Do you "sanitize" your room when you first get there?

[Atotty]

Yes, I'm a clean freak. I admit. I have my bag of cleaning supplies that go with us.

Last year my youngest dd was small and only took baths, no showers. I cleaned the tub at POR even though it looked fine. You wouldn't believe the brown, nasty looking water that came off when I was rinsing it after scrubbing. UGH! Jsut because it looks clean doesn't mean it is.

Our biggest debate at our house is if staying in a rental condo, do you wash the dishes before you use them? My dh thinks I'm a nut, but I wash everything first.

 

[becky7953]

I don't use the comforter. As far as lysol goes I use it during the cold and flu season. I take a can to work and wipe down everything. I hear some of those people coughing and sneezing. I know it won't get rid of all the germs but cuts down the amount while I am there. I might be inclined to take wipes with me next time, seeing that there have been a couple of people who posted that they used to clean hotel rooms and cut corners ewwwwwwww!

 

[bdcp]

All I can say to all the sanitizers out there is, don't eat in a restaurant. If you ever saw most kitchens, you'd probably never leave home again. I have never cleaned a thing in a hotel, and I never get sick nor does my family. My DH and DS have gotten food poisoning in a restaurant though. That's a much bigger risk. There seems to be a lot of paranoia out there surrounding hotels. Just because there's bacteria, does not mean it will make anyone sick. Heck, everyone has bacteria on their skin, even after a bath or shower. I personally think teaching kids to open doors with their elbows is a bit over the top. And, think about it, saying there's germs in a hotel is saying that everyone else is "dirtier" than you are. They're probably thinking the same about you.

 

[catbertdave99]

Maybe it's just me, but I barely have time and energy as a single parent of two boys to keep my house clean when I'm home! When I'm on vacation -- I'm on vacation! It may be just me, but I'll trust the mousekeepers.... I haven't caught anything yet.

 

[Saphire]

So do you "supercleaners" wipe down restaurant seats, armrests/bars/handles on rides or other places 10's of thousands of people touch in one day?

No. But I do make sure I do not rub/touch my eyes, nose or mouth with my hands that were in other places that 10's of thousands of people have touched. That, and handwashing when practical (and always before eating), is the answer for me.

 

[tecdavidt]

Hmm, reminds me of the movie "As Good as it Gets." We don't clean anything extra. We do look the sheets over before climbing in and anything dirty we ask for replacements, this includes glass they provide in the bathroom. I am more paranoid on Airplanes, the same air and sick passengers--yuck. We are just believers that if you are never exposed to germs them any type of germ will get you. As my mother said, a little dirt never hurt anybody. Kathy

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

my DDH saw this post and he said "honey LOOK! Someone crazier than YOU" Being a nurse (with OCD) and a PREGNANT mom with an almost 3 year old DD, I'm a TOUCH bit germ-a-phobic. I have been LESS crazy through the years, but i'm TOTALLY bringing wipes down....DH wont let me bring sheets (wonder if i could sheak them in)..lol.

I swear, my DD's middle name should be PURELL ROFL...

 

[MinnieM21]

Yes I do.

 

[gonga]

I clean the remote, phone, and tiolet seat AND handle. The toilet handle is actually the filthiest thing, not just in hotels, but in your home. Just think of the last thing you do before you flush and you flush before you wash your hands.....'nuf said. So yes, I take 5 minutes and wipe off the random poopie doops from the flush handle.

As far as the tub, if I am taking a bath I fill it up with hot water only then drain it before filing it again.

I never ever sleep on the comforter, I fold it then remove it from the bed.

I never walk aroung barefoot either, I just wear my flip flops

I don't buy into the media fear factor...it is just common sense. Think of a comforter on a hotel bed. Babies geting their diaper changed, people sitting on the bed drying off from the shower naked...and other things. You know they are not changed and you know these things happen do you really want to sleep in someone elses crud?


It does not matter where we are I always bring clorox wipes and take 5 minutes. No big deal....

 

[twoeeyy]

just curious, everyone is worried about the comforters, do they wash the blankets more frequently.

 

[Acklander]

I don't know why, but whenever a thread of this type comes up I always think about the TV show "Monk"

 

[dcgrumpy]

Nope, and I even let my kids walk barefoot in the room and use the bathtub

 

[jlcd]

Lysol, Lysol, Lysol!

People who may think its crazy, but after having a child sick and in the hospital, the few minutes of cleaning is worth it to me.

 

[Nank]

I hadn't thought about this before!

You just spray Lysol right on the bed? What kind of Lysol?

I might bring some wipes and wipe the bathroom down a little bit!

 

[gr8ful4Him]

Heck, everyone has bacteria on their skin, even after a bath or shower.

Actually I have a doctor friend that told me that all of this "antibacterial" stuff makes things worse He said that "antibacterial" is indescriminant as to whether the bacteria is good or bad. Believe it or not, there are good bacteria on our skin and it does help us to fight off things like illnesses, etc.
I have never been a clean freak...but I also rarely get sick

 

[Stepharia]

I too hadn't thought about this but will take lysol next trip. We constantly use antibacterial hand gel when we're in public places. But unfortunately DD who was 5 last trip got Impetigo a couple days before leaving. The pediatrician said she caught it from touching something that carried the bacteria. Guess she'll always have a souvinear of that trip (she still has the scar on her arm from it). We'll definitely be a little more careful this time.

56 days and counting

 

[weluvdizknee]

Our school nurse reported at a staff meeting years ago that most lice breakouts come from students who have just come back from summer vacations at, get this, amusement parks. They get them from trying on hats in the stores, hugging stuffed animals, sharing amusement park strollers, etc. They then bring them back to the hotel pillows & bedding.

At hotels where over 1/2 of the hotel guests are children, like Disney Resorts, the chances are greater to spread bugs! Being that the comforters and blankets are not washed after every guest, we always throw them off and into a corner, and check to see if the sheets and pillow cases are crisp and clean. It's not a 100% guarantee, but for me, it's a piece of mind.

I bet I see more lice at work than I will ever see in a hotel, but because of our school nurse's report, it's just one of those things that I can't get out of my head. It's become one of those safety issues that I've been trained to watch for. And so far, my family has never had to deal with the lice issue, YET!

And yes, I'm another one who keeps Lysol in business, at work and in hotel rooms.

Classrooms, germs, hotel rooms, and Lysol. What's one without the other!

After a 10 minute Lysol scrub down, I start my vacation.

And now, I wonder how many of you are scratching you heads! LOL!

 

[disneymom225]

Hello! Here's a quote from an online article about a new book by a MD
"The authors discovered that an office setting might be worse for your health than toilet seats. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, found the typical office desk harbors some 400 times more disease-causing bacteria than the average toilet seat."
Yes, hotel rooms have germs and that is icky but so does everywhere else!! Don't worry so much and have fun!

 

[DisFlan]

If I don't find a dead body in the tub, I'm good to go.

We keep the room picked up and things put away, but I leave my nesting instincts entirely at home. I go on vacation to va-CA-tion, not clean.

DisFlan

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I hope some of you cleaners are staying in my room before I get there! I'd rather this kind of service than a towel animal!