Hermaphobe’s Guide to Travel by Plane
Life gets pretty boring when you’re always afraid of getting dirty. I try to remember this mantra when I fly because planes are so damn dirty . Research from the University of Victoria shows that we are 100 times more likely to catch a cold on air travel than a “normal daily experience on earth.” Here’s how to stay in relative hygiene (and sane mind) on planes.
Wipe everything
TravelMath.com sent a microbiologist to collect bacteria samples from aircraft to determine which stains were the dirtiest. Based on the samples, they estimated the bacteria per square inch of various stains, including seat belts, air vents, and toilet handles.
Tray tables were by far the most bacteria-infested stains on airplanes, with over 2,000 colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria per square inch (by comparison, your cell phone has about 27 CFUs per square inch). If that’s not enough to convince you, one flight attendant told the Huffington Post that the tray tables are usually cleaned only once a day, when the plane is “RON” (stays overnight). HuffPost member and avid flight attendant Sarah Keagle chimed in:
I saw that there were more dirty diapers on these trays than food. And these trays, yes, never seen them cleaned or disinfected.
Oh good. So if you’re going to use your tray table to eat, work, or take a nap, you can, you know, wipe it down. Take antibacterial travel wipes with you in your carry-on and wipe down seat pockets, entertainment screens, and in-flight magazines while you do. According to the assessment of Drexel Medicine, is one of the most contaminated spots in airplanes. In addition, a study by Auburn University found that bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and E. coli can survive for several days on a variety of aircraft surfaces, including armrests and window shades.
Book an early morning flight
If you want to keep your plane as clean as possible, you might consider booking an early morning flight.
Travel + Leisure asked various airlines about their cleaning policies. Most confirmed that they were planning a “more thorough cleaning,” which involves wiping down the seats and trays with disinfectant when the plane stays at the airport overnight.
This means flying first thing in the morning is likely to be much cleaner than flying later in the day or at night, says T + L. Likewise, Keagle says that blankets and pillows are only freshly washed on the first flights of the day.
Bring your own blanket and pillow
I’ve always been instinctively intimidated by the blankets and pillows that airlines offer on long-haul flights, and rightfully so. As said a flight attendant and blogger Sarah Quigley HuffPost : “freshly laundered blankets are delivered only to the first flight of the day; then they are simply folded up and reused. “
This means that you are using a pillow that is potentially full of saliva and germs, so you can bring your own. I usually take a cardigan with me, which can be used as a blanket during the flight. This way I can carry it around the airport and save space in my carry-on luggage.
When it comes to pillows, this is a favorite of our readers , but here’s another option if you don’t like volume. Again, if you don’t want to bring your own, but still want to use a fresh pillow and blanket, consider booking your flight as early as possible because they are most likely cleaner.
Yes, the bathrooms are dirty
As you might have guessed, airplane bathrooms are an absolute nightmare for germophobes. I never understood how people go to the toilet on airplanes in socks or worse, barefoot, because as one flight attendant put it on Reddit :
It’s not water on the bathroom floor, put your bloody shoes back on.
According to TravelMath, toilet flush contains about 265 colony forming units per square inch, making it another microbial stain on an airplane. We’ve told you before that some germ-prevention tricks are just not worth it, like trying to rinse off the water with your foot. As long as you wash your hands on the way out, you will be fine. Of course, the toilet door latch is most likely covered in germs too, so even webMD suggests using an old paper towel on the doorknob. Take a towel, open the door, and discard it as you exit.
Obviously every good hermaphobe has hand sanitizer, so stock up on Purell too.