My first story for ShermansTravel.

5 of the Dirtiest Places on a Plane — and 5 Ways to Avoid Them

May 6, 2016 by Laura Powell 

flickr/Cory W. Watts

Given the number of people sleeping, eating, and breathing on flights every day, it’s not surprising that airplane cabins are a cesspool of germs. Add the short-staffed flight crew, who is under pressure to offload and reload passengers quickly, and there is little time for the kind of proper clean-up needed to remove those germs before the next departure. According to a Wall Street Journal report, airplanes get lightly cleaned overnight, and they only undergo a deep cleaning every 30 days — meaning those germy microbes can continue to multiply for up to a month.

Here are the five places passengers should be most wary of on a flight:

1. The Seatback Pocket
Think about it. What do you put into a seatback pocket? Likely things like old water bottles, used tissues (ew!), and food wrappers. Seatback pockets are also the go-to repository for airsickness bags. That’s why you should think twice about using the pocket to store food or beverages. Also, realize that the stuff that’s already in there when you get on the plane (the magazine and safety instructions) may be riddled with bacteria, too.

2. The Tray TableA website called TravelMath recently hired a microbiologist to take microbe samples from various spots around the plane (the seatback pocket wasn’t included). The scientist was looking for the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) per square inch. The more units, the dirtier the surface. Of the places sampled, the germiest was the tray table, with 2,155 CFUs per square inch. Compare that to the 172 CFU average found on the average household toilet seat or the 27 CFU found on cell phones.

3. The Seatbelt Buckle
While the 230 CFUs found on seatbelt buckles might seem small in comparison to tray tables, that is still more than what is on your toilet seat. Since you probably wouldn’t want to eat food off your toilet (unless you have some odd habits), you’ll want to sanitize your hands before touching food after you buckle-up.

4. The Overhead Air Vent
When the TravelMath microbiologist tackled the overhead air vent button, it measured in at 285 CFUs. That’s not even taking into account the microbes that may be running through the ventilation system, which spews re-circulated air. That said, you might be better off avoiding the vent altogether.

5. The Lavatory
This one is a no-brainer. Consider the outside and inside doorknobs, the lock, the flush panel, and whatever else is in there. Knowing the nature of the loo in general, it does makes one question the mental health of those who use said privies to join the Mile-High Club.

So what’s the germaphobic traveler to do?

1. Get a seatback organizer that fits into the pocket and put your stuff inside that. Wash the organizer when you get home. Short of that, line the seatback pocket with a plastic bag.

2. Buy a tray table guard or fashion your own out of a piece of fabric. One company claims to have a product made with patented copper and ion technology that actively attacks harmful microbes on the table.

3. Wash your hands frequently. If you can’t wash, douse yourself with hand sanitizer (you might also want to bring along hand lotion, as the alcohol in the sanitizer is quite dehydrating).

4. Use a tissue to open and close the lavatory door and lock, and always wash after flushing.

5. Consider bringing a magic wand. Battery-operated ultra-violet sanitizing wands eradicate micro-organisms with a zap of light. Your seat mates may think you are crazy as you wave the wand over the tray table and into the seatback pocket. Let them laugh. Better yet, offer to do the wave over their germy parts and make new friends.

- See more at: http://blog.shermanstravel.com/2016/5-of-the-dirtiest-places-on-a-plane-and-5-ways-to-avoid-them/#sthash.DO441uhM.dpuf

The Gadget Guru: Nifty Travel Products for Those on the Go

Looking for cool, new travel accessories? The travel gadget guru is here to share discoveries. Let's start with some that help you stay healthy and get charged up.

Watch for more on Great Day Washington on WUSA-TV and upcoming blog posts.

Weego

How about a battery pack that not only charges your mobile devices, but your car as well? Weego is a pocket-size jump starter battery pack that can do it all. You can give juice to the main power pack at home or in your car (cables included), and then throw Weego in your glove compartment for those times when something in your car is in need of a charge. There's even a built-in flashlight. There are three Weego models, ranging in price from $99.99 to $289 (depending on type of engine you need to charge). Easy-to-follow-instruction are included, as are jumper cables. For the holidays, Weego is including an extra compact rechargeable battery pack with all purchases, a $19.99 value.

Where to Buy: www.myweego.com for a store locator.

