The Terrifying Reason You Should Never Drink The Water On A Plane

The Terrifying Reason You Should Never Drink Water On A Plane

And we thought airline food was bad. - by Jessica Migala

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Keeping your fluids up during a flight might seem like the sensible thing to do to ward off dehydration (thanks, recycled cabin air.) But according to new research, you might want to pass up water for wine next time you travel.

The tanks for the jet’s ‘tap’ water are difficult to clean and a study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health showed bacteria such as E coli can linger there.

This means it’s best to skip the coffee - it might be from that water. (The ice is OK coz, catered.)

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The travel tables are also a germaphobe's worst nightmare. They contain nearly 10 times the bacteria of a toilet flush button, according to a Travelmath study. One reason: people change their kids’ nappies on them.

Yup.

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Bring alcohol wipes or use a couple of drops of 60 per cent alcohol-based hand sanitiser on a tissue to disinfect yours.

Same goes for blankets and pillows; if they come in a sealed bag (or you had to pay for them), they either haven’t been used before or were washed, so feel free to snuggle up and get comfy. If not, they were likely used before and tossed in the overhead compartment without being cleaned.

Cue: ew.