Who remembers March 2020, when people were arguing about the proper way to wash your hands? I thought it was so wild that grown-ass adults needed basic health reminders like they were in kindergarten. At some point, however, hand washing had to share the stage with hand sanitizer. Plenty of people, Mr. Rosie included, kept hand sanitizer at the ready pre-covid, but that amount skyrocketed after the pandemic. I had never given much thought to which method was better, and always continued to utilize whichever option was more available to me at the moment.
As it turns out, there is a situation where one method is better than the other: during air travel. An Obama-era regulation required airlines to test for E. coli and other bacteria in their water supply. A 2019 study revealed that test results from 70% of major airlines came back as not considered “relatively safe.” In fact, experts say it may be safer to forgo washing your hands and just use hand sanitizer during air travel.
“If the tanks are not properly cleaned, it can lead to the perfect environment for pathogens to grow and lead to gastroenteritis, warns Dr. Tatiana Echeverry, MD, a board-certified internist with Medical Offices of Manhattan and labfinder.com contributor. “The most common pathogens in water are E. coli, Campylobacter, norovirus and parasites, such as Giardia.”
If you’re a TikToker, you may have seen a video from influencer and former flight attendant Kat Kamalani go viral in 2021. In it, she notes that the pipes on planes are never, ever cleaned. But one doctor and water safety expert reports that this isn’t entirely true. Dr. Evans Sirois, DO, an internist and co-founder of N-2 Water, points out that the EPA requires regular cleanings and testing for pathogens. Under the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR), which was enacted in 2011, airlines have to take samples from water tanks to test for coliform bacteria, including E. coli, plus disinfect and flush the water tank four times each year. Airlines can instead opt to disinfect and flush the tanks once a year, but they must agree to test them monthly…
A 2019 study evaluated the water quality in 11 major and 12 regional airlines. Each received a score on a scale of 0 (worst) to 5 (best). Anything above a score of 3 was considered “relatively safe.” Scientists weighed factors like fleet size and sample reports that came back positive for E. coli and coliform. Seven of the 10 major airlines had scores under three—ditto for all but one of the regional airlines. The authors advised against drinking water that isn’t sealed in a bottle. That wasn’t all, though. The researchers even suggested using hand sanitizer rather than washing hands with tap water.
Experts agree with TikTok and scientists: It’s best to avoid using tap water on planes for drinking. “Drinking beverages that have been bottled or sealed or that are served hot has less risk of infection,” Dr. Sirois says.
Washing your hands is also important. “Maintaining hand hygiene is the most important factor to lower the risk of E. coli contaminated food,” Dr. Echeverry explains.
However, your best bet is to carry hand sanitizer rather than washing with the tap water in the bathroom. “Hand sanitizers can take care of 99% of common bacteria and viruses and neutralize them,” Dr. Chatterjee says. “Several major carriers have hand sanitizers/sanitizer pads and are provided on request.”
Welp. This is pretty unnerving. No matter how much an air traveler pays for their ticket, they expect the absolute human rights basics, like safely arriving at their destination and the airline doing their best to avoid any preventable illnesses. For example, an airline can’t help it if a passenger sneaks on while hiding that they have the flu or some other illness, but they can provide basic preventative measures like properly testing, flushing, and treating their water tanks, especially while America’s health systems are being run by an antivaxer. I don’t think any passengers are willingly drinking the water, but plenty of them are absolutely using it to wash their hands. Bacterial outbreaks from airplane water are preventable, and therefore inexcusable.
Photos credit: Getty and EVG Kowalievska on Pexels
This is gross, but good to know.
I bring sanitizing wipes with me during air travel. I wipe everything!
I do the same. I wipe down the tray and head rest and seat and arm rests. I also use my hand sanitizer and I still wear my masks. Just got back from traveling and the coughing and sneezing plus an absolute disgusting person was passing gas the whole time in the section i was sitting in and it was none stop. I’m not sure they didn’t crap their pants. I was grateful for my mask but the smell was still strong.
Same. WetOnes to go.
Gross and great to know. But you know what? Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are great for killing E. Coli and Covid, but they don’t work against Norovirus, so lately I’ve been using Lysol wipes.
Clorox wipes on your skin??
Actually, I also use Chlorox or Lysol wipes on my hands, not all of the time, but when someone else has been driving my vehicle, on airplane trays and armrests, and when I come in from some place where I have had to use handrails or other public things. I started doing this a couple of years before COVID because I have a very weak immune system from cancer treatment and have wanted to be especially careful. I am not sure if they are stronger than the regular hand wipes, but that’s what I do, even if the container says not to. And I never got COVID.
Note to self: bring water bottle to airplane restroom for teeth brushing.
Wow thank you for the heads up!