Hotels may be feel like the lap of luxury when you're in them, but have you ever thought about how many people have been there before you and what that might mean in terms of hygiene?

An investigation by ABC News and microbiologist Chuck Gerba found that certain areas of hotel rooms are likely to be more germ-ridden than others. And one in particular might surprise you.

While they found that the toilet is likely to have a similar germ count to yours at home, it is in fact the hairdryer that you have to watch out for.

"There must be some things you can do with a hairdryer that I am not aware of because some of them were pretty germy," Gerba said.

The study looked at hotel rooms priced between $100 (£76) and $500 (£384) for a nightly stay. The experiment also uncovered a lot of bacteria on room-service menus.

"The biggest concern in a hotel room is picking up cold, flu virus or viruses that cause diarrhea," Gerba said. "It doesn't take very many to make you ill."

From: Cosmopolitan UK