The excitement of getting on a plane and traveling somewhere new may distract you from considering one of the most important things, and it is your sanitation.
You may not even care that much because no one died because of lack of sanitation on planes, right? Well, they didn’t, but they caught some seriously dangerous diseases. Also, nobody wants to get sick and unwell while traveling.
Imagine hundreds of people piled up in a compact cabin for hours. Once they walk out, other hundreds of people walk in… It is basically a setup for germ disaster.
You can avoid being a victim to someone else’s germs by knowing where the germs are lurking, thus, taking the right steps to keep all the diseases at bay. Here are 10 of the dirtiest places on airplanes that you have to avoid.
Aisle Seats
Window seats are always the greatest because you get a nice view, have the ability to sleep on long flights, and avoiding being in contact with most of the germs. The aisle seats, however, are being touched by mostly everyone.
People walk by all the time while seats capturing all the germs. Even though sitting on that aisle seats gives you the freedom of getting up whenever you want, it is still not worth the germs.
Bathroom Stall Locks
This one is not specific only to the airplanes’ bathrooms. In any public restroom, everyone goes in there touches that door lock, and we already know that not everyone washes their hands. So before using the bathroom in the plane, make sure to eat all the snacks because once you come back from that tiny toilet, your hands better not be touching any food.
Blankets and pillows
We don’t want to shatter your dreams but those pillows and blankets that you like to cuddle up with during your flight are pretty much filled with tiny civilizations of germs. The only ones that are safe are the ones wrapped in plastic.
Other than that, you are reusing the same blankets that many other passengers used without being washed. So in order to avoid those nasty blankets and pillowcases, you can just bring your own.
In-flight magazines
The magazines you see every day may look a little dusty, and that’s not because no one reads them, it is actually because most people do and it is now filled with germs. So when you reach for one of them, you would be exposing yourself to germs from many other people who, maybe, were eating at that time or just came back from the restroom.
Remember that no one ever cleans them, so it is best if you passed on ready those ad-heavy publications.
Lavatory flush buttons
The flush button is probably holding the most population of germs than the actual toilet of the plane, so when you flush, make sure you are using a tissue or a paper towel, and then wash your hands as soon as you finish. Also, don’t ever touch your eyes after touching the flush button, ever! Otherwise, you will end up with a nasty case of conjunctivitis.
Lavatory Sink
Let us focus on the toilet area more because if we are talking about the dirtiest places on an airplane -or anywhere- the toilet will always be the highlight. Anyway, after you are done using the washroom, what is the first thing (or surface) you touch?
It is the sink, and once you wash your hand, you touch it again. So make sure you protect yourself from the germs living there by not touching it at all, not in any cost!
Leather Seats
Leather seats may look cleaner than the carpet ones, but according to many studies, leather seats are actually dirtier. The only time they could be cleaner is if the flight crew decides to clean them between uses, and unfortunately, that doesn’t happen very often.
However, Travel + Leisure shared a report saying that cleaning the leather seats is not necessarily going to eradicate the germs that were left behind by other passengers.
Overhead Air Vents
If you felt a little warm during your flight, then it is best to take your clothes off or to just deal with it. That small knob that controls the overhead air vent is a shelter of gross germs from many passengers before you. So probably you may want to use a tissue before touching it. The air quality, however, is pretty nice because it circulates the air completely every 2 or 3 minutes.
Seatback Pockets
It would be a mystery if you never found a few crumbs on those seatback pockets on the plane. They are convenient for passengers to store their drinks, electronics, books, and even foods.
So before using or touching anything, it is best if you clean them, and don’t even consider eating before that. According to the researchers of the Auburn University, MRSA could actually live in that seat pocket for more than 168 days.
Knowing that the flight crew doesn’t clean these pockets, then it is best if you don’t expose yourself to the trash other people leave behind.
TV Remote
If the airline you are flying with has an in-flight entertainment system, then be careful while using the TV remote. At home, you and your family are the only people touching the TV remote, and it is, still, filled with germs.
Now, what about a remote that is available for hundreds of users, who never hesitate to touch it. So in order to be safer, wipe that remote before touching any button.
The precautions may be a little annoying and too much to handle, but you have to make sure that your flight and vacation must go smoothly, and that’s the point after all: Being safer, feeling happier, and enjoying all of your vacations in a healthier way.