If you travel by plane often, or even occasionally, it’s a good idea to bring some wipes with you. Why? To wipe down your seat area before you get comfortable.
You might feel a bit odd doing so, but it’s becoming more and more common to see people break out these wipes and clean up before they get settled in. This means cleaning everything from the seats (if they are leather or another easily-wipeable material) to the headrests, seatback trays, armrests, touchscreen monitors, window area, and even the seat belt buckles.
You’re not being paranoid: planes are, let’s face it, dirty. Even if the planes are deep cleaned often (and we don’t really know if they are) in the span of a day, multiple people will have sat in that same seat. And who knows what they might have brought with them. Need more reason to pack some handy anti-bacterial wipes in your carry-on or purse? Read on.
10 Germs, Germs, and More Germs
Germs are everywhere. You can’t avoid them. But especially when it comes to public places, they can run rampant. And no place more so than on an airplane. Someone could have recently taken a flight with a cold, had germs on their hands or bodies, went to the bathroom and didn’t wash their hands, and then spread germs all over your seat area.
There’s no way to eliminate all germs, of course. But at least you can help avoid picking up someone else’s germs or bacteria by wiping down areas that you will touch with your hands and body before preparing for the flight.
9 Who Knows What Has Spilled There
Coffee, tea, juice, milk, baby formula, breast milk, condiments from a sandwich – the possibilities are endless. People often bring food onto planes, and eat airline food. They drink juice, alcohol, coffee, and more. And sometimes, as they shift around to get comfortable or take a sip during turbulence, that liquid can spill.
To avoid having a sticky mess on the underside of your laptop that you place on the seatback tray, or on your sleeve after resting your arm on the armrest, wipe the surfaces down so there’s no transfer.
8 There Could Be Bodily Fluids
This isn’t something anyone wants to think about, but let’s face it: it could happen. Whether it was someone who got sick and some vomit got on the area before they were able to get to the barf bag, a young child who peed a little because the seatbelt sign was on and they really had to go, a baby who spit up, or something else, bodily fluids of all kinds could be in your seat area.
This could even be mucus from someone who blew their nose or coughed while seated there right before you. Just thinking about it is enough to buy a big pack of wipes to keep on hand any time you fly.
7 You Might Rest Your Head on the Seatback Tray
Especially during long flights, lots of people like to rest their heads on the seatback tray if they can’t get comfortable lying back or are stuck in a middle seat. You might put your arms down first to rest your head on them, but your cheek might still touch the actual tray table. And if you’re wearing short sleeves or a tank top, your arms will most definitely touch the surface.
It’s a good idea to wipe the tray down, along with other surfaces your head might touch, to avoid the transfer of germs, bacteria, and other things.
6 Someone Could Have Been Sick
As noted, someone who sat in that very seat before you could have been getting over the flu or some other illness that didn’t stop them from flying, but left them constantly blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing, and breathing all over the tray table, the armrest, the seats, and more.
As a precaution, wipe things down so at least you aren’t being exposed to the maximum amount of germs possible. No one wants to get sick after just coming back from a vacation or business trip because of the germs from a plane or worse, get sick on their way to a destination.
5 They Are Dirty
Bottom line: planes are dirty. And the seats are dirty. You can’t pack a handheld vacuum and mop, but at the very least, you can clean off the area as much as you can so you aren’t picking up everyone else’s crumbs, liquid spills, and germs. Some people even travel with animals, might put their feet on the chairs, or put disgusting things in the seat pocket.
Just like you wipe the toilet seat before you go in a public bathroom, or cover it with a seat cover or toilet paper, you want to do the same on a plane. And short of buying a seat cover, at least you can wipe the hard surfaces.
4 They Aren’t Always Thoroughly Cleaned Between Flights
It’s unclear how often airlines do deep cleans of their airplanes, but they are definitely not cleaned thoroughly in between flights. If you’re ever boarded a plane that was late, you know that it has often docked, people have been deplaned, and shortly thereafter, you’ve gotten on the same plane.
Staff will walk through the aisles and pick up garbage and items left behind. But they don’t wipe every seat, nor do they run a vacuum or do a deep clean. So it’s your responsibility to take care of the seat that will be your home for the next few hours or more.
3 Get Rid of Bacteria
Bacteria is not good and can do everything from make your sick to irritate your skin, cause you to cough, sneeze, or develop an illness. Anti-bacterial wipes can help kill at least some of the surface bacteria that could be lurking around your seat area and on the tray table from multiple people who have sat there before you.
It’s not pleasant to think about, but worth considering, especially if you have a weak immune system or you’re traveling with kids.
2 Baby Changing
Yes, this does happen. If the seatbelt sign is on, or a baby needs a quick wet diaper change, some parents might simply plop the little one down on the tray table and change them right there. In some ways, it might be easier doing it this way than in the airplane bathroom anyway. Even if the baby wasn’t actually changed on the tray table, the dirty diaper might have been placed there until a flight attendant came by to grab garbage.
This means your seat tray table could have urine on it, or worse. It could have diaper rash cream, Vaseline, or other items. And maybe even a dirty baby’s bottom has touched it, transferring germs from a diaper rash or residual fecal matter. That thought alone should be enough to convince you to clean, clean, clean.
1 It's The Same As Shaking Hands
If you carry around a little bottle of hand sanitizer and use it often, especially after shaking people’s hands for work meetings or at parties, you understand why it’s important to clean your seat area on a plane.
Those same peoples’ hands have touched everything around your seat. What’s more, it will be multiple people, not just one or two. So take the precaution and wipe things down before you get home, feel the sniffles coming on, and end up in bed for the next few days fighting off a nasty cold.