Why You Should Always Change Your Clothes After A Flight

Airplanes see countless passengers every day, and high-touch surfaces like tray tables, seat belts, armrests and overhead bins are often handled without being disinfected between flights, letting microbes transfer to your clothing. Spending hours sitting near other passengers can also leave germs clinging to your clothes.

One habit I’ve adopted is tossing my airplane clothes straight into the wash as soon as I get home, helping prevent germs from spreading to family or pets. It may sound extreme, but there are science-backed reasons to wash travel clothes immediately.

Here’s what you should know, and why you should consider washing your travel clothes ASAP:

Planes might not be inherently dirty, but there are plenty of ways microbes, including bacteria and viruses, can spread during a flight. From brushing your sleeve against the armrest or tray table to resting your head on the seat back or standing in lavatory queues, every interaction offers a chance for these tiny hitchhikers to transfer onto your clothes.

“The air around all of us and any other living thing we encounter is surrounded by a small cloud of microbes, skin particles and dust particles, directly from our bodies or clothing,” said Karen Duus, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Touro University Nevada. “As people gather, those little personal clouds mingle, and some of it is exchanged and sticks to us or our clothing as we touch, brush against, sit or lie on different surfaces, pass by people, pets, animals and plants.”

Beyond surface contact, germs can also travel through the air when people breathe, talk, cough or sneeze, letting infectious droplets settle on you.

“Respiratory viruses are the most common infectious diseases that can be transmitted on planes … and are easiest to spread,” said Dr. Zachary Hoy, a board-certified pediatric infectious disease specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group in Nashville, Tennessee, referring to illnesses such as influenza, COVID and the common cold.

Our shoes can be culprits, too, picking up microbes from the ground as we move through airports and planes. Duus points out that anything we touch afterward can transfer those particles to our hands, clothing or skin, and from there to our mouths, noses or eyes through everyday actions like eating, rubbing or scratching.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Yellow Book on air travel, airplane air quality is actually better than most people think. Commercial jets mix outside air with recirculated air that passes through HEPA filters, which capture about 99.97% of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger, significantly lowering the risk of airborne illness.

“It is less likely that particles can settle on passengers’ clothing with HEPA filters, and airline air is exchanged in the cabin much more frequently than offices or other buildings,” Hoy said. “But there are times when the air exchange is not running, such as getting off and on the plane and waiting on the runway.”

It’s also worth being mindful of your surroundings while sitting at the gate, where you’re likely breathing unfiltered air shared with other travelers.

Dr. Annie DePasquale, a board-certified family medicine physician and founder of Collaborating Docs, added that while HEPA filters dramatically reduce airborne particles, they can’t stop every type of transmission, especially when you’re sitting close to someone who’s sick.

“Transmission risk increases within about one row or one meter,” she explains. “Coughs and sneezes can still send droplets onto your sleeves, lap or scarf, even with strong cabin filtration in place.”

“A few hardy bacterial and fungal spores, parasite cysts, worm eggs and protein-coated virus particles can potentially last for months to years if they are not removed by soap and water, neutralized or wiped away by disinfectants, or washed away in the laundry,” said Duus, noting that some are especially resilient to temperature changes, humidity and even common disinfectants like alcohol gels and wipes.

“The vast majority of these microbes we come in contact with are either harmless or are neutralized by the antimicrobial compounds on our skin, our tears, our saliva or our oral and upper respiratory mucous membranes,” Duus said. “However, sometimes they sneak in and can potentially cause infections if your immune system doesn’t respond to them before they start rapidly replicating.”

In general, viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses can remain on surfaces anywhere from several hours to several days. The Mayo Clinic states that the survival rate of a virus depends on a few factors, including the climate and indoor environment and the type of surface the virus lands on. Some viruses “stay more infectious on fabrics,” according to the organization.

Textiles can act as fomites, DePasquale added, referring to inanimate objects or surfaces, like clothing, bedding or seat cushions, that can pass along infectious viruses or bacteria, usually at low levels, to hands and then onto doorknobs, counters and couches. “The risk is lower than airborne spread but not zero.”

To minimize the spread of germs after a flight, especially if anyone at home is elderly, pregnant, very young or immunocompromised, remove your airplane clothes as soon as you get home.

“Drop travel clothes directly into a hamper or washer. Avoid shaking items, which can disperse particles,” said DePasquale, adding that you should wash your hands immediately afterward. Launder clothes with detergent and warm or hot water if the fabric allows, and machine dry on warm or high. “Heat and detergents inactivate many microbes effectively,” she said.

When it comes to pets, DePasquale explained that while it’s rare for humans to pass infections to their furry companions through clothing, it’s still smart to change out of your travel clothes and wash your hands before any close contact.

There are also some often-overlooked steps that can help reduce germ spread, like disinfecting your phone, carry-on handles and straps and reusable water bottle mouthpieces. “These are high-touch travel items that often come into contact with seats and lavatories,” DePasquale said.

You can take it a step further by showering before changing into clean clothes. “[This] quickly removes whatever settled on skin and hair during the journey,” she added.

Since there’s always some risk while flying, improve your odds of staying healthy by making sure to wash your hands after using the bathroom and before eating.

“Before air travel, you can evaluate yourself and your family to see if anyone is sick and possibly delay travel,” Hoy said. “When you are sick or have been sick recently, there is an immune recovery period during which you could be at higher risk for infection exposure during airline travel.”