Okay follow me here. We pull our sleeves down before touching any door handle. We do intricate
balancing acts on one foot to flush a public toilet with the other. But hotel rooms are
supposed to be the epitome of cleanliness! Eh, I wouldn’t count on it! These room items
are much dirtier than you think…
1. The Hairdryer Surprisingly, that tiny hairdryer is one of
the biggest sources of germs in the whole room. First of all, everyone touches it. And
the moist environment that’s created after you take a shower plus the heat from the hairdryer
equals a nasty breeding ground for all those bacteria to multiply. Hotel staff are required
to disinfect the obvious stuff in the bathroom like the toilet and sink, but more obscure
items (that hairdryer) get cleaned less often. In a study done by ABC, items from 9 different
hotel rooms were swabbed – the hairdryer always came back the dirtiest.
Just keep that in the back of your mind for the rest of this list: the HAIRDRYER is DIRTIER
than…
2. The Carpet Travelers walk around the whole city, the
subway, public bathrooms. Do you think they all take their shoes off when they get back
to the room? If only! What’s worse, hotel carpets aren’t shampooed as often as you’d
expect (or hope). Cleaning staff will quickly run a vacuum to pick up debris, but that’s
about it. Shampooing services are expensive, so hotels save money by deep-cleaning the
carpets less often. In the end, those floors are left to collect everyone’s hair, flaked-off
skin, and bacteria from shoes and feet. Yuck!
3. Lamp Switches They’re some of the most touched things
in the room, especially the lamp switches by your bed. Staff may wipe the surface of
the bedside table, but this is yet one more thing that’ll easily get overlooked. The
University of Houston conducted a contamination study on hotel rooms, and the lamp switches
were filthy.
4. Bathroom Countertops Sure, hotel staff wipe them down and remove
any obvious grub, but this is way different from getting properly disinfected. Even in
four-star hotels, scientists have found that the bathroom counters contain the most CFU,
or colony-forming units, of bacteria. Think twice about laying your personal hygiene items
on that counter, especially anything that goes in your mouth like your toothbrush or
retainer.
5. TV Remotes I mean, how many times do you disinfect your
own remotes at home? Exactly! Hotel staff are trying to clean rooms quickly to get them
ready for the next guest, so the TV remotes are maybe given a quick wipe-down. Be a savvy
traveler and always pack disinfecting wipes!
6. Drinking Glasses They might look spot-free and crystal clear
from a distance, but next time you check into a hotel room, look at the drinking glasses
a little closer. You might want to rethink using them for your nighttime water. The cleaners
don’t have dish soap on their carts, so the glasses usually just get a quick rinse
with hot water. Some have admitted to using shampoo or even furniture polish to remove
any spots!
7. The Bedspread After a looong flight, all you want to do
is fall on the bed. Well, how do you feel about sharing it with some bacteria? Studies
done by the University of Arizona show that the bedspread is among the top 11 dirtiest
things in your room. Aren’t you just getting excited about going on vacation?
8. Throw Pillows Yes, those little decorative pillows on the
bed don’t look so cute under a microscope. Think of it this way: what do you do with
throw pillows when you’re getting ready for bed? Yeah, you throw ‘em somewhere!
If you’re exhausted (or simply flailing around in your sleep), you might just scoot
them off and onto the floor. Ya know, the one covered in hair and foot fungus? Of course,
you might feel tempted to carefully set them on the couch for the night, buuut…
9. The Sofa It’s grimy as well! It collects germs from
people’s suitcases, shoes, and anything else guests might toss on it. And just like
those throw pillows, the couch doesn’t get shampooed or steamed very often. It might
sound like cleaners aren’t doing their job, but try to see it from their perspective.
Most have 15 to 30 rooms to clean every single day and only 8 hours to do it. It takes me
an entire weekend to clean the 7 rooms in my house!
10. The Curtains You wouldn’t think the curtains get touched
THAT often, but lots of people like to throw them open first thing in the morning and close
them last thing before bed. That’s enough for them to build up some bacteria. Plus,
dust and hair have a habit of flying around the room. Researchers found that in some 3-star
hotels, the drapes only got a mere dusting just once a month. Since we’re on the topic
of curtains…
11. The Shower Curtain The steamy environment makes the bathroom
ideal real estate for bacteria and mildew. Yes, the cleaning staff make sure to disinfect
the tub and toilet. But the shower curtain, with all those folds for germs to hide? Some
3-star hotels clean it just once a month as well!
12. The Phone If you want to call the front desk or order
room service, you might want to grab an antibacterial wipe first. Since we use our cell phones for
so much nowadays, hotel staff aren’t making the phone in your room their first cleaning
priority.
13. The Coffee Maker If they aren’t cleaned regularly with vinegar
as they should be, coffee makers can become disgusting very quickly. If you decide you
want to sleep in, skip the hotel breakfast, and have your cup of java in your room, you’re
putting yourself at risk by drinking a hot cup of bacteria-laden coffee. Those machines
don’t get a vinegar rinsing very often…
14. The Desk Studies show that desks in hotel rooms are
just wiped down, not disinfected. The result: swabs done show a plethora of contagious respiratory
viruses on that handy writing surface. It’s no wonder travelers get the cold and flu so
often. Hey, do you have any advice on how to avoid getting sick while you travel? I’ve
got a trip coming up, so please let me know down in the comments!
15. Faucets Some hotels have been known to wipe down the
bathroom counter and faucets with the same cloth they use to clean the toilets. This
can give you some gnarly gastrointestinal problems, which is a fancy word for a seriously
bad stomachache. Good idea grabbing a tissue before you turn the knob, but, sorry to break
it to you…
16. The Tap Water It’s filthy, so don’t drink it. The tap
is connected to a municipal water source, especially if you’re in a big city. This
kind of water can carry lead, E. coli, and chlorine! To be safe, you might want to bring
your own water bottles or a purifier.
17. The Ice Bucket Trust me, it hasn’t only been used to hold
ice. Remember that stomach virus hanging out on the bathroom counter? I’ll let you put
two and two together… Couple that with minimal cleaning, and you’ve got yourself a big
problem when you drop a few ice cubes into your drink. Just, skip the ice…
18. Your Room Key If touching anything else on this list can
be avoided, your key isn’t one of them. You NEED it to get into your filthy germ-infested
room! Well, the keys themselves are never disinfected, and they should be. Think about
how many times your room key has changed hands. In fact, researchers say that your room key
is just as dirty and germy as money! Better grab a wet wipe…
19. The Mattress I’m not talking about busting out a black
light and looking for drool stains. (Although, that’s not a bad idea…) Nope, it’s all
about bed bugs, and hotels can be teeming with them. Bed bugs carry over 40 disease-causing
bacteria. They’re also tough to get rid of once you bring them back home from your
hotel room. Besides the mattress, check the box spring and behind the headboard for signs
of these little buggers.
20. The Air Itself The air in hotel rooms tends to be quite stale.
If you’re allergic to things like dander, mildew, and mold, you might be in for a rough
stay. Even if you don’t have allergies, stale air is unhealthy because it piggy-backs
irritants and bacteria into the body. Make all the tin-foil hat jokes you want – I
wouldn’t wanna breathe that stuff in! Or touch absolute anything in a hotel room. Better
yet, think I’ll never leave my house ever again…
Sounds to me like a great idea to work hard on getting your immune system in tip-top shape
so you can relax and enjoy your vacation in paradise!
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