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

[Disney Doll]

I always thought that e coli took 3 or more days for symptoms to show

It usually does. Certaoinly more than a few hours.

 

[cheerbop]

I never did this when I was younger, but for some reason now I can't rest until I do a little cleaning upon arriving at a hotel. First, I go straight to the bathroom and use a Lysol or Clorox wipe on the flush handle of the toilet. Sorry, but it is so gross to think what might be on there!! I also wipe the faucet handles at the sink, the light switch, and the door knob inside the bathroom. I then spray Lysol into the tub, and then remove the comforters from the beds.

I also can't stand walking around a hotel room barefoot! I have seen too many things in hotel rooms (including blood on doors and walls on two separate occasions) to not do a little "sprucing up" upon arrival. I will say the Disney hotels are, for the most part, cleaner than most, but still we have found lots of interesting stuff on the carpet right next to the bed! I guess no one thinks to vacuum there.

Other than the things I've mentioned, I pretty much leave it as is, hoping that housekeeping has done their best to get rid of any icky stuff! So, am I the only "nut"? Oh, and does anyone remember that horrible story about the baby that found a used "prophylactic" on a hotel room floor and put it in his mouth???? I would have had an instant stroke if that happened to my child!!!

I could have typed this all myself!
My friends think I am crazy taking a huge can of Lysol and Lysol wipes in my suitcase wherever I go........just scares me and makes my skin crawl just thinking of what is on everything

 

[susan1]

Heck no. I barely "sanitize" my home.

hi
i love that = thats me too

 

[FSUGrad97]

The funny thing is we are probably in more realistic danger from the excessive chemical use than the little buggers that we try to irradicate.

I'm trying to figure out how many cleaning supplies they bring with them. Would you put it in your suitcase, or do you have a separate bag for cleaning products?

I guess I live on the edge, but I would rather deal with hotel room germs than having to pack cleaning supplies. How gross would it be to have your cleaning products ruin your clothes because it leaked in your suitcase?

 

[Disney Doll]

would you touch someone's spit, nose boogie, ear wax, blood spill, fecal matter?


I would if necessary, and have.

I am 22+ years a nurse. I started back in the day when you didn't wear gloves for anything other than sterile procedures because you "would make the patient feel dirty". HIV was not yet "discovered" when I first became a nurse.

I have been peed on, pooped on, puked on, bled on so badly (by a poor soul who ruptured his aorta) that I had to go home and change my clothing. I have had wound drainage on me, I have cared for people that they pulled out of a box form under the railroad tracks who were so filthy and lice-covered that you didn't know whether they were black or white skinned until you had bathed them several times. I have been stuck with needles, had TB infected sputum coughed in my face, and been told to "wear all the protective gear you have because we don't know what this person has". I have done CPR mouth-to-mouth...literally...with no protective thing in between.

Do you honestly think there is anything in a hotel room that can hurt me at this point? And, I am a healthy person. Seldom get sick. Have a good appetite.

FWIW, I will do a glance around the room, make sure the bathroom looks clean, make sure the sheets are clean, and have no problem calling for a recleaning or fresh sheets if I think they aren't. But it's almost more on principal than because I think I am going to "catch" something.

Other than that, I go and enjoy my vacation. By the same token, if doing all that cleaning makes you feel better, knock yourself out.

I can remember testing Lysol in Microbiology class...Listerine too. Neither of them did any fabulous job of killing germs, despite their claims.

Handwashing, general normal cleaning is really all you'll need unless we continue to create all these superbugs by the constant "disinfecting" and "anti-bacterial-ing" we do.

 

[Disney Doll]

I haven't seen anyone belittling anyone. Some have pointed out that it is more an emotional issue, but that is it. No one has been saying that they are a better person.

BTW, we've had some superbug problems at our hospitals over here - MRSA, for example. This is within the last year(s).
Of course, I don't know how this is caused, or whether it's too much or too little cleanliness. All I know is that it's a superbug and I'm pretty sure some people have died because of it.

Superbugs are caused by over-zealous use of anti-biotic and anti-microbial agents.

When you (the general you, not you specifically) go to your doctor because you have a cold and he or she gives you an anti-biotic because you have whined so much that you are driving them crazy, that creates a super-bug. Colds are a virus. Anti-biotics won't cure viruses.

