Most travelers kick off their shoes the moment they enter a hotel room, but would you believe it if we told you that hotel floors (especially carpets) are one of the grossest spots in your room you shouldn't be touching, according to hotel inspectors? We'll spare you the horrifying details about almost all hotel rooms for now, but know this: Hotel room carpets can harbor an array of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Despite looking clean — we're not saying they haven't been vacuumed — hotel carpets are rarely
shampooed or sanitized. Plus, hundreds of guests could have likely crossed those floors, and you hardly know where their feet have been or what hygiene habits they've been following.
According to The Science Times, even visibly clean rooms may contain dangerous pathogens that linger in places you'd hardly expect, like the remote, light switch, telephone, kettle, and coffee machine. And exposing the bare skin of your feet to the ground allows for easy transfer. For example, if someone with the human papillomavirus (HPV) walked across that floor before you, you could develop warts on your soles. Similarly, antibiotic-resistant bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (staph) also spread when people walk around with cuts and abrasions that haven't been disinfected.
Beyond that, athlete's foot fungus tends to thrive in warm, damp places. However, since hotel rooms often experience changeover in a matter of hours, there's no guarantee a possible contamination could have dried up before you arrive — especially in a humid or tropical vacation destination. Finally, scientific studies of carpet microbiology have found that, because carpet accumulates more dust per unit area than hard surfaces — and because it is more porous, absorptive, and has a higher volume to surface area ratio — it can harbor a number of invisible contaminants that aren't so simple to eradicate (via NIH).
Read more: Simple Tricks To Getting Extra Perks When You Check Into Your Hotel
Other Risk Factors And Precautions You Can Take
According to researchers, carpets can contain 4,000 times more bacteria per square inch than a toilet seat. Additionally, other possible contaminants that like to linger in carpet fibers include temporary viruses like norovirus and COVID-19, E. coli, and the fungus that causes ringworm, an itchy red circular rash. To make matters worse, even if you treat them, fungal infections can often linger in the form of dormant spores, meaning you're susceptible to recurrent symptoms for life once you've become exposed. Furthermore, remember that many of these species thrive in warm, damp places. So, if you're already worried about what's lurking on your hotel room floor, you should definitely think twice before walking barefoot around the pool.
It's not just human feet that might have carried some nasties back to hide among your room's carpet pile, though. The soles of shoes, luggage wheels, and even food spills can contribute to microbial buildup. And in between making beds, restocking toiletries, and scrubbing the sink out, hotel housekeepers just don't have time to perform a full sanitation between guests.
Thankfully, there's a simple precaution you can take to keep your tootsies (and the rest of you) safe. Most hotels nowadays provide disposable or washable slippers, and you'll want to use these (or slip on sandals) when walking in your room. Ultimately, although walking barefoot indoors may feel like part of the vacation experience, it's a risky habit with potentially unpleasant consequences. And, please, whatever you do: Avoid placing personal items that will be touching other parts of your body directly on the floor.
Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets.
Read the original article on Islands.