HumanCharger

The quickest way to alleviate jet lag is... through the ear. That's the claim of HumanCharger's Finnish inventors, who say their device cuts typical jet lag recovery time in half by emitting light into the ear. The operating principle of the HumanCharger: The headset beams UV-free, blue-enriched white light through ear canal for 12 minutes at a time to the light sensitive regions of the brain that keep circadian rhythms in sync.

 

The HumanCharger comes with a smartphone app that tells you when to take the needed 12-minute bursts of light (after you enter details of your trip). I haven’t tried it myself, but the HumanCharger has been certified to meet the EU Medical Device Directive.

Where to Buy: Amazon $269.00

Clean Wave Sanitizing Wand

Germs are everywhere when you travel. Airplanes and hotel rooms can be cesspools of microscopic bugs and bacteria. But the Verilux Clean Wave Sanitizing Wand can zap your these worries away. The wand uses powerful ultraviolet-C light to significantly reduce microscopic germs, mold and dust mites. Take the 10" battery-operated wand and wave it over doorknobs, light switches, bathroom fixtures and the remote control in your hotel room. On the airplane, you might want to zap the tray table and the seat back pocket, two of the dirtiest places around. Frankly, I might be tempted to zap my seatmate as well, particularly if he's hogging the armrest. But the instructions do not sanction that usage.

Where to Buy: Sharper Image   $69.99

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Fee-Fi-Fomites: Avoiding Germs Like the Plague

Okay, Ladies and Germs:

It's time to improve your word power. Today's lexeme is fomite. What it is, according to our friends at Merriam-Webster, is an inanimate object (such as a doorknob) that may be contaminated with infectious organisms and serves in their transmission. For the air traveler, fomites are lurking everywhere you look, and even places you don't.

Let's ponder the cribs of fomites at the airport. We'll start with the touch screens on the self-service check-in machines. Next, let's wander over to the elevator and ATM buttons. I like to feel I've escaped relatively unscathed from these areas thanks to the use of knuckles rather than fingertips.

You might want to avoid touching handrails lining stairways and escalators. But admittedly, it's pretty hard to avoid touching the locks on bathroom stalls and the flushing implements on toilets ('nuf said). At the very least, use a paper towel to open the door handle leading you out of the bathroom.

Now, even if you manage to make it through the airport fomite-free, good luck on the airplane, my friend. There's the fomite on your tray table. There's the fomite in your seatback pocket (which is a popular place to stuff used tissues, if you catch my drift). Speaking of drifts, there's the ventilation system to consider. Since you are dealing with recirculated air, the best bet is to avoid using the overhead air vent, which can blow fomites straight into your lungs. Other ventilation notes--air circulation tends to be better toward the front of the plane. So if you sit in the first 10 rows, you are exposed to fewer germs. That said, if a passenger in your row or in three rows behind or in front of you is hacking away, you're screwed, no matter where you are sitting. When you get off that plane, all you can do is take your Emergen-C, use other immunity-strengthening strategies, pray, and get plenty of sleep.

Back to our friends the Fomites. The Fo Fighters are at their mightiest in the airplane lavatory. Ah, yes, those lovely lockers that challenge even the most flexible contortionist when nature calls. Simply put, airplane lavs are disgusting. How often do you see them cleaned during flight? It really makes one question the mental health of those who use said privies to join the Mile-High Club.

But I digress. Even if you wash your hands prior to exiting the W/C, you are not out of the woods. First, consider that the Environmental Protection Agency has found that 17 percent of all water taps on airplanes contain coliform bacteria (and hold that thought as well...we'll get back to it in a minute). So, that water you are using to clean your hands--maybe not so much. Secondly, to escape from the W/C, you must touch that door handle. I have taken to using a towelette to open the escape hatch, so that I don't have to use hand sanitizer upon returning to my seat. (Then I dispose of the fomite-filled towelette in the seatback pocket).

Okay, back to those water taps. Included in the EPA tap list are those in the kitchen galley. That means the water used to make coffee or tea is running through a germ-filled tap 17 percent of the time. And since said water is seldom boiled to the point where germs will be eliminated, consider that your cuppa java may by plagued with pathogens. So, you might want to buy your Starbucks in the airport and bring it on the plane.

Remember, dear reader, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But let me proffer a few closing tips for fending off those foul fomites. The best advice I can offer is to be aware of your surroundings, wash frequently, carry hand sanitizer and a brawny supply of paper towels, and run like hell when the person sitting next to you in the waiting area starts sneezing.