Beware of the five dirtiest items in a hotel room

A hotel room is essentially a room that has been a temporary host to hundreds or thousands of people over a period of time.

They could be leaving behind germs the hotel staff did not clean up. Unless you have immune deficiency, most of these germs won’t harm you because of the extra protection our body sets up.

The following list includes items you might find in hotel rooms that you want to be extra careful around.

1. TV remote control

The TV remote control is something that everybody will probably touch at some point in their stay. With nothing much to do in a hotel room alone, people find themselves changing between the news and the weather channel, trying to find something interesting to pass the time. There might be thousands of germs left behind on that remote from previous guests that have stayed in the same room.

The remote is a very inconspicuous item that the hotel staff will not actively look for to clean, which is why guests must keep an extra eye out for it.

2. Bed comforter or duvet

The staff always change the bed sheets every day, but, as quoted from the Huffington Post, the hotel staff don’t have enough time to clean the large comforters before new guests arrive.

When sleeping, people tend to shed body oils and skin flakes that might get into the bed spread, along with an entire host of bacteria and germs.

It is recommended to avoid contact with the bed spreads. Kelly Reynolds, a professor of environmental health at the University of Arizona said, “A lot of people will recommend just folding the bedspread back or throwing it on the chair.”

3. Drinking glasses

Most hotels offer glasses for their guests to drink. But if the glasses come from the bathroom, it is recommended that they are wiped first before the guest uses them for any drinking purpose, as flushing a toilet can contaminate nearby surfaces with bacteria.

“When you flush the toilet, the viruses and the feces do get spread throughout the walls of the toilet, the flush handle, and the walls of the bathroom,” says Reynolds.

Other places that are a haven for bacteria include the sink (bacteria really enjoys growing in moist environments), the back of the toilet, the flush handle and the walls of the bathroom.

Reynolds told Time that it is best for glasses and coffee makers to be completely sanitized to avoid bacteria outbreaks.

4. Lamp and light switches

Similar to the remote control, the light switches are prone to bacteria because they are something people will touch often. Like the remote control, light switches are not something the hotel staff will clean on a regular basis because they are an inconspicuous item.

5. Housekeeping materials

The housekeeping carts could contain a lot of bacteria and this means there is always a chance of bacteria contaminating the room. It’s always better to bring an extra disinfectant just in case a surface needs some extra cleaning.