Don't sit in the upholstered chair in a hotel room

Beware the disgusting debris hiding in upholstered hotel chairs: Dust, dander, viruses and BED BUGS collect in the hard-to-clean fabric, triggering allergies and illnesses

  • Experts say the upholstered chairs are not cleaned as thoroughly as sheets and towels because their material makes it difficult to do so
  • This means that stains may be removed but bacteria and viruses can remain
  • Exterminators add that bed bugs can easily burrow themselves in upholstery and steam cleaning isn’t able to penetrate deep enough
  • The chairs can also contain dust and dander that trigger allergic reactions  

Once you get to your hotel room to start your vacation, you may just want to flop down in that comfy chair and kick your feet up.

But you should think twice before doing that.

Those upholstered chairs in all guest rooms aren’t cleaned as thoroughly as the rest of the area and may be hiding dust, dander and mites, which can trigger allergic reactions.

What’s more, experts say they are perfect hiding place for bed bugs – and steam cleaning can’t penetrate deep enough to kill them.

The upholstered chairs that are in every hotel room are not cleaned as thoroughly as other objects, such as the sheets, leaving behind, dust, mold, dander and even viruses (file image)

Most hotel room chairs are made of material and upholstery with ornate, embroidered designs that are difficult to clean.  

‘Chairs can often be made of hard-to-clean fabric and upholstery, and definitely are not cleaned in the same manner as sheets and towels, which are consistently thrown into the laundry,’ Dr Nidhi Ghildayal, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, told Reader’s Digest. 

‘Often, stains on chairs are dabbed and rubbed until they are removed, but other germs that are not noticeable to the eye remain.’ 

Dr Ghildayal adds that people use the chairs for many different things such as dirty clothes, suitcases, shoes and more.   

This means diseases, viruses and bacteria can be left behind and potentially passed on to the next guest staying in the room.

Additionally, according to exterminators Zapp Bugg, it’s easy for bed bugs to hide in upholstered furniture.   

They say that steam cleaning isn’t powerful enough either to penetrate through the upholstery to kill the bugs.

‘Sanitization – which is more regularly done in other specific parts of the room – differs a great deal from cleaning, and germs can easily move around during this process and end up on the hotel chair,’ Dr Ghildayal told Reader’s Digest. 

‘Pathogens can travel between rooms and areas of the room easily when staff is cleaning.’ 

An unclean upholstered chair could also contain a hidden collection of allergens such as dust, dander and mold. 

This could cause you to have mild symptoms such as a runny nose or watery eyes or more severe reactions such as hives. 

Upholsterer Jim Santilli told the Chicago Tribune that to check whether the chair is hiding anything unpleasant, you can perform either the pat test or the sniff test.

For the pat test, put the chair in a bright light and slap part of the chair. If you see particles kick up, it means the chair is in need of a profession cleaning.

The sniff test is just as it sounds. If you smell something funky, it means that mold has likely penetrated into the lining. 

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