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The airplane arm rest wiping thread

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Old Jan 8, 2019, 12:00 am
  #1  
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The airplane arm rest wiping thread

I have a habit of wiping the arm rests of my seats down, either with a wet wipe or the cloth you may receive on certain carriers.

So let's have a comparison. Take a picture, could show the airline/plane type like here.
Todays ET 767 is the worst I've seen in a long time. They are usually bad, but this is insane. I plan to file a complaint.
​​​​​​The head rest seemed cleaner though.
​​​​Show us what you've got?


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Old Jan 8, 2019, 8:51 am
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No picture proof. I've had the top surface / piece of the armrest loose and falling off. This is mostly on TK, even on their short haul J product
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Old Jan 8, 2019, 9:25 am
  #3  
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I've never looked. I just put my arm there and trust my immune system to do the rest. I do, however, avoid putting my nose, mouth, or eyes on the arm rest. That thing is probably kinda dirty...
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Old Jan 8, 2019, 9:03 pm
  #4  
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That picture is typical, not unusual. Next time you get a hot towel rub HARD on the armrest and seat and you will duplicate that or worse. Every time. Disclaimer is that you must rub hard or it's not a guarantee of a very black towel.
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Old Jan 8, 2019, 9:11 pm
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My guess is you could probably duplicate this in not just airplanes but hotels as well. My immune system is pretty good, but I still shower when arriving at home, even at midnight.
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Old Jan 8, 2019, 10:50 pm
  #6  
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This is why I stop at the Dollar Store before trips to pick up a couple flat packs of Lysol wipes - everything gets wiped down, armrests, table trays, walls, seat belts, air vents, AVOD screens, etc - anything i might touch or come into contact with. Flying business in a lie flat - I'm at about 5 minutes+ of wiping tables, resting spaces, shelves, etc and the inside wall of the seat shell where the seatback slides down for sleeping. These aircraft travel the world coming into contact with who-knows-what, and I don't trust my immune system that much.

A cool Pavlovian trick when flying domestic F is to take your hot towel and begin wiping your tray table, then wait to see how may people notice and then start doing the same thing - my record is triggering half the cabin to start wiping as the visual cascaded from my seat to my seat mate, to across the aisle, to the next row, and so on.
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Old Jan 9, 2019, 9:30 am
  #7  
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Originally Posted by COSPILOT
I still shower when arriving at home, even at midnight.
Yes, the post-travel-day shower is always a must. I just feel a little gritty after a day of airports...
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Old Jan 9, 2019, 10:55 am
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Originally Posted by pinniped
Yes, the post-travel-day shower is always a must. I just feel a little gritty after a day of airports...
Definitely, sitting in a confined space for hours means sweating in places you normally don't sweat aside from being physically active. But my main reason for taking a shower when I arrive post-flight is the perfume smell! My hair and clothes reek of the floral scent airlines put in their air circulation systems. Some may not notice it but I do, and for my partner it's really a hardship as she is allergic to most manufactured scents.
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Old Jan 13, 2019, 8:12 am
  #9  
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This new 7M8 wasn't that dirty. Makes me wonder if the picture in #1 shows something that haven't been properly cleaned in many months or even years?
​​​​​​
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Old Jan 16, 2019, 8:33 am
  #10  
 
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Immune system here. But on weekends I like to go out and get dirt on me working around our vacation property. Or diving (okay falling) around the baseball diamond. Or getting other peoples sweat on me on the basketball court. Not a huge believer that germophobes actually stay healthier, but to each their own.
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Old Jan 25, 2019, 12:05 am
  #11  
 
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I'm allergic to so many things (including isopropyl alcohol) so I frequently use regular wipes (non-alcohol) to clean everything I think of as I'm sitting there. I think there's something to be said for our immune systems, but I also think sometimes it needs help when bombarded with so much at once and with so many people around.
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Old Jan 25, 2019, 4:08 pm
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Originally Posted by bocastephen
This is why I stop at the Dollar Store before trips to pick up a couple flat packs of Lysol wipes - everything gets wiped down, armrests, table trays, walls, seat belts, air vents, AVOD screens, etc - anything i might touch or come into contact with.
What about your fellow passengers? Surely you should wipe them down head to foot, or you might catch germs when you squeeze past them on the way to the toilet.
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Old Jan 25, 2019, 5:41 pm
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I have some wet wipes I will use in long haul J. Simply because I am going to be sitting there for hours. And eating. I am not a germapobe or dirt a phobe, but sometimes the area around the seat is a little dirty and I really don’t wanna stare at food stains for 8 hours. They are also hand sanitizers so I can eat with clean hands.

Being a teacher, I’ve really got in the habit of using hand sanitizer at school before I eat anything, and washing my hands frequently. So, folks sometimes look at me weirdly when I am cleaning my little J suite, but hey, that’s their problem.

But washing the arm rest to see how dark the towel gets is like bringing a black light to a hotel room. You don’t really want to know.
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Old Jan 25, 2019, 6:13 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by OccasionalFlyerPerson
What about your fellow passengers? Surely you should wipe them down head to foot, or you might catch germs when you squeeze past them on the way to the toilet.
Ideally I would spray them head to toe with Ozium, but that seems to be frowned on.
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Old Jan 25, 2019, 6:22 pm
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I was amused on a recent flight to watch the couple in front of me using the hot towel to wipe down every surface in perfect unison - it was like watching synchronized swimming...obviously not their first flight together.
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