If you’re jetting off to a sun-soaked location this summer or preparing to escape for a wholesome staycation, there’s probably a lot more than just the contents of your suitcase that need to be washed or cleaned once you return home or step off that plane.
Your essential belongings can easily and quickly become home to viruses and plenty of bacteria, with everything from your water bottle to your laptop keyboard likely to be harbouring a whole host of germs after a trip away. And don’t forget about the grubby things you encounter on your travels, like that sticky plane tray table.
If you want to keep things squeaky clean and keep germs to a minimum when you travel, here are the things you should consider giving a good scrub.
32 things to clean next time you travel
Your phone
Smartphones are a breeding ground for germs and can carry an unpleasant amount of bacteria. Considering they come around with us everywhere and can be in our hands and pressed up against our faces for a considerable amount of time each day, they can easily end up teeming with germs - especially when we travel. From airport charging points to plane tray tables, our phones are exposed to it all. Luckily, it’s super easy to give your phone a refresh, with affordable anti-bacterial device wipes.
Your earphones
A set of earphones or earbuds are a travel essential that you don’t want to forget before a long flight, train journey or boat ride - and they’ve got to be in your bag for beside the pool or at the beach, too. But when you travel, they can pick up lots of germs along the way. According to Healthline, earphones can be home to 2,708 times more bacteria than the average chopping board. Not particularly something you want in or around your ears, right? Earphones can be wiped with an anti-bacterial wipe made for devices - and AirPods can be easily cleaned with affordable AirPod cleaning kits from Amazon.
Your plane seat
Plane seats harbour a lot of bacteria. What with hundreds of passengers sitting in each seat per month, they’re no doubt teeming with germs. If you don’t want to share your seat with all of that bacteria for hours on your flight to paradise, wiping the seat, the headrest and the arm rest over an anti-viral and anti-bacterial wipe before you settle down for take off is a good way to reduce the likelihood of picking up a virus or bug before your holiday starts or before you touch down at home again.
Your hair
After hours spent in the sky breathing recirculated air, making contact with head rests on airplane seats and chairs in the airport, our hair can become home to lots of bacteria. While it’s unlikely to harm you, it’s always best to give your tresses a good wash with your best shampoo and conditioner before hitting your fresh, clean pillow after a day of travelling.
Your face
Your skin goes through a lot when you travel. What with more sun than usual (if you jetted off to a warmer climate), dehydration from flying and having to skip a full skincare routine if you’re in the sky overnight, you might find your complexion looks a little duller with breakouts brewing after tiring travelling. It can be a good idea to beeline to the airport bathroom when you touch down to give your face a good cleanse to banish the plane bacteria and remove excess oils - and don’t forget a good dose of hydration in the form of hyaluronic acid and your favourite moisturiser, too.
Your hands
Keeping your hands clean in any scenario is essential. But coming into contact with all the bacteria the likes of planes, trains, busses, ferries and airport harbours, banishing germs from your hands is all the more important. If you don’t already, pack an anti-bacterial hand sanitising gel in your stash of travel essentials - and give your hands a serious scrub when you make it to your destination to get rid of traces of viruses or bacteria that could make you ill.
Your passport
Like most travel essentials, your passport will likely be teeming with bacteria by the time your trip is over. After being carried all the way to your destination and back, and being handled by those at border control who touch hundreds of passports an hour, your passport can become home to some nasty germs. While you need to be extra careful when it comes to important documents like passports, gently giving the exterior a wipe with an anti-bacterial wipe can help get rid of nasty germs. Be careful not to damage those all-important pages!
Your handbag
Wiping down your handbag of choice after a day of travelling should certainly be on your to-do list if the thought of your beloved accessory being coated in bacteria from the airport and plane makes your stomach turn. Wiping it down with anti-bacterial wipes or spray will help - and make sure you focus on those handles.
Your jeans
While you might not pop your jeans in the washing machine after every wear in a bid to keep their shape and colour looking as good as new, giving your denim a refresh after a day of travelling is a must. Banish all the bacteria picked up along the way on planes, in the airport and on public transport from your favourite jeans before you put them back into your wardrobe.
