How to Properly Disinfect Your Airplane Seat

With minimal supplies and just a moderate tolerance for weird looks from your fellow passengers, you too can have the cleanest seat on the plane. Here’s how to get there.

You’re going to need to plan here a bit and score some disinfecting wipes before you get on the plane. You can opt for a familiar brand name like Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, which come in handy multi-packs. Note that these have a pretty intense scent (the lemon is not what I’d call “good lemon,” and whatever the green package scent is smells a bit like a freshly cleaned public bathroom). You can also get disinfecting wipes with a milder scent, or, in a pinch, you could use wipes primarily meant to disinfect hands rather than surfaces, such as Wet Ones Antibacterial Hand Wipes.

Packing wipes is only half the battle. Once you’ve boarded, you’ll need to overcome your aversion to creating a minor spectacle as you stow your gear, whip out your wipes, and get disinfecting. If it helps, you can pretend that those are stares of envy at your traveling prowess rather than garden-variety side-eye.

There’s a right way to use disinfecting wipes, and many wrong ways. To do it correctly: Wipe down all hard, nonporous surfaces thoroughly. Make sure you read and follow the package instructions about how long the surface needs to stay visibly wet. This ranges from about 30 seconds to four minutes. This is when the germ-killing magic happens, so you can’t rush it. Note that this means you’re going to be provisional for a bit longer before you settle and make yourself comfortable. Kidding: Everyone knows you’re not going to be comfortable on the plane. But at least you can maybe emerge illness-free.

Don’t use disinfecting wipes on upholstered surfaces: It won’t work and it will make the fabric wet, which creates a whole separate problem. If you’re concerned about exposure to germs on fabric seats, you can pack a washable and reusable seat and tray table cover.

No pocket needs a protector like the airplane seatback pocket, home to one of the airplane’s highest concentrations of germs. If you’re one of those travelers who uses this pocket to stash your water bottle or extra snacks in the seatback pocket, just please don’t ever again. Until some genius (you perhaps?) invents a disposable liner for the seatback pocket, opt for a seatback-pocket replacement accessory like the Travelon World Travel Essentials Seat Pack Organizer, which hangs from the seatback tray latch.