Extras are everything when you're flying on an airplane packed with people (and at least one screaming baby).
Extra legroom. Extra pretzels. And an extra in the form of the seat pocket in front of you. Most of us use this to store our phones, tablets, and snacks.
But what if we told you that this is one of the most disgusting places on a plane?
The same place that takes you to your luxury vacation is also teeming with germs.
While the bathrooms seem like an obvious place for germs, it's not the worst. InsuranceQuotes.com, a Texas-based insurance website, used swab kits to determine the dirtiest places in an airport.
It was found that the dirtiest place in an airport is the self check-in kiosk! Their swab kits found that it contained an average of 253,857 bacteria and fungal cells per square inch (CFU).
The runner-up was the airline gate bench armrests. They contain a little over 21,000 CFU.
These findings definitely make you rethink how you spend your time in an airport.
And what about the plane? One Redditor made people feel the opposite of safe when they shared what lingers in those front seat pockets...
They're a flight attendant posted on an Ask Reddit thread about some of the filthiest places you can find on an airplane.
Their advice was to “never, ever, ever use or put anything in the seat pocket. They are cleared of rubbish but are never 'cleaned,'" they wrote.
They went on to say that they have found dirty tissues, sick bags, knickers, socks, fingernails and toenails, gum, half sucked sweets, and apple cores. They said that people's feet even go in the pockets. Uh... what?
“And then next flight you go and put your phone/laptop/iPad in there.”
Anyone else cringing at all the times you placed your phone or tablet in there?
"A lot of airlines will have the crew 'turnaround' the plane meaning they pick up your rubbish, fold your seatbelt over, file your magazines in the seat pocket and then welcome new passengers on board."
Finally, they wrote that the bathroom is a place where you want to spend the least time.
"I promise you, 9 times out of 10, that is not water on the floor. Also please don't try and have sex in them, you are so obvious and it is filthy. The toilets are often absolutely disgusting and get deep cleaned only at the end of a route..."
The Redditor shared the their water tanks ARE cleaned out, but it depends on what you define as regularly cleaned.
"Ours go a maximum of a week before being scrubbed out. It's basic Health and Safety," they wrote. That's probably better than most airlines.
"If you tap the side of your bottle/cup, the bubbles will dissipate quickly." These same boilers have filters built-in for the tea and coffee.
For more shocking revelations, check out the full Reddit post here!