When eveything you buy is anti-bacterial or anti-microbial, and you use it to clean every surface you encounter, it kills the weak bacteria, the stronger bacteria survive and they evolve to be able to be immune to that solution. Just like we develop natural immunity to things (think chicken pox) so do bacteria. If they get exposed to the Clorox wipes a million times a day, they are going to develop immunity. Then they are going to have to make stronger Clorox wipes, then the bugs will develop immunity to those...you follow me?

We do have bacteria now that are resistant to anti-biotics. There is a bacteria called VRE...Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus...that is reisistant to one of the strongest anti-biotics we now have.

No one is saying don't clean. No one is on a high horse about whose better...the cleaners or the non-cleaners...but guess what, normal cleaning processes will take care of most germs.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'm curious...

I'm not looking to offend or flame anyone, or hijack this thread [apologies to the OP]...but I am genuinely curious since it's already been brought up...

My question is for those DISers who posted that products like Lysol, bleach, antibacterial wipes, etc. are basically the marketers exploiting our germ phobias.

What products do you clean your homes with? And what do you launder your clothes with?

Thank in advance.

Bathrooms & tile (floors/walls)are cleaned with a bleach/water mixture. Cleanser in the sinks, tubs, showers. Window cleaner on mirrors and counters. Furniture spray on furniture. I wipe with paper towels as opposed to cloths or sponges, and then discard them.

Hardwood floors are cleaned with a window cleaner/water mixture, per the finisher's instructions to preserve the finish.

I actually don't spend a lot of money on cleaning supplies for my house, because mosyt of what I use is pretty cheap.

 

[Disney Doll]

I do take clorox wipes and generally do wipe down the door handles (both inside and outside of bathroom and entrance door) as well as knobs, toilet handle and seat, sink and counter surface area and table and parts of the tub. I also have to clean the remote and have yet to see a clean service on a phone (always find phone earpiece greasy). I only do this once and generally right when I get in the room. I don't take a bath (only shower and I attempt to clean the showerhead) and I do use a towel on the floor. I wear cheap throw away shoes (feet are covered and just slide in them) that act like slippers from kmart (about $5 or 6) and use these to walk to the pool area and around the resort so I don't have to wear socks and my feet don't touch the carpet. I do a general look at the bedding and sheets and under the bed as well to see if they all look clean. The bedspread generally gets folded to the end of the bed. However, I feel that I am realistic in that I know the maid comes in after cleaning the last room and touches everything all over again bringing in new germs but I will only do this bit of cleaning once there. I also do wash my hands before eating and of course everytime I use the bathroom (we have some women where I work at that don't wash their hands and it absolutely disgust me).

Lastly, 3 years ago I had to work out of a different office in another state for 3 weeks. I lived out of a Residence Inn and did basic sanitizing when I got there but that wasn't enough. When I got home for Thanksgiving, I began to have flu like symptoms that didn't abate and was hospitalized for 8 days and had to recover and get my strenth back up for another week after that. Turns out that I had both viral and bacterial pneumonia (guess my immune system isn't so good). My doctor had asked me what I had been doing prior to this and I stated that I just returned from out of town where I lived in a hotel for 3 weeks. My doctor stated that the bacterial part could've come from the shower head if the water wasn't heated to the proper temperature to keep the bacterial from growing in it or the shower head hadn't been cleaned in a while.
When I was in the hospital on the 5th day, I was supposed to have been in WDW beginning my vacation and I truly can't tell you how disappointed and sick I was.

People do what they feel like they need to do but realistically, we begin to bring the germs back with us more and more from the parks or sitting in a restaurant so unless you are continuously cleaning there going to be there.

Imporoperly maintained and heated water sysytems in hotels are another story.

What you had was probalby Legionnaire's Disease. It is a pneumonia caused by the leginella bacteria. This was discovered during a Legionnaire's convention years ago where many of the people staying in the convention hotel became ill with pneumonia and some died. They traced it back, I believe, the the AC units and the fact that there was standing water in the units which was infected with the bacteria, which was then spread droplet style when the AC units were turned on.

My hospital superheats our water at regular intervals to avoid this happening.

Sorry you missed your vacation.

