Three hygiene tips you need to know before your next flight

Edinburgh Live

10-05-2025

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Whether you're travelling somewhere for work or for a holiday, knowing the ins and outs of air travel can make your journey smoother and more comfortable for both you and everyone else onboard
Every airline conducts safety demonstrations before take-off, outlining what to do in case of an emergency, how to operate your seatbelt, and procedures for an emergency landing. However, as you clock up more air miles, you'll pick up tips and tricks to enhance your comfort during flights, such as knowing to book your preferred seat or wearing a comfy set of clothes is what takes the flight from mediocre to comfortable and maybe even enjoyable.
To assist with this, experienced flight attendant Cierra Mistt has taken to social media shared her top advice for making your flight less stressful and more comfortable for both you and anyone you might be travelling with.
"Here are some things that passengers should know that flight attendants and pilots don't talk about, until now that is," Cierra began her video.
She then dived in to her list of simple hacks to do, or not to do, when you're next onboard a plane.
Don't go to the toilet barefoot
Cierra first talked about what you should do if you need to avoid doing if you need the toilet. "Whatever you do, do not walk barefoot into that bathroom," she said.
"I can promise you, the liquid on the floor is not water and you will not want to be stepping in it. Not to mention, that bathroom never gets cleaned, unless it's bad enough that we have to literally close it off for the rest of the flight."
Her advice? Keep your shoes on if you need to visit the plane's loo.
Planes aren't as spotless as you'd hope
"Speaking of cleaners, while it is true that cleaners do come on most flights after passengers are done disembarking, they don't do a deep clean like you might think they do," Cierra disclosed.
"In fact, they only did that during Covid and the only thing that they really deep cleaned are the tray tables and the seatbelts," she added. "Nowadays, it's more like a tidy up and getting trash off the floor."
Wipe down your window
"That being said, there is a reason why we offer you those wipes right as you're boarding the flight," she pointed out.
Sharing her insider knowledge, she advised: "If I were you, instead of wiping down that tray table and the seatbelts they just cleaned, I would use that wipe to clean off the window that you're sitting next to."
"Because just like the bathroom floor, those things have never been cleaned either," she revealed.
In her video, Ciarra also said to use the paper towels inside the bathrooms to wipe yourself instead of toilet paper.
However, it's important to know that paper towels should never be flushed down any toilet, and you should think twice before following her tip.