Your water bottle
If you’re someone who takes their reusable water bottle everywhere, so much so that it’s become as much of an essential item as your keys and wallet, keeping it clean with regular washes is a must. And while taking your water bottle on long journeys is an easy way to save money on pricey bottled water at airports, they can easily come into contact with nasty germs and viruses that might make you ill if they make it into your mouth.
The handle of your suitcase
After being dragged from A to B (sometimes journeying all the way from one side of the world to the other), going through security and being taken all the way to the plane by baggage handlers, your suitcase can come into contact with lots of hands and lots of germs. Giving it a quick wipe with an anti-bacterial wipe can quickly get rid of bugs and germs that could make you sick.
Your teeth
After hours spent travelling, especially in dehydrating environments like planes, spending a few minutes focussing on oral hygiene can help you to feel instantly refreshed. Head to the airport bathroom shortly after you land to give your teeth a quick brush, floss, scrape your tongue and rinse with mouthwash to banish the buildup of bacteria in your mouth and freshen your breath.
Under your nails
Just like your hands, the underneath of your nails can quickly become home to a host of different types of bacteria and easily carry contagious viruses. While keeping your hands clean with an alcohol hand sanitiser during your travels is a good way to keep germs at bay on your mitts, giving your nails a proper scrub with soap and a nail brush when you arrive home is an ideal way to give them a refresh.
Your makeup brushes
Keeping your makeup brushes clean is a simple way to help maintain a clear complexion and avoid transferring breakout-causing bacteria from your brushes to your skin. After taking your makeup bag on holiday, your brushes can be exposed to plenty of new germs - especially if you do your makeup on the go. Give them a gentle wash with a foaming face cleanser and hot water when you return home to help disinfect them - and your makeup application will look smoother as a bonus.
Your shower loofah
A damp, warm shower loofah can easily become the perfect home for a whole host of bacteria that you don’t want to be transferring onto your face and body when you’re trying to get clean. Toss them into the washing machine (or replace if yours has really seen better days) once you arrive home to ensure you’re washing with a clean scrubber.
Your hairbrush
What with a build-up of skin cells, hair oil, products and general dirt, hairbrushes can be home to up to 3,500 colonies of bacteria per square inch, according to the University of Arizona. After taking your hairbrush to an overseas destination or a hotel room on a staycation, it’ll certainly need a refresh. Soaking your brush in some warm water and an anti-bacterial hand wash or shampoo is an easy way to reduce the dirt, germs and debris hiding amongst the bristles.
Your glasses
It goes without saying that a pair of sunnies or your prescription glasses have to be in your hand luggage when you travel - but taking them on and off along the way, as well as exposing them to swimming pool water can mean they end up rather grubby and home to bacteria after a trip away. They’re easy to clean though; simply wipe the lenses and frames over with an anti-bacterial wipe, followed by a lens cleaning wipe to banish any smears and they’ll be fresh and clean.
Your toothbrush case
While it’s usually a good idea to replace your toothbrush or toothbrush head when you come back from a trip to avoid any germs picked up from hotel rooms or airport bathrooms making their way into your mouth, remember to give your toothbrush travel case a disinfect too. Leaving it to soak in some warm water with some anti-viral disinfectant before giving it a thorough rinse will do the trick.
Your plane tray table
When you think about how many people have used that tray table on your plane or train before you, it can rather put you off wanting to set any food or drink down on it. Studies have even found nasty strains of bacteria like E.Coli and MRSA lurking on them. Luckily, packing a handy packet of antibacterial and antiviral wipes in your hand luggage can freshen up your table in a few wipes and banish germs.
Your travel pillow
After taking your travel pillow through the airport and having it come into contact with the crevices of your plane seat, it can come home as the breeding place for multiple strains of bacteria. Popping the the pillow into the washing machine on a hot wash when you arrive home will give it a much-needed refresh ready for the next time you jet off.
Your travel blanket
Taking a blanket on your travels is essential if you’ve got a tendency to get chilly on heavily air-conditioned flights. But much like travel pillows, your cosy blanket can get rather grubby along the way and come home in dire need of a serious cleanse in the washing machine.
Your beach bag
Taking your best beach bag on its first outing of the summer can be one of the most exciting parts of a trip to the beach or poolside. But a pristine beach bag can quickly become stained, coated in sand and come into contact with some dodgy germs along the way. Wiping your beach bag over with antibacterial wipes, a spritz with disinfectant spray or a spin in the washing machine when you get home will have it fresh and clean again in no time.
Your goggles
If swimming some morning lengths is your favourite way to stay active on holiday, a pair of goggles might be a must-pack for your time by the pool. But after a week of being submerged in public pool water, your swimming accessory will likely need a disinfecting session. Simply soak them in some warm water with some disinfectant fluid before rinsing them off for a pair of significantly less germy goggles.
Your jewellery
If you’re a dedicated jewellery wearer, you might prefer to keep your beloved pieces on at all time and rarely think about giving them a clean, until they look a little tarnished. Studies have found that hundreds of bacterial colonies can be found on the likes of rings and earrings. And washing your hands with soap and water isn’t enough to get rid of the germs your rings are harbouring. Instead, giving them a wipe with anti-bacterial wipes can help keep them fresh and keep bacteria to a minimum.
Your skincare bottles
Applying your best hyaluronic acid serums, best vitamin C product and favourite moisturiser has to be done on freshly cleansed skin to reap the most benefits. But what you might forget to keep clean is the packaging, especially after your skincare has been away on a trip with you. The bottles of your skincare can quickly gather dirt and germs that can be transferred onto your face during application, putting you at risk of breakouts.
Your woolly gloves
If you’re paying a visit to a colder climate or jetting off on a winter city break, a pair of super cosy gloves are a must for taking around with you everywhere. But, much like your hands, gloves quickly come into contact with lots of bacteria and viruses that can become attached to the fibres of your winter mitts. Pop your gloves in the washing machine as soon as you get home so you don’t continue to wear the germs on your hands all the way through winter.
Your wallet
Your wallet can easily become one of the most bacteria ridden items in your handbag. Thanks to coming into contact with germ-covered cash and being taken around almost everywhere with you, it quickly becomes home to viruses and strains of bacteria that you don’t want getting onto your hands. So keeping it clean, especially after taking it on a trip, is a must.
Your laptop
Laptops, especially their keyboards, can become the perfect breeding ground for germs and some studies even suggest that they can be home to up to 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. If you’ve taken your laptop away on your travels with you, it can be exposed to the germs in planes, airports, hotel rooms and more. So give things a refresh with a laptop screen and keyboard cleaning wipe.
Your shoes
Whether you’re heading off on a city break ready to exceed your 10,000 steps a day goal twice over or prepping to enjoy leisurely strolls on the beach, it’s likely your walking shoes or sandals won’t come back in the pristine state they were packed into your suitcase in. Make sure to protect your favourite footwear from travel stains by wiping them over at the end of each day and removing traces of sand and dust to keep them looking as good as new.
Your swimwear
If you’re excited to don your favourite new swimsuit or bikini around the pool this summer, don’t forget to take the right steps to prevent your beloved swimwear from fading or staining after a swim or a day lounging on the sand. The chemicals in swimming pool water can cause the vibrant colours of your summery swimsuits to lose their vibrancy, so rinsing them clean with fresh warm water after a day of swimming is essential to keep things looking like new.
Your device chargers
After taking your phone charger on your travels with you, you've likely plugged it in at various locations, including the airport and hotel rooms. It will likely come into contact with lots of bacteria so wiping it down with an anti-bacterial wipe before you start using it again at home is always a good idea.
Your jacket
Over a long day of travelling or after a city break wearing the same jacket daily, your outerwear can become exposed to lots of germs and stains. From coming in contact with plane seats to food and drink spillages, it's likely your jacket will have picked up plenty of bacteria and a few dodgy marks during your travels.
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