Those who wipe down the seats and tray tables with anti-bacterial wipes...
 

I wipe down the buttons, handles, etc and all of the places that don't get cleaned as much when I travel. Domestic US will wipe tray table, international J they usually cover it. Just depends on plane, itinerary.

My daughter has allergies to nuts, dairy, and eggs--all of which could be present on a tray table. Not to mention people who don't wipe their hands after eating and touch the arm rests. That's why we wipe down all hard surfaces before sitting down.

I do wipe down the hard surfaces with antibacterial wipes, I like having a non sticky, non grimy area to inhabit on 15 hour long hauls. It's not that I think I will die if I don't do it, it just makes me happier.

Knock on wood.. just came off a three week trip to China and India, and no illnesses. I either had really good luck, or a really good immune system. The wipes may or may not have helped- difficult to say.

Do Not Confuse alcohol wipes (good) with antibacterial wipes (bad). Alcohol wipes (and Purell and related liquids) are generally just alcohol in a gel that are like washing your hands with rubbing alcohol (good). They don't make mutant forms of germs like the antibacterial products (bad).

Only when I'm typing in the Delta forum...

Do antibacterial wipes help kill bacteria? Of course. That is what they are designed to do.

However, by killing weaker bacteria, they encourage stronger bacteria to form. Bacteria evolve (like any living thing) to adapt to their environment. If there are antibacterial chemicals everywhere, bacteria that cannot withstand them will die, and those that can will spread. You can google the emergence of "superbugs" due to antibiotic overuse for more details.

Antibacterial wipes really should be a prescription product, just like antibiotics, for use in hospitals or by those with weak immune systems. Their overuse results in increased sickness for everyone.

Minnesota has banned one of the major chemicals used in antibacterial wipes, and hopefully other states follow. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/21/health...antibacterial/

I've seen someone put a whole seat cover over their seat before sitting on it. I thought that was a little OTT.... But perhaps not (thinking about all the rear tailpipe emissions that the average seat must have been hit with).

they are good for wiping off the boogers that previous passengers left

Wow, interesting stuff, and makes sense. So, dear everyone: Stop with the wipes!

I've always suspected people who do the wipe down thing have OCD or something similar. I never wipe down anything and somehow have managed to be sick maybe 5 days in the past decade, while traveling on average 50 nights a year.

I do salute the makers of the wipes. They've instilled a fear of germs in the public that has paid of quite handsomely with billions of sales year after year.

There wouldn't be anything wrong with a standard cleaning wipe or an alcohol wipe, though, I would think, so far as superbugs?

I've never done it, but having read about people changing babies on the trays, etc., I have thought about it.

Again, former medic and cop here. I am not a germophobe.
I wipe down the armrests and tray table. If you think about it, if someone in a seat sneezes, they sneeze directly onto the tray table.

I can't afford to get sick on trips. It's anecdote, but I got sick during three trips in 2012-2013. After starting to wipe down, I haven't gotten sick on a trip.

I agree with issues regarding overuse of germicidal product (like overprotective parents that wipe and spray everything every day). But, there is a time and place for using antiseptic use, and this is one.

Agreed, couldn't have said it better!

I have read the same - so I, too, see nothing wrong with people wiping down the tray tables and arm rests.

There are a lot of people out there that really do not practice the best hygiene - stand in a ladies room sometime and watch how many people walk out without washing their hands.

If I could take a soapy cloth with me and wipe it down, I would...just much easier to pull out the wipes and take care of it that way.

Immune System
 

Your body is attacked by millions of microbes every 24 hours. Your immune system fights off these microbes unless your immune system is compromised by your poor living habits. Since 99% of viruses and bacteria are transmitted from your hands to your nose and mouth it should only be necessary to wipe your hands with antiseptic wipes. You would have to wipe down every part of the plane continuously, including the passengers, to make the plane germ free. Kind of absurd.