Ew! What New England’s Self-Serve Vacuums Are Depositing in Your Car

Picture this: You're on your way to the Cape, and after your pup has an accident or food gets spilled everywhere after hitting a bump, you decide to search out a car wash with public vacuums.

Whether you hit them up often at your favorite place in Portland or Portsmouth, or it's a road trip situation to the Cape or the Connecticut coast, they're a cheap, easy, powerful way to keep your car clean.

And we all know there's nothing like a fresh, clean car. Well, maybe climbing into bed with fresh, clean sheets tops the list.

Anyway, when it comes to cleaning anything, the last thing you're thinking is that you're making it worse. The pride of wiping down every surface and then vacuuming up that pet hair, dirt, and grime, as well as those potato chip crumbs hiding in the crevices of the seats, feels so good.

But what's lurking on those public car vacuums from Vermont to Rhode Island is absolutely disgusting. The worst part is that we've all contributed without realizing it.

E. Coli, Coliforms, Listeria, Staphylococcus

According to the Panda Hub website, 80% of those self-serve vacuums are covered with E. Coli and Coliforms.

You know what that means, right?

Fecal matter, feces, poop.

So, every time you vacuum, you're spreading harmful, disgusting bacteria in your car.

Whether it's from a human or a pet, something you stepped in, or from an accident in your car you thought you wiped up, according to the Auto Guide website, chances are the vacuum you're using is sucking up the excrement.

[Some} tested contained more fecal matter than most toilet seats. When you consider what’s likely on the bottom of the shoes you wear, and that those shoes are regularly grinding their soles into your car’s carpet, the results aren’t actually that surprising.

 

Listeria and Staphylococcus are also found on these public vacuums. Listeria is a foodborne bacterium, and staph infections come from the human body. Think of vomit as one example.

This is so frustrating to learn, isn't it?  Here we are literally cleaning our cars and making it worse. According to Panda Hub, more than 65 million of us use self-serve vacuums daily or weekly, too, with 4 out of 5 containing some kind of gross bacteria.

WHAT TO DO

The best thing to do is vacuum your car at home with your own equipment. Of course, we know that the power of the public vacuum is why we love them.

So, if you must, use one, wipe it down with an anti-bacterial wipe, then let it dry for a few minutes.