A hotel room's dirtiest item? Bacteria samples reveal the ugly
truth Hotels are prone to cross-contamination as workers use the
same cleaning equipment from room to room, quickly spreading
bacteria. Sun, Jun 17 2012 at 6:40 PM Want to stay away from
germs during your next hotel stay? Then don’t turn on the TV or
lights — new research shows that TV remotes and light switches
are among the most contaminated items in hotel rooms.
Researchers from the University of Houston took bacteria samples
from several items in hotel rooms in three regions of the United
States. While the toilet and the sink were expected to have high
levels of bacteria, researchers also found more surprising items
with high contamination levels, such as the remote and the
switch on the bedside lamp. Hotel rooms “don’t have to have it
ready for surgery,” said study researcher Jay Neal, a
microbiologist at the University of Houston, but there certainly
is room for improvement in their cleanliness. The amount of
bacteria on the remote may not m