One of the things I hate about flying are the bathrooms that aren’t always clean. The airline industry is looking to change all this sometime in the near future. Boeing engineers are trying to patent a self-sterilizing bathroom that will benefit everyone involved.
Goodbye Germs!
The premise behind the design is fairly simple. The bathroom will clean itself with a UV light that kills germs in just 3 seconds. What this means is that all the surfaces will be disinfected after each traveler uses the bathroom.
How This Technology Could Change Things
Even as airplanes have grown to accommodate more passengers, the amount of bathrooms onboard hasn’t. Most planes have no more than three bathrooms to accommodate row and row of passengers. Unfortunately, these bathrooms aren’t always cleaned that well while the plane is on the ground, let alone in between passengers while the plane is in the air. So even though these bathrooms are getting more use thanks to more travelers on almost every flight, they aren’t generally getting cleaned any more than before.
Even More Technology
In addition to the toilet, sink and countertop being cleaned with the UV light, there will also be a number of items that will be hands free. These items include the soap dispenser, faucet, toilet seat and hand dryer. A hands-free door latch is also in the works as well. The goal is to reduce the items that a passenger will have to touch while in the bathroom, which will hopefully eliminate the amount of germs being transferred from each passenger that uses the restroom.
The Hold Up
Even though this idea sounds like something many passengers would certainly like, don’t expect it to be on planes anytime soon. Boeing engineers are still developing the idea and trying to work out some of the kinks. Even after the final design has been tested and approved, it could take a few years to actually see this form of technology on an airplane.
While this idea is great, it seems as if it will still be awhile until it will actually be available to passengers. Until then, there are some things you can do to reduce spreading germs in an airline bathroom. You should limit the amount of items that you actually touch. Use a paper towel to flush the toilet, turn the sink on and off and open the door. Also, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water.
