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Why You Should Never Use a Hotel Hair Dryer

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Country Living

When you're relaxing in a hotel on vacation, the last thing you want to worry about are any germs and bacteria lingering from the previous guest. And while you might already be hesitant to sleep under the comforter or drink from the glasses, it turns out that you may not want to touch the hotel hair dryer, either.

An in-depth undercover investigation by ABC News looked into just how hygienic hotel rooms are-or aren't. After conducting germ tests in nine Los Angeles hotels that range in cost from $98 to $500 per night, they found that the hair dryers were hosting more germs than they ever expected.

"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," said Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist who worked on the investigation, according to ABC News.

Unlike other items in bathrooms, like sinks, toilets, and showers, the hairdryer is overlooked when it comes to cleaning. The same goes for hotel menus and ice buckets, which also tested surprisingly high in bacteria at some hotels. An ice bucket at a three-star Beverly Hills hotel had five times the amount of bacteria that the microbiologist considered acceptable.

"The biggest concern in a hotel room is picking up cold, flu virus or viruses that cause diarrhea," he said. "It doesn't take very many to make you ill."

Next time you check in, remember that just because something in a hotel room looks clean doesn't mean that it is. And don't forget to bring your own hairdryer!

(h/t Travel and Leisure)

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