Germ Traps In Your Hotel

[caption id="attachment_834182" align="alignleft" width="1068"] Bigstockphoto.com/Young multi ethnic couple walk in to a hotel room, back view[/caption] Any place where large groups of people congregate, sleep, eat, use the toilet, bathe themselves and get undressed is prone to bacterial outbreaks. Cruise ships come back with hoards of people who have been exposed to Legionnaires disease and sorority houses are constantly the sites of highly-contagious staff infections. Not only do these places host large groups of people, but they also host rotating groups of people, meaning that individuals from all over the world, bringing germs from all over the world, come and go. If you think you’re immune to all of this because your dorm room days are over, you don’t take cruises and you only stay at the nicest five-star hotels, you’re wrong. Even the most detail-oriented hotel cleaning staff can miss a few spots, so don’t forget to bring your ecchincea and your vitamin C when you travel. Here are the major germ traps in your hotel. [caption id="attachment_707001" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The coffee mugs

If guests don’t use the coffee mugs the hotel leaves out for them, then the cleaning staff typically leaves the mugs untouched and waiting for the next guests. But these mugs collect dust over time. What’s more is that many guests pick up the coffee mugs, decide not to use them, and put them down, but they still put their potentially unwashed hands on the mugs. Rinse out hotel coffee mugs before drinking from them.       [caption id="attachment_220076" align="alignleft" width="500"] Shutterstock.com[/caption]

The phone

If you’re lucky, the cleaning staff will have disinfected the telephone, but it is often overlooked. Who knows how many people have put their mouths onto the phone before you do. Bring disinfectant wipes and wipe down the room phone before using it. Of course, hotel phone calls can be expensive so you’re better off just using your cell phone. [caption id="attachment_703932" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

The bed cover

Those heavy, decorative bed covers can be tiresome and expensive to wash, which is why most hotels don’t wash them. The staff puts clean sheets and pillow cases on the bed, but folds the cover down, towards the foot of the bed, almost to imply “This doesn’t belong by your face.” Remove the cover entirely, so you don’t accidentally pull it over your face at night.       [caption id="attachment_711704" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The accent pillows

Beware of the accent pillows on the bed, on the couch, and on the chairs. Since the cases on these are not easily changed like the white cases of the bed pillows, they’re rarely removed and washed. That doesn’t stop guests from putting them between their knees or drooling on them when they sleep.           [caption id="attachment_701353" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The chairs and sofas

The cleaning staff likely does not remove the cushion covers of the chairs and couches for cleaning every time they go through a room. Meanwhile, some guests might sit on these nude, or drape their dirty laundry across them. Don’t put items like your underwear or toothbrush on these chairs.           [caption id="attachment_706971" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The plunger

Do you clean your toilet plunger at home regularly? Case closed. In a hotel room, the toilet plunger passes through a lot of hands. In most cases, those hands are far from clean when using the plunger. If you must use the plunger, ask the cleaning staff for gloves or disinfect it with wipes.           [caption id="attachment_702781" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The remote control

The remote control is so small, and typically left on top of the television, so the cleaning staff overlooks it. But the remote control is the dirtiest item in your hotel room, and carries the most germs that can quickly form colonies and spread. Wash your hands vigorously after using the remote control, or just don’t use it at all—you didn’t go on vacation to watch TV anyways.       [caption id="attachment_695664" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

The pool chairs

If the hotel pool is out of clean towels, wait for a fresh one before sitting on the pool chairs. Pool chairs are rarely wiped down, if ever, and yet, people sit on them with little more than cloth separating their private parts from the chair. Furthermore, pool chairs sit outdoors, where any number of bacteria can blow onto them.         [caption id="attachment_823065" align="alignleft" width="900"] Credit: Bigstock[/caption]

The ice buckets

Do not use the ice bucket before lining it with a clean plastic bag (the cleaning staff can provide one). Because the cleaning staff assumes people only put ice in the buckets, they rarely clean them. But guests could put any number of things in the ice buckets. [caption id="attachment_824800" align="alignleft" width="420"] Bigstockphoto.com/High Angle View Of Young African Female Janitor Cleaning Hardwood Floor With Vacuum Cleaner[/caption]

The floor

Hopefully the cleaning staff vacuums the carpet in your hotel room before you arrive, but even when they do, they do so quickly. That carpet has potentially been collecting dirt every day for years. Hotel carpets get far more wear and tear than a home carpet, and a quick run of the vacuum over them may not do the trick. Don’t sit or lay on the hotel carpet, and don’t let your children crawl around on it.       [caption id="attachment_610259" align="alignleft" width="455"] Corbis[/caption]

The hot tub

Be wary of hotel hot tubs. While they are relaxing, hotel hot tubs are often the site of potentially fatal bacteria like the ones that cause Legionnaires disease. Legionnaires travels in vapor—something you inhale plenty of when sitting in the hot tub.           [caption id="attachment_608918" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The plastic cups

Your hotel likely leaves a few complimentary plastic cups on the coffee table for drinking, and in the bathroom for brushing your teeth. But these are also items that collect a lot of dust between visitors.     [caption id="attachment_608603" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

The bath mat

Treat the bath mat the way you treat the floors in your hotel locker room; with caution. The cleaning staff likely doesn’t wash the bath mat, since it technically gets cleaned by the shower, but it can still hold onto bacteria like that which causes athlete’s foot.     [caption id="attachment_829313" align="alignleft" width="420"] Bigstockphoto.com/A lamp with mounted propeller on white background.[/caption]

The light switches

When guests enter their hotel room, they could have been anywhere—on buses, petting animals at a petting zoo, mud wrestling…And they don’t wash their hands before entering the room, meaning they turn the light switch on with dirty hands. Switch on the light with your elbow, or with a tissue.           [caption id="attachment_608323" align="alignleft" width="417"] Shutterstock[/caption]

The mini fridge

The mini fridge in your hotel room could have held deli meats, dairy, juice that spilled and any other number of items. But it’s also often overlooked by the cleaning staff. Lay a clean plastic bag or some paper towels on the shelves on the mini fridge before placing your food in it.

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