Is there anything better than staying at a hotel? The hospitality, the continental breakfasts, the amenities...did we mention the continental breakfasts? But enough about free cinnamon rolls; let’s talk about GERMS.
TRIGGER WARNING. If you’re a germaphobe, do NOT keep scrolling. You’ve been warned. Abandon ship! Abandon ship!
When you’re staying in a hotel room, you’re staying in the same room that countless other people slept in. And people are gross. Like, really gross. It's not fun to think about, but let's be realistic.
In February 2008, ABC conducted an undercover investigation. The mission? To see what carried the most germs in a hotel room. The results were alarming, to say the least.
Now, there were a few no brainers. Toilets? Of course a toilet is going to have some germs. Drinking glasses? Sure, that makes sense too. But one item caught many people by surprise.
That’s right. You might want to think for a second before drying your hair on your next vacation. Turns out, a hotel hair dryer is a wonderland for germs. Let's break it down for you.
Microbiologist Chuck Gerba helped ABC conduct their investigation. “There must be some things you can do with a hair dryer that I am not aware of, because some of them were pretty germy,” said Gerba.
But WHY is the hair dryer so gross? The answer is a simple oversight. State codes require hotels to clean things like toilets and drinking glasses, but many don’t include hair dryers.
As a result of this oversight, hair dryers can go years without ever being cleaned. Ew, that’s a lot of scalp-on-scalp contact. It never hurts to pack some disinfecting wipes when you travel.
Even if you pay the big bucks for your stay, your hotel’s hair dryer still might be gross. ABC investigated hotels that ranged from $98 to $500 per night. Great, you can’t trust anybody! Hooray!
Oh, how we wish that hair dryers were the end of this tale. Remember how people are gross? Yeah, people are gross. Here are some other things in hotel rooms that you might want to avoid, on account of people being gross.
The best part of waking up is...mold in your cup? No, not really. But according to Reader’s Digest, the coffee makers in your hotel room can contain mold. If you need that cup in the morning, perhaps stick with the coffee that they have in the lobby.
Reader’s Digest talked to Jennifer Stagg, MD and naturopathic physician. According to Dr. Stagg, a hotel ice bucket can contain norovirus from previous guests who use the bucket to throw up in. Yuck, there’s a mental picture that nobody asked for.
"The bathroom counter and faucets can sometimes be cleaned with the same cloth used to clean the toilet, thereby transferring germs from fecal matter onto the counter and faucets," says Dr. Stagg. "This can lead to gastrointestinal infections. There may also be GI and respiratory viruses lingering on surfaces." Oh, great.
Anyone else never want to take a vacation ever again? Oh, who are we kidding? Continental breakfasts will outweigh germs every time.