Hotel Hygiene Alert: Hidden Germ Hotspots Lurking Inside Your Room Worse Than Toilet Seat!

You see a sparkling clean room, fresh bedsheets, and a pleasant smell, and you think the room is totally hygienic, right? But the reality is often very different. Don't let the shiny surfaces fool you.  

The hotel bathroom isn't always the dirtiest place

No matter how clean and shiny a hotel room looks, some items are hiding a lot of grime. Surprisingly, the bathroom is not always the filthiest spot. Here are some things that every guest touches, but the cleaning staff often misses.

1. TV Remote

The TV remote is one of the most-used items in a hotel room. Every guest uses it, but not always with clean hands. It's tough to properly clean the remote's small buttons and corners. Housekeeping staff, often in a hurry, might just wipe the surface. This leaves behind food stains, germs from sneezes, and bacteria from dirty hands. That's why smart travellers clean the remote with a tissue or sanitiser as soon as they check in.

2. Decorative Cushions and Runners

Those attractive decorative cushions and colourful bed runners look great, but they are huge breeding grounds for bacteria. Staff change the white bedsheets after every guest, but they might not wash these cushions for months. Guests often throw dusty bags or shoes on them, making them extremely unhygienic. For your health, it's best to take them off the bed and keep them aside.

3. Electric Kettle or Coffee Maker

The electric kettle in your room can also be a hub for germs. People assume boiling water cleans everything, but the inside of the machine needs to be clean too. If staff don't clean it regularly, bacteria or fungus can grow inside. Some travellers wash the kettle well before using it, while others avoid using the hotel kettle completely.

4. Drinking Glass

The water glass kept near the bathroom isn't completely safe either. Some reports suggest that staff just rinse the glasses with water instead of properly disinfecting them. Sometimes, they might even use the same cloth to wipe the glass that they used on other surfaces. It's better to wash the glass yourself or just drink from a sealed water bottle.

Other Dirty Items

Besides these items, things like light switches, door handles, the telephone, and buttons near the bed are also touched a lot but are often ignored during cleaning. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many travellers now make it a habit to carry disinfectant wipes with them.