Crazy cleaning question

[donmil723]

I'm another one that doesn't do all that extra cleaning. If a dish is dirty or there is something sticky on the counter, I'll wash it. I've always heard that using too much antibacterial wipes, hand cleansers, etc. can actually do more harm than good. As someone else said, if you or your kids are exposed to germs over time, you'll build up your immune system and be more apt to fight off infections. Only once can I remember having anyone in our family get sick on vacation and that was a 24 hour stomach bug my son got when he was about 9 years old. We were at US when he started with it. After a couple of hours and several trips to the bathroom we left and the next day he was fine. No one else caught it.

I am fanatic though about washing hands with soap and water before eating or after using the bathroom.

Donna

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I can only speak for myself.

But while I am careful about germs such as frequent hand washing, I figure there are millions of germs out there airbourne or otherwise that there is no way to reasonably avoid - these are enough to "build up" our immune systems. I try to avoid as much as possible but don't freak out over germs in general because we don't and can't live in a bubble. I can live with the "microscopic" stuff.

But what I do try to avoid with a passion is OTHER people "dirt." That freaks me out more than microscopic "germs." So, I do usually wash the dishes because I eat off it, and the jacuzzi jets if I sit my bare body in the water coming out of it, and I wipe down the toilet seat because I have to sit on it. Oh, and I'm one of "those" that don't like to use the bedspreads. (There was a whole other thread about bedspreads - I "wrap" my blanket in another bedsheet.)

I really haven't wiped down any remotes or door knobs or other surfaces with wipes unless they looked "gross." I have no problem with other people wiping them down and I wouldn't think them strange at all. I would too but I think there is enough for me to do as it is. While there are probably tons of "germs" on those items, I figure frequent hand washing is enough.

Now if I still had a baby that put stuff into her mouth, I would probably wipe down remotes and such. But my kids are older now. Now if I had wipes out for something else and the remote was right there, I would give it a wipe. I figure that maybe some other kid had it in their mouth and I wouldn't want to touch their "spit."

That being said, I usually do ALL this stuff only when we stay for a longer trip and want to settle into our "home." If it is a short trip, I do the bare minimum, such as wash only the dishes we use, wipe down the toilet seat, and rinse out the tub. The jacuzzi jets do NOT get used and we just use it as a regular tub to bathe the girls.

As for being out in public, we don't do anything to disinfect everything, lol! Frequent hand washing and occasional purell are my limits - more to clean off the grime and dirt than for "germs."

To me there is difference between dealing with dirt/germs in public and in private. When "home" I prefer to deal only with the dirt/germs we generate and not other peoples.

First thing we do is wash our hands when we get in the house after taking off shoes at the door. At home, we do take a shower or change our clothes when we get home before settling in. At a hotel, no sitting on the beds unless we are changed or showered - that's what the couch and chairs are for in the living room.

For one night stays in hotels when traveling, aside from wiping down the toilet seat, I don't do much. I just caulk it up to "travel dirt" and just figure on washing everything down when we get to our destination or home.

So, for some fellow "cleanophobics," I might make them cringe, and for others who couldn't care less, I'm still "strange."

I think I have gotten more lax after having kids - how totally "clean" can the house or the kids always be when the kids seem to attract dirt like magnets

On the other hand, my cleanophobic ways seem to have rubbed off on DH. When we went to a church retreat this past May, we had to "rough it" in motel-like rooms in a camplike setting. As long as the bathroom was clean (do you see a theme here?), I just figured on roughing it and feeling "dirty" all weekend. I have to say the rooms were relatively "clean" just worn and old. DH asked my why I didn't pack pillows - hello? travel light? I just had him wrap his pillow with a clean t-shirt. Maybe he just got spoiled after years of my "cleaning ways."

That's just how I feel about dirt/germs.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

I lick the countertop right after we check in. If I don't get sick in the first couple of days, we use the dishes.

 

[idratherbeinwdw]

I lick the countertop right after we check in. If I don't get sick in the first couple of days, we use the dishes.

Excellent idea! Gonna try that next time, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Yardbird]

On our very first DVC trip I couldn't wait to take a nice long bath in the jacuzzi tub. Thank God I turned on the jets BEFORE I got in. The jets created the most disgusting, scummy, bubbles I had ever seen. Needless to say, I had to drain the water and scrub the tub before getting in. The film around the tub was gross. I did not try the jets again. Next visit, different resort, exact same experience. I have to say that both of the resorts were certainly clean enough in all other areas.

We have a third trip planned for March, and I thought that I would do a search to see if anyone had suggestions to solve this problem. Thanks to the poster who said to run dishwashing detergent through. I will give this a try. It's a shame to have such a nice tub, and not be able to use it.

 

[DrTomorrow]

We've never done anything like these things at any hotel/resort we've stayed at. But then again, we don't travel with supplies of sanitizer and a black light to check for bodily fluids.....

 

[jdvm]

More often than I'd like, I have to travel to West Africa. Now Lagos, Nigeria is a place where the clean team REALLY needs to go....hopefully Old Key West is in the safety zone....only teasing a bit....we're all individuals and there's no right or wrong in this world.

 

[Mom B]

Gosh, I never thought about these things until I started reading these boards! So far, I haven't been worried enough to remember to bring the Lysol along on any WDW trips, although I've thought about it. It bothers me once in a while, especially when the upholstery on the pullout couch at BWV last trip had some nasty stains, etc., but I just flipped the cushion over and forgot about it. Next time will be our first trip with our new grandson, who will be about 2 by then, and I'll probably be a little bit more careful. But then again, he'll probably be out in the back yard eating dirt in the summer months before that, and will have survived. After all the years we spent with our kids, camping outdoors, cooking on picnic tables with little animals running back and forth, with the most rustic of bathroom/outhouse facilities, I think we can handle it. I'll carry my hand sanitizer in my fanny pack, just in case I get queasy, though...

 

[shellbelle1971]

For us there has been a real change of standards between child #1 and child #6.

With child #1 it was..."OMG! Baby is sitting on the floor! OMG! He just put his finger in his mouth! After sitting on the floor! AAAARRRGGHHH! Pick him up! Wash his clothes! Give him a bath! Disinfect the floor!"

With baby #6 it's more like..."Oooooohhhh! Look how cute! She's learned to clean the toilet. She's so smart to get under the rim with her tongue like that..."

Oddly enough, our oldest isn't particularly neurotic, and our youngest doesn't get sick any more often than any other baby.

So I only do a "serious" clean up when we're on our way out of our villa so it will be nice for the next people.

 

[cobbler]

I too don't clean anything when I go in there. I mean if it is visually dirty then yes I will.

I think this is how super germs are created. We are so into cleaning everything that the germs are getting stronger because of it. Its like a catch 22 almost. Clean it and you help create stronger germs that will make you sicker. Don't clean it and you run the risk, although less than with the super germs.

We have been many times and haven't wiped down anything, I too walk on the floor barefoot, don't pull off the comforter and stuff like that.

The only time anyone came home sick was my youngest with Chicken Pox that he must have contracted there, but I assume it was at the parks because there were far more people to come in contact with there. And honestly I was glad he got them so he didn't need that stupid vaccine.

 

[Dina]

I don't do any of those things, because I am actually obsessive compulsive (actually have been diagnosed), and my husband watches me like a hawk if he thinks I'm cleaning too much, so for his sanity (and because he's afraid my oldest son is going to turn out like Howard Hughes)-- I don't do any of those things (don't disinfect, don't bring the purell -- but I really really want to!!!) This thread makes me really really want to clean up first though. I shouldn't have read it lol!!!!!