Disinfectant wipes for wiping down plane??

[Lindaapple]

I've read that many people take disinfectant wipes to wipe down the plane surfaces that they may touch to help avoid getting sick. I am wondering which wipes are allowed to take in carry on and which ones you recommend. Thanks!

 

[bop28]

We always bring individual Wet Wipes anti bacterial wipes in our carry on bags. The instant we get seated, everyone wipes down the tray, armrest, seat belt buckle, overhead buttons, and anything else we can think of.

 

[elle101me]

I flew Southwest last week with my peanut allergic son and used Clorox, Citrus Blend, 9 pack of wipes that I got at Target. I wanted something that didn't smell strong. I just had them in the front pocket of my carry on. No problems with getting through TSA. I brought an empty ziploc bag to put the used ones in, and threw it away when they collected the trash.

 

[rwdavis2]

They are all allowed on. They are not a liquid.

 

[scrapquitler]

I know that wiping the surfaces with disinfectant wipes feels like you are doing a good thing to kill any germs or bacteria on the surfaces, but you might be wasting your effort and not even realize it. I'm looking at the package of Disinfecting Wipes sitting here on my desk (Lysol Disinfecting wipes) and if you actually read the instructions it says, "To disinfect, Allow to remain wet for 4 minutes". I don't know about where you live, but when I wipe down my laptop or whatever, the surface does not actually remain wet for four minutes, the solution evaporates much quicker than that. So I guess I'm not likely reaping the benefits of the disinfecting. And people wiping the tray on the plane are probably not keeping the surface wet for a full four minutes either.

 

[rwdavis2]

I know that wiping the surfaces with disinfectant wipes feels like you are doing a good thing to kill any germs or bacteria on the surfaces, but you might be wasting your effort and not even realize it. I'm looking at the package of Disinfecting Wipes sitting here on my desk (Lysol Disinfecting wipes) and if you actually read the instructions it says, "To disinfect, Allow to remain wet for 4 minutes". I don't know about where you live, but when I wipe down my laptop or whatever, the surface does not actually remain wet for four minutes, the solution evaporates much quicker than that. So I guess I'm not likely reaping the benefits of the disinfecting. And people wiping the tray on the plane are probably not keeping the surface wet for a full four minutes either.

I've seen reports recently that wiping down is effective for about 20 minutes and the still alive bacteria come roaring back and reproducing.

 

[loves to dive]

You might want to use them to wipe your hands before eating instead of wiping services. Washing hands is the best way to keep germs away.

 

[buzzrelly]

I bring Clorox wipes and clean any surfaces we touch. I also bring Purell Wipes or Wet Ones to clean my hands after I wipe everything down.

 

[amymgould]

I brought on Clorox wipes in a travel pouch. Just did this a few weeks ago with no problem!

 

[happymommy]

I also bring Clorox wipes. First thing we do when we sit down is to wipe the seat belt latch. Those are never cleaned, and you know they were just touched. Then open the tray table, wipe it well, and then the seat back where it folds up into (otherwise what's the point?). Armrests are next.

I am not a germ freak by any means, but these things are never cleaned (well, not between flights anyway).

The others are correct: wipes are not liquid. There is no issue with them through TSA. I pretty much always have a pack of Wet Ones in my purse, and especially at Disney parks.

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

We also wipe down the tray tables, buttons, seatbelts and armrests - usually use the travel ones we've gotten from Dreams Unlimited for our cruise.
And NOT always because of germs but with five of us you can guarantee that at least one tray table will be filled with crumbs, sticky and spilled drink marks. Cleaning the rest of the stuff just makes everything a little less grubby

 

[OKW Lover]

I fly very often. In actual practice you'll see very, very few people bothering to wipe down surfaces in the planes.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Avoiding catching cold on a plane came up in a workshop i attended, just this morning! Version of what was discussed: Use a saline nasal solution or nasal mist to keep your nasal passages moist (just follow the directions on the bottle), which effectively boosts your body's own germ-flushing action. Or try applying a small amount of Neosporin or petroleum jelly just inside the nostrils, use a Q-tip.

The person who mentioned it uses Bacitracin.

 

[gwb]

I've seen reports recently that wiping down is effective for about 20 minutes and the still alive bacteria come roaring back and reproducing.

this intrigued me so I did some research, I found that the credible sites such as the CDC and others say that they are effective and mention no time in which the germs come back. There were other reports from major hospitals that say the same thing that wipes are effective.

 

[bumbershoot]

There were other reports from major hospitals that say the same thing that wipes are effective.

Hospitals have horrible rates of extra infections. Not sure I’m going to trust what they say.

And again there’s that remaining wet-with-disinfectant-for-4-minutes issue.

 

[mister morrow]

i know you mean well, but i dont think it is worth it. just cary a pocket size hand sanitizer and you'll be fine.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Wet wipes are allowed, but just note that it is possible to be stopped and searched for them anyway. I nearly missed an international connection because they were tearing apart my carry on bag. At the end, all they said was that 'must have been the wet wipes' to which I apologized, saying I thought they were allowed. TSA's response? They are.

 

[Tinknalli]

We use Clorox wipes. You can purchase travel size packs from The Christmas Tree Shop among other stores. We also use hand sanitizer. If you ever used one of those wipes to wipe stuff down and saw that they come away dirty you would use them every time. Also turn the air off so it is not blowing on you. I work on healthcare in a nationally awarded hospital with low rates of infection and some of the best outcomes anywhere. We take courses about hand washing and infection prevention on a yearly basis. The wipes and hand sanitizer aren't 100 percent, but they are better than getting ill.

 

[biochemgirl]

My son and I have a wipe down routine at this point Even if we aren't killing all the germs, we are definitely removing debris and reducing germs.

In dentistry (my profession) we follow product directions to get a 3 minute minimum wet time for our product. To achieve this, use very wet wipes and wipe twice. Once to remove physical debris and the second wipe to re-wet and let it sit.

On a plane, we wipe each surface twice. The first cloth usually comes away colored as it picks up dirt, food, etc. from places like tray tables and arm rests, yuck.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I've read that many people take disinfectant wipes to wipe down the plane surfaces that they may touch to help avoid getting sick. I am wondering which wipes are allowed to take in carry on and which ones you recommend. Thanks!

also then do not think about rides with lap bars as those do not get cleaned between riders and you will not have time to wipe down before you ride