This is why you should never use the hair dryer in your hotel room

We’d better make room in our suitcases then…

Words by Saffron Parris

It’s the time of the year when you’re packing or, perhaps more realistically, over packing for a holiday. But, with excess baggage charges high and space tight, packing your best hair dryer might not seem like an essential item to squeeze into your luggage - especially because there's almost always one in your hotel room.

However, you might want to think again. It turns out hotel hair dryers are covered with germs - so much so that they might even be dirtier than the toilets.

It might be time to rethink some of our packing choices.

When microbiologist Chuck Gerba conducted tests about hotel room hygiene for ABC News he seemed pretty disturbed by the results he found on hair dryers. Testing various items in hotel rooms across the Los Angles area, he revealed which items had the most germs, and the results were pretty surprising.

Along with room service menus and ice buckets, hair dryers made the list.

Whilst you might just want to use a hair dryer for drying your hair, it appears not all hotel users have the same idea, with the microbiologist explaining, '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.' Concerning, right?

We'll be bringing our own hair dryers on our next hotel trip - and some antibacterial hand gel...