Your Uber Ride may be Dirtier than a Toilet Seat!
by Amy Sardone
on Oct 11, 2024
A recent study shows that rideshare cars like Uber and Lyft have more germs than taxis or rental cars and your Uber ride could actually be dirtier than a toilet seat. The study swabbed surfaces in the cars and analyzed samples from seat belts, door handles, and window buttons. The Ubers and Lyfts had 3x the number of bacteria than the taxis or rental cars! Window buttons had the most bacteria, and rideshare vehicles had the highest proportion of the type of germs that cause infections and food poisoning. Yikes!
Just because the ride you’re in smells fresh and clean doesn’t mean that it actually is clean. The next time you plan to hop in an Uber be sure you’ve packed your sanitizing wipes so you can prevent possible contamination after you touch things in the car and then touch your mouth or eyes.
It’s a great reminder for anyone with a compromised immune system—someone battling cancer or dealing with another ailment—that it’s necessary to be cautious about touching things in rideshare cars. Seat belts, window buttons, and handles are not being sanitized between use and these cars have a lot of people cycling in and out, riding all day long in the vehicles.
It’s almost as bad as when someone shows up to work sick, sneezing and coughing before they handle the coffee pot or touch the microwave buttons—those are also areas that rarely get wiped down. These types of germs lurk in plain sight, just like when someone comes out of the bathroom and hands you their cellphone to show you pictures of their family, or when ladies put their purses on the floor of the restroom and then end up setting it down on the kitchen table after they get home. Ick!
While it would be nice if Uber provided sanitizing wipes or gel during the ride, you can’t count on the environment you’re in to be sanitized on a regular basis. What can you do? Bring your own wipes. At the very least, be sure to wash your hands with warm soapy water after you get to your destination. Stay safe and healthy out there! Don’t forget that we have an entire line of eco-friendly cleaning products that will sanitize your surfaces and help you get rid of the germs in your home.
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