There are certain things you can expect from a hotel room. Clean sheets and towels should (hopefully) come as a mandatory standard. There are normally some free toiletries thrown in. Fancier places may have a mini bar and some tasty snacks on offer. And of course, in some cases, there should be a hairdryer - one of the perks of staying in a hotel is that you don't need to lug yours round with you.
But you may actually want to start packing your own one.
A past investigation by ABC News uncovered some grim truths about hotel hairdryers:
They are more germ-infested than a dirty toilet. While the toilet gets a regular clean, hairdryers tend to stay hidden away in drawers.
Chuck Gerba, the microbiologist in charge of the experiment, swabbed nine different hotel room items. He made sure he visited a range of hotels, which varied in price from £60 to £302.
READ MORE
West Pokot flags off Sh81 million health supplies for 173 facilities
SHA extends deadline for hospitals to review proposed contracts
The silent mental health burden of motherhood
11 Months of pain: Baby Ethan's deadly fight for a new liver that never came
His findings? "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,” he said. It's believed this "germiness" occurs because cleaners will focus on items like the toilet, bath and sink in a hotel bathroom.
Other objects which are frequently touched, but may not be as obviously "dirty", are things like hairdryers, kettles and the light switch.
The next time you visit a hotel, you want to watch out for the free items you use.
