pointed out that the microorganisms present have the potential to cause ailments such as seizures, dysentery, urine and lung infections, mycoses and rhinitis, especially for babies and children.
For Vinicius Finavaro, responsible for SP Serviços, a company specialized in cleaning, the studies make it clear that, more than the traditional external washing, the internal cleaning of vehicles is a factor that requires attention. And he goes further: it is not only important to wash or sanitize the vehicle, but also to fumigate cars.
“Often, we carry packages that carry pests and end up infesting our vehicle, and we even have meals in the car and leave the environment conducive to pest infestation,” he says.
For this reason, he adds, for many companies that transport food and medicine, among others, periodic fumigation is mandatory with a maximum interval of three months.
According to Finavaro, when carried out correctly, through a specialized company, vehicle fumigation can eliminate several pests that pose a risk to people’s health.
“In car fumigation, wide-spectrum insecticides are used, leaving the vehicle protected once morest the main urban pests”, he explains.
The person responsible for SP Serviços adds that professional car fumigation should only use specific insecticides, odorless and with low toxicity for humans. “It is necessary to have the right techniques and equipment to carry out fumigation with as little insecticide as possible”, he says.
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