Wondering just where the germs lurk when you check into a hotel? Maybe not always where you'd expect.
Hotel guests actually stand a better chance of picking up bacteria turning on the TV or lights than opening the bathroom door, a recent study suggests.
Some of the most contaminated surfaces include the somewhat obvious, such as the toilet basin and bathroom floor, but also the TV remote control and the main light switch, says a small study by researchers at the University of Houston, Purdue University and the University of South Carolina. It was presented at a meeting in June of the American Society for Microbiology.
In most of the nine rooms sampled in three states, levels of bacteria on the remotes and light switches exceeded hospital standards for surfaces in patients' rooms and bathrooms, says Sheryl Kline, associate dean at the University of South Carolina's school of hotel, restaurant and tourism management.
Though high levels of bacteria don't raise an alarm in themselves, researchers' test swabs of remotes, light switches and bathroom floors all contained coliform bacteria, associated with fecal contamination, which at high levels points to health risks. Some of the cleanest surfaces swabbed were curtain rods, bed backboards and bathroom door handles.
"The purpose of the study is not to scare people," Kline says. "It's to help the hotel industry develop better practices so hotel rooms not only look clean, they are clean."
Even the presence of coliform should not deter people from booking hotel stays, says environmental health sciences professor Craig Hedberg of the University of Minnesota. "The things somebody can do short of carrying around their own little microbiology laboratory are sort of common-sense things we would recommend anybody do, which is wash your hands."
Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, says research on hotel cleanliness is helpful for refining what he says are already sophisticated housekeeping procedures at most companies.
Some hotels have even gone high-tech in their quest for cleaner rooms. By the end of this year, housekeepers in all of Best Western's 2,200 locations will be scanning with black lights and ultraviolet light wands to spot and destroy germs.
"You're going to use the light switch and you're going to use the remote, and you don't need to wear gloves because they do clean them," McInerney says.
Kline says wary guests, or those who are immune-compromised, can clean surfaces with a sanitizing spray or wipes.
"Surprisingly, the shower floor was pretty clean, but the bathroom floor was not, so they might wear shoes or slippers when they're walking around the hotel room."
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