A strange question on DVC cleanliness...

[gopherit]

Does anyone know if Mousekeeping does anything, er, "special" to rooms known to be "ill-inhabited"? I've read many posts now about folks who spent their WDW time basically incubating the flu virus(es) amongst their party, hence stuck in the room. It's a very very sad thing for them (especially the ones where the flu swept thru the whole family for the duration of their trip). But I wonder -- when they leave and Family B enters -- do they get a "parting gift" from Family A? (and I don't mean RiceARoni...)

Has anyone heard of any hotel chain making a Lysol sweep or any such gesture in a room that had occupants in a notably flu-ridden state? They of course bring extra sheets -- but, uh, what about the mattresses? Some of these flu bugs come in tandem with rotoviruses that render the victim unable to hold down so much as a saltine cracker. Do hotel mattresses have water-prrof liners? I've honestly never looked. I have had sick kids at WDW myself (probably a rotavirus, although bad chicken nuggets we think were to blame on one occasion from a WDW eatery that shall remain nameless). In any case, I've never had a reason to check the mattresses for their waterproofing -- when my son "pitched the nuggets" so to speak he totally missed the bed (and hit me squarely instead... ah the joys of motherhood). Rotaviruses that often cause the stomach ailments in kids (as well as influenza) are quite catchy.... and with all the surfaces in a DVC villa (bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, lots of doorknobs, etc -- nice surfaces to handle!) it would certainly be possible to catch what was left behind, I would think. Granted, it could happen in any hotel room -- I just wonder if Disney or Mousekeeping or such address it in any way.

And since I'm asking -- does anyone out there do their own "clean-up" protocol in their DVC villa (either entering or leaving)?

I'm normally very UN-obsessed with germs, viruses, and such -- hey, I follow the 10 second rule for dropped food in my house! (and up to 24 hrs if the dropped food is chocolate and doesn't appear to have been pre-licked by one of my kids, haha!) HOWEVER -- with all the talk of viruses lately (not just the recent flu mess, but everything from West Nile to SARS to the common cold, you name it...) I just wonder if any special measures are taken, and/or if some folks had their own regimen as a precaution / courtesy.

 

[Xtine76]

I'm not sure how they clean up after people have been in there with the flu, probably standard cleaning because how would they know unless the family told them upon checkout. If you are really concerned I would take a can of lysol with you and clean off high contact surfaces yourself, but I would imagine that they would do a standard cleaning between guests with a germicidal cleaner so I wouldn't really worry too much about it.

 

[floridafam]

Believe me, I've thought about it. My DH and kids just had the flu and it was AWFUL!

The schools are being told to sanitize during the holidays and I can't see any reason why Disney wouldn't do it.

I always wipe down surfaces when we check in and will probably do so even more now.

I don't think the mattresses have waterproof liners. It really wouldn't be a bad idea if they had them because I'm sure it could prolong the life of a mattress.

There's no law against bringing your own. The ones on my kid's beds-I put them on when they were growing out of diapers and just never took them off-completely wrap the mattress.

I think it's perfectly normal to take precautions when you are traveling. The flu is getting bad in certain parts of Florida so why shouldn't you?

 

[LisaR]

We went to HH last March and my dd got REALLY sick. We spent the entire 10 days in our room......well, we left when we had to take her to a clinic twice and then when she had to be rushed by ambulance to the hospital (yep, really bad trip). The point is, I went down to the front desk the morning we were leaving and talked to the manager. They knew what had been taking place but I told him I highly suggest that they go above and beyond the normal housekeeping. I would not want to have occupied that room after us. My poor kiddo was as sick as sick could be. I did purchase Clorox and spray things down. Plus, nobody else including younger son got the bug. The manager just kind of smiled and said thanks for the warning. My gut tells me they didn't do anything special to that room after we left.

Lisa

 

[judiofmd]

After 4 trips to Disney, we decided to try Spring Break for trip 5. Big mistake! We learned the hard way that March is prime season for the Rotavirus, which can be fatal for children under 3. We were traveling with our 22 month old & 9 year old. Only had 1 1/2 days of fun before spending time in 2 hospitals, admitting the baby for severe dehydration. Before we went home, DH felt terrible, and older DS was getting sick on a stretcher as the little one was hooked up to IV.

Needless to say, we disinfected room ourselves on the return trip. I wiped down all highly touched areas, sprayed Lysol and used the travel size of Purell after every park ride/attraction. I am also not usually a germ freak, but since we had only been in the Magic Kingdom and room prior to illness and learned at the hospital that Rotavirus is rampid in Spring time, I was taking no chances. The precautions worked as no one in our party got sick on the return trip.

As an aside, the illness struck inside the park and we now know all about the first aid centers. They are wonderful. We now familiarize ourselves with the location of each one in each park we are visiting. Celebration's hopital was awful. However, angels work in the Children's Hospital in Jacksonville where we were admitted.

 

[DVC-LEROY]

It is unfortunate that DVC doesn't take more care in thoroughly cleaning units. This seems to be a growing complaint. We have learned to take extra precautions in using lysol spray and antibacterial cleaners on all surfaces - basically recleaning the unit before we use it. We also bring our own sheets. We got our flu shots early in the season and travel the parks with antibacterial wipes. We're not too fanatical but we take certain steps to improve our odds of staying healthy.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Those antibacterial wipes are easy to pack and come in handy for the kitchen and bathrooms. Not sure how much good they do, but would probably add a little piece of mind.

 

[Halle]

Not to sound paranoid but.... I read that the tv remote control is one of the biggest carriers of germs in a hotel room! I know wipe those down along with the phone!

 

[mitros]

Yes, the cleaning of the rooms has become worse lately. We always take lysol {large can} and spray the entire room. Including the remote the armoire handles, phones,etc. etc.

 

[wilderness01]

Since typically rotovirus is passed by the fecal/oral route due to poor hygiene/insufficent handwashing, housekeeping should do an extra cleaning on a unit where a child has been infected with roto. I make sure that I bring wipes to wipe down my kids hands before eating and try not to have them put their hands by their mouths when we are in the parks. My kids have had roto and it is not a pretty experience!