I shared this in “Home Sweet Home – Wellness edition” today on my 9am-12pm show: The germiest spot in your car is dirtier than a toilet seat, but do you know which part of your car it is?

Even though most of us spend a considerable amount of time in our cars, our cars are not often thought of as a hot spot for germs, like a bathroom would be.

So what would you imagine to be the dirtiest spot? Door handles? The steering wheel? Dashboard buttons, window buttons or the levers to wind the windows up and down?

Most of the SMS’ and App messages coming in guessed: Steering wheel, car seats, pollen filters and even the headrest.

Those are all pretty germy, but the worst offender happens to be… the seat belt.

It all comes down to the frequency of cleaning. Think about when you get your car washed – the dashboard and steering wheel is wiped down, so are the door handles… but the seat belt? Hardly ever touched!

Coming in second for being germiest are the floormats. They’re havens for germs – it makes sense – you’re bringing dirt and germs in and out of your car, plus if you’ve spilled anything or dropped some crumbs, germs are growing.  Other places will be the air vents, the cup holders, and the boot of your car (especially if you have had food there.)

Since the safety belts are the grossest in the car, here are some easy ways to clean them in 3 steps.

1. Extend: Pull the seat belt all the way out.
2. Wash: Use a cleaner or disinfectant and make sure the belt is more than damp.
3. Wipe: Use a cloth to wipe down the belt using pressure to be sure the disinfectant gets into the fabric.

I bet, you’re going to be looking for disinfectant wipes before you get into your car later!