7 Germy Surfaces You Should Avoid When Traveling!

Last Updated on December 1, 2020

Human hands are absolute germ carriers, so it’s smart to assume that all the surfaces that come in contact with many different hands can be quite germy. Even though you can’t exactly see the germs, you can control how you clean your own environments, like your home, your car, or even everyday objects like your cellphone.

But when you are traveling, things get a little complicated. Knowing how to travel safely without getting sick requires you to be aware of all the germiest surfaces/places you can find during your traveling journey, so you can disinfect them properly and avoid any contamination.

So here are 10 of the germiest places and surfaces you might encounter during your travels!

1.Hotel remotesMicrobiologists have conducted studies that have come to show that the TV remote controls and the Air conditioner remote controls are some of the germiest objects you can find in a hotel room. So, you can either take your anti-germ travel kit and disinfect the remote by yourself or use one of those free shower caps provided by the hotel to cover the remote to use it safely.

2.Bathrooms on airplanesAirplane bathrooms are quite compact, so every single time a person flushes the toilet, microscopical bacteria are sprayed throughout all the surfaces, including the sink.

Firstly, it’s important to know how to avoid spreading germs: in this case, the best you can do is try to avoid leaving a wet sink, as creating a moisty and closed environment will contribute to the multiplication of germs.

Secondly, you can take a pack of tissues with you and use them to open the bathroom door, for example. Once you return to your seat, remember to disinfect your hands.

3.Airplane seat pocketsThe seat pockets are there to serve a practical purpose, like holding a magazine, for example. But, for some reason, people seem to think of airplane seat pockets as trash cans, and they shove everything you can think of inside those tiny spaces, from banana peels to dirty diapers.

This is probably one of the germiest places in public, which is why we would advise you to avoid storing any of your belongings inside those pockets.

4.Tray tables on airplanesOnce again, tray tables should be the kind of thing to be used with a little bit of common sense, but people seem to look at them and think, “Hey, here is a perfect place to change my baby’s diaper.” That being said, passengers use tray tables on airplanes for many things that do not involve eating.

So, if you keep wondering how to avoid germs while flying, you should stay away from those useful but dirty tray tables.

5.Blankets and pillows When traveling by plane, you should not be wondering where to sit on a plane to avoid getting sick, but instead, be thinking about all the things you should avoid touching with your bare hands.

We have talked about bathrooms, seat pockets, and tray tables, but have you ever thought about how dirty the blankets and pillows they give away on airplanes might be? Just think about it – the crew will have no time to sanitize the blankets and pillows between shorter flights.

This means you may end up getting a blanket that was used before by someone who was sick and, and as a result, you might get sick as well. Only accept free pillows and blankets if they are delivered to you inside a sealed plastic bag.

6.Water fountainsThis might come as a surprise to you, but a public water fountain can hold even more germs and bacteria than a public toilet. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF International) has published a study claiming that water fountains are the dirtiest spots that can be found in public schools.

This happens because while bathrooms are disinfected many times throughout the day, water fountains are rarely cleaned. So, if you are traveling and come across a public water fountain, think twice before filling your bottle there.

7.Hotel bedspreadsThe journey was tiring, and all you want to do is get inside your hotel room and fall into your bed right away. A piece of advice: don’t. Hotels usually change the sheets between one guest and the other, but the same does not apply to bedspreads.

And who knows what might be hiding in those covers! From bodily fluids to bedbugs, the truth is that hotel bedspreads might be filled with all sorts of yucky particles.

Even if you carry sanitizing products for travel with you, there is nothing you can do to disinfect your bed’s covers. The best you can do is remove them entirely and cover yourself with nothing but the washed sheets or blankets.