Amidst reports that car seats can potentially carry 3x more bacteria than toilet seats, and that E.coli has been frequently found on drivers’ seats, you may be shocked to find out that our new research indicates that potentially over 3.2 Million Texans almost never deep clean their cars! [1][2][3]
Alongside our poll findings, we’ve consulted Panda Hub’s Lead Detailer and Operations Manager, Parham Koukia, to provide advice on how to handle these common problems.
Key Findings
- According to pollees, up to 15.5% of car owners in Texas almost never deep clean their cars, which could equate to 3.2 million Texas car owners!
- 16.8% of respondents admit that they’ve let their car become disgusting before, equating to nearly 3.4 million people.
- Nearly half (45.5%) of polled Texan car owners admit to eating in their car on a regular basis, which equates to over 9.4 Million Texas car owners.
- Over half (55.4%) of pollees confess that they’ve committed sexual acts in a car, which equates up to over 11.4 Million Texas car owners.
- 40.8% of surveyed respondents said they’ve been concerned about a family member or friend’s car cleanliness, and a separate 17% of respondents say they have been disgusted.
Through a survey of car owners in Texas, our research found that over 15% of respondents almost never deep clean their car, potentially equating to over 3.2 Million car owners, based on US Census population data regarding car ownership in Texas. [3][4][5]
Our research also found that 52% of all respondents almost never use professional detailing services, equating to a potential 10 Million car owners that never seek car detailing in Texas.
How Often Texans Clean Their Cars
How Often You Should Lightly Clean Your Car & How
Ideally, you should be emptying any garbage from your car on a daily basis and spot-cleaning messes as they arise. It isn’t always a realistic expectation that people will keep their cars immaculate, life happens! However, it is important to at least lightly clean your car on a weekly basis to keep problems from building up.
Try throwing out garbage on a daily basis, and vacuum at the end of the week if necessary.
How Often You Should Deep Clean Your Car & How
If possible, you should try to deep clean your car on a monthly routine basis. This will involve intensive vacuuming of carpets, mats and seats, and a wipe down of high contact surfaces.
If you’d like to know more, here’s our step-by-step guide to deep cleaning the interior of your car.
Deep cleaning your car will help control the buildup of allergens, dirt and bacteria.
How Often You Should Have Your Car Detailed
Regarding having your car detailed, Parham states:
“I would typically advise you to have your car detailed 3-4 times a year. Using advanced cleaning techniques and equipment, your detailer will sanitize, restore and protect your car interior. They’ll shampoo upholstery, steam clean high contact surfaces and more. It’s well worth it!”
Common Texas Car Cleanliness Problems
Mold in Car Causes & Solutions
Unfortunately, mold can grow in cars with very little owner error. With high temperatures, moisture and humidity, it’s an ideal growing ground for mold. If you can visibly see mold, it is unfortunately more widespread than you think, and the spores are likely far more distributed than you might assume.
There are some household solutions for small patches / mild mold issues, however, we would recommend consulting a professional to deep clean your car as soon as possible.
Try to air out your car as much as possible and reduce the amount of mold causing elements in your car. Thoroughly clean up spillages as they happen (they’re common, as you can see!), and throw out garbage as soon as you can.
Pests in Car Causes & Solutions
Cars are often seen as warm and safe environments by many animals. Sometimes it can be truly unfortunate but unavoidable that rats or mice decide to chew through wires in your engine bay, but if you diligently inspect and clean all parts of your car on a regular basis, prevent any nests from being made and avoid parking your car in infested areas, you will stand the best chance of avoiding any infestations.
Always throw out garbage as soon as you can, don’t allow your car to become cluttered.
Car Bug Infestation Causes & Solutions
Bugs gravitate towards warm, safe environments, much like pests. Bugs, however, have many more opportunities to get inside your car. Ensure to vacuum your car thoroughly, removing floor mats while doing so, and prevent spillages. Spillages of food and sweet drinks will attract many different types of bugs.
Bad Car Habits / Events
A shocking 45% of respondents admitted that they regularly eat in their car. Knowing that bacteria such as E.coli are so prevalent, it might be advisable to lightly clean your car on a regular basis, and ensure you have a professional detailer steam clean, shampoo and sanitize your car cabin!
Bad Experiences
About Panda Hub
Panda Hub is a professional car detailing company that provides mobile services all over North America, including Texas and major cities within, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.
Methodology
Using Appinio, the team at Panda Hub surveyed 400 Car Owners in Texas regarding their car habits and experiences.
To calculate the estimated Texas population that the study was relevant to, US Census Data was used to find how many Texas residents were over the age of 18, this was then multiplied by the percentage of car ownership within the state of Texas. [4][5]
The full data breakdown & survey access is available upon request for members of the media. Further breakdowns of the data, including demographic breakdowns, are also available at request.
Sources
[1] Aston University: The Filthiest Areas of Cars Scientific Study
[2] Daily Mail: Dirty Vehicle Study Coverage
[3] Appinio: Survey data of 400 Texas Car Owners, commissioned by Panda Hub
[4] US Census: Texas Population Estimates (Over 18)
[5] Forbes, US Census: Texas Car Ownership
Sourcing and Credit
If this data is mentioned or covered, please credit Panda Hub & hyperlink to this page as the source.
