According to research from Confused.com, only 9% of Americans clean the interior of their cars every week. This, despite the fact that four out of ten American drivers say they love their car. That means 91% of you are thinking right now, “Wait, there are people who clean the inside of their cars?” Having children makes some of us suddenly more health conscious; at least 16% of parents clean the inside of their car weekly.

Why does this matter? Spoiler alert: we’re about to gross you out…
Researchers at Queen Mary University in London reported that on average they found 700 distinct kinds of bacteria living inside cars, compared to just 60 types in the average public toilet. So while that public loo might seem (and smell) dirtier than your car, it’s actually cleaned much more frequently.

In fact, many of us go years without truly cleaning the inside of the car, particularly the car flooring, floor mats, and trunk. Sure, you might get rid of the fast food wrappers, leaves, or empty coffee cups every once in a while, but how often do you really clean the car carpets? Imagine for a moment if you let your home’s carpet go five years or more without vacuuming? Without annual carpet cleaning?

Unfortunately, if you’ve let your car flooring go for too long, there’s a limit to how much even professional car cleaners can do for your beloved ride.

Give Your Car a Face Lift, Boost Its Resale Value, and Clear the Air
If your car carpets are old and worn — and especially if your car is starting to smell! — then you may have no choice but to invest in replacement carpet. While buying all new carpets for your home is a serious project, you actually only need a few square yards of replacement carpet to replace your car flooring.

This will help clean the air inside your car, while also getting rid of that old car smell you try to ignore. Plus, you can also get custom carpets and replacement trunk mats that make your car look years younger, a small change that can have a drastic impact on its value as a used car.

If you’ve let your car carpets go to waste, you aren’t alone. But few people realize it’s actually really easy to pick up replacement carpets for their car.