Coming Clean: Airlines and Hotels Speak Out

During a long airplane flight, there can be nothing more relaxing than sacking out with a blanket and pillow. Once at the hotel room, there’s the joy of kicking off the shoes and stretching out on the bedspread, novel in hand, content in the thought that everything we touch is spotlessly clean.

Or is it?

Cleanliness standards are high, according to airline, hotel and motel officials. But housekeeping practices vary from airline to airline and hotel to hotel. It is possible, for example, that a pillow used on the second leg of a flight was used by someone else on the first leg. Should that be the case, physicians say, travelers can increase their chances of contracting colds and other minor ailments. Yet a sharp eye and planning can cut exposure risks.

How often are those airline pillows and blankets cleaned or replaced? Airline spokespersons use words such as “frequently” and “as needed.” In truth, it depends on the carrier.

“When our cleaners go through, they inspect all blankets and pillows each night,” said Linda Burke, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines. “Pillow cases are changed each night. Wool blankets on board are washed as needed.”

On that schedule, a pillow used on the first leg of the flight could be used by another on the second. But with each plane stocking about 20 pillows and a dozen blankets, Burke said, travelers who ask a flight attendant for fresh linens should be able to get it.

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On Alaska Airlines, used pillow cases are changed after each flight segment, according to spokesman Lou Cancelmi, and also at the end of the day.

Blankets are inspected not just daily but after each flight segment, Cancelmi said. If a blanket is not damaged or soiled, it is refolded and put away. Blankets are dry-cleaned on an as-needed basis, with the frequency determined by those who inspect them.

Seat back covers are changed after each flight segment “if there is any indication of soil, drink spillage” or other problems, Cancelmi said. The same is true of bottom seat cushion covers.

At hotels and motels, clean linens “are an important part of quality assurance,” said Ann Curtis, of Choice Hotels International, which operates Rodeway, Clarion Hotels and other lodgings.

Many hotel and motel operators turn to guidelines provided by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Motel Assn., according to an association spokeswoman. It gives advice on how often to replace mattresses and other furnishings, along with cleaning tips. “Bedding (mattresses and box springs) is replaced every three to five years, depending on occupancy,” Curtis said.

Hotels change sheets and pillow cases every day, but the frequency of bedspread washing seems to vary widely.

“Bedspreads are washed when changed and they are changed once a week or (more often) as needed,” said Linda Swearingen, director of housekeeping for the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles. At the Biltmore, Los Angeles, bedspreads are changed and cleaned “once a month, minimum,” or more often, if soiled, according to spokeswoman Holly Barnhill. Why don’t hotels launder bedspreads daily? “The bedspreads don’t come into contact with the guests,” said one housekeeper.

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So what might a traveler catch from less-than-pristine linens?

On an airplane “it is definitely possible, if someone uses a pillow used an hour or two earlier (by someone with a cold), to pick up a cold,” said Dr. Ralph Hansen, chief of infectious disease at Century City Hospital. However, catching influenza in this way is unlikely, he noted, because the flu virus is more apt to be transmitted through the air. The viruses and bacteria that cause most transmissible diseases, he said, don’t survive long outside an infected person.

Because bed linens are usually washed frequently and in hot water, they probably don’t pose much risk of disease transmission, but bedspreads could, Hansen said. “Even I don’t like to hang out on hotel bedspreads,” said Hansen.

Technically, dirty bedding could be a source of head lice or scabies (a skin infection caused by a tiny mite), added Dr. Bernard Raskin, a Valencia dermatologist and UCLA assistant clinical professor of dermatology. “Those are both long shots, even though lice can last a few days in linens. But the reality is, lice are usually caught on a person-to-person basis.” He cites children sharing combs as a common route.

Allergy-prone travelers and those hoping to avoid colds might consider taking along their own pillow or pillowcases during travel, Hansen said. Some allergists suggest travelers wrap hotel bed pillows in a plastic bag, then replace the pillow case to cut down on contact with allergens and molds within the pillow.

Travelers who encounter soiled linens can easily solve the problem. “Call the general manager or the front desk,” Curtis said, and most hotels will restock them promptly.

The Healthy Traveler appears the second and fourth week of every month.