When you are on holiday you naturally want to look your best and that includes taking the time to style your hair and often having to make use of the hotel hair dryer, since finding space in your suitcase to load your own hair dryer might prove a tad difficult if you want to bring along a few extra outfits. :)
A recent investigation by ABC News into the general hygiene of hotels has revealed that hotel hairdryers are harboring more germs than you might imagine.
Chuck Gerba, an L.A. based microbiologist conducted germ tests in 9 L.A. based hotel rooms ranging from lower-priced accommodation to high-end hotel rooms.
Gerba said: “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. The biggest concern in a hotel room is picking up a cold, flu virus or viruses that cause diarrhea. It doesn't take very many to make you ill."
Among the items tested were toilets, room-service menus (which also harbored high levels of hidden germs), sinks, drinking glasses and irons. One would think that with hotel rooms being cleaned daily, germs would not be an issue, but this recent study has proven that germs tend to migrate to places that are not wiped down daily or areas that staff are not able to get to such as the inside of a hairdryer. A germ is after all a living organism and once an environment is not suitable anymore it will move to more apt conditions where it can continue to breed and not be disturbed.
Room-service menus are often touched by various occupants of the room and is hardly cleaned or is a main area that cleaners would focus on, especially if the menu is made of paper.
Gerba said: "They flip through the pages. They put their fingers here. So, you are more likely to find something here.”
Amongst other items that were tested, ice buckets were another cause for concern.
One ice bucket at a Beverly Hills three-star hotel had five times the amount of germs Gerba considered acceptable.
Another thing you probably touch multiple times a day and never thought about twice is your room key card. Money for example, harbors a lot of germs and many people walk from the bar to their room and then proceed to open the door with their key card or by punching in the key code without having washed their hands. Most keypads are hardly ever disinfected which creates a breeding ground for germs and bacteria.
So what can you do to protect yourself against these germs? It is not as if you can avoid to stay in a hotel especially if you travel for business.
Be sure to get some Sprinkle Spray Sanitizer Spray to carry with you at all times to help disinfect areas on the go.
Our Sanitizer Spray is a non-toxic odor neutralizer spray that also contains disinfecting properties that kills up to 99.9% of germs and bacteria it comes into contact with.
Be sure to make a recommendation at any hotel you have recently visited to get the Sprinkle Spray Disinfecting System to help limit the spread of viruses and bacteria.