Germs exist everywhere, in places you'd expect like bathrooms and on your hands.

And if you're a frequent traveler, you've probably heard horror stories about what shows up in hotel rooms under a black light.

But that's not what this story is about.

It's about something less obvious, the glasses and mugs in hotel rooms.

They may look clean, but could they be hazardous to your health?

To find out, KCTV5 News booked rooms at several Kansas City area hotels.

KCTV5 News set up hidden cameras to see exactly how hotel cleaning staff handled the glassware in the room when they didn't think anyone was watching.

For the tests, KCTV5 News put toothpaste on glasses in some rooms and filled others with soda to make it clear that they had been used.

At the five-star Intercontinental Hotel on the Country Club Plaza, the undercover camera captured video of the housekeeper grabbing the glasses, putting them under the tap, running the water and wiping them out with her bare hands -- no soap.

She steps back into the room to straighten up, spots a bowl of strawberries on the counter, rifles through them and then eats one.

She then wipes down the dirty countertop and uses the same towel to dry the glasses.

The general manager at the Intercontinental didn't want to talk to KCTV5 News on the phone about what the hidden camera test uncovered, so KCTV5 Chief Investigative Reporter Ash-har Quraishi paid him a visit.

When he tried to show the manager the video, he told a photographer to turn the camera off and said he'd call the police if the photographer didn't stop rolling.

At the Embassy Suites in Overland Park, Kan., an undercover camera captured video of a housekeeper grabbing glasses and setting them down on a bathroom counter.

The housekeeper then scrubs the inside of the toilet, and in a mirror, her gloved hand can be seen coming out of the toilet bowl. Then, with the same glove on, she rinses out the glasses in the sink.

KCTV5 News contacted the Embassy Suites, and the hotel issued this statement: "Concerning the cleanliness of in-suite glasses and coffee cups, there are proper procedures and guidelines in place. We have reiterated these procedures and training to all of our team members to ensure all protocol is being conducted properly."

If glasses aren't properly sterilized, hotel guests are at risk for acquiring infections, said Dr. Alan Salkind, who specializes in infectious diseases, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's School of Medicine.

State laws address those potential dangers.

In both Missouri and Kansas, the law says, "hotel room glasses are to be washed, rinsed, and sanitized."

A hidden camera at the Courtyard Marriott in Overland Park, showed the cleaning staff emptying the glasses and putting them on a cart.

From there, they are sent to a commercial dishwasher.

Kansas law also states that "washing of drinking glasses in guest rooms shall be prohibited."

Sheraton Hotels experienced a similar problem in recent months. In an internal memo to staff, the company said "we have not achieved 100% compliance to our ABC of housekeeping standards."

So, Sheraton has temporarily removed all the glasses from its hotel rooms nationwide, replacing them with hygienically-sealed plastic cups.

KCTV5 News contacted the state agencies responsible for inspecting hotels in both Kansas and Missouri, but they were unwilling to talk on camera about what the investigation uncovered.