On a layover years ago, I arrived to my hotel room just in time to see the house cleaner wipe down the toilet seat with a rag. I remember rolling my wheelie bag past the bathroom door, smiling at her while thinking to myself, “Oh good, they really do clean the toilets,” mere seconds before she took that same rag and wiped down the sink counter. I wasn’t shocked. However, what did shock me was when a flight attendant once told me years ago she’d used the coffee pot to clean her hose. Now that disgusts me. How exactly she did this, I don’t know. Nor do I want to know. Seriously, some things are better left unsaid. Now whatever you do, don’t get the wrong idea about flight attendants, because most flight attendants I know are germaphobics. They wouldn’t be caught dead without their peaches and cream antibacterial hand lotion in their blazer pocket. Take my best friend Cady, a former flight attendant with an interesting hotel routine, for example. First she will line her toiletries on a bath towel placed on top of the sink counter as a buffer between her precious facial products and contamination. Next she will cover the remote control, probably the germiest thing in the room, with a shower cap. And finally she will pull that nasty comforter off the bed, tossing it on the floor, followed by a thorough hand washing with extra soup and scalding hot water. Now my routine is quite similar to hers, only I wash out the coffee cup with soapy hot water and always make sure never to crawl into bed without wearing my PJ’s, pajamas that cover from head to toe. Hotel rooms are dirty. We all know that. But in case you’re wondering just HOW dirty they really are check out this video about nasty hotel rooms, courtesy of my sister, who just came back from Denver where she spent a week in a hotel drinking water from a hotel glass.

(Above photo was taken by BETH CALLAHAN, photographer/flight attendant extraordinaire)