Cleaning your airplane seat is something that you should always do because these seats are filthy and full of bacteria. I’ll spare you some of the disgusting behaviors I’ve seen from fellow passengers that would make you want to scrub your seat every time you fly. Ultimately, who cares about a few off looks when it comes to your health and safety anyway. Just do your best to get out of the aisle for people to pass and do your thing. While most bugs are more of an annoyance, some can be quite serious. Further, if you are heading out on vacation or a dive trip, a bug can ruin your trip.
A lot has been written about how dirty airplane seats can be. From the seatbelt, the tray table and worse the seat back pockets. Ultimately, planes are turned around so quickly nowadays it’s just not possible for the cleaning crew to do much of decent job beyond picking up obvious trash in their run. Sometimes you even see them get on the plane before it’s empty with their gloves and garbage bags and you can see, there is no wiping down, no scrubbing. Perhaps planes go in for this type of deeper clean every evening, maybe once a week, maybe never.
Have you ever looked carefully down between the seat and the wall on a window seat? It’s not uncommon to see a layer of dirt in there that looks like it can be years old! On top of that you never know who was in the seat before you. Were they sick? Did they cough or sneeze all over the seat? Hope for the best but clean for the worst!
Ok so enough said, what do you bring and where do you begin to clean and disinfect your seat.
What to use to clean your airplane seat
We carry packs of disposable disinfecting wipes which work really well. These can be in a pack of 15 or individually wrapped. Note that some of the wipes labeled antibacterial are really only meant to wash your hands and not to clean surfaces. There’s also a difference between cleaning and disinfecting!
How to disinfect your seat
For the process to work, the surface you are wiping must get wet and remain wet for a while. Check the label but this could be a few minutes. Make sure you use enough towelettes to let this happen. This is the time it takes for the disinfectant to kill the bacteria. We keep these in the outside pocket of our carry-on or in our personal item for easy access. It’s easy to forget in the rush to board.
Where to begin
- If the seat is leather, start with the seat and the seatbelt buckle. Wipe the headrest and the armrests.
- Do the tray table, open it up, do the surface and the back. Especially if you plan on eating or drinking or using it for a table.
- Wipe the air vents, remote, or other controls available for seat movement, lights, or entertainment systems.
- If you have a touchscreen, wipe that as well.
- If you are in a window seat, do the window shade and the side of the wall where you may want to rest your head.
After you’re done, clean your hands with some sanitizer. Nothing is foolproof, so do be careful even after cleaning but at least you are lowering your odds of picking up a nasty bug.
I have also heard it recommended to put the air vent on and push air past you and away from you. Not sure if this helps but keeping the air moving seems like a good idea.
One last recommendation also is to stay away from what’s in the seatback pocket but if you do pick up and browse through the magazine, use some antibacterial gel to wash your hands again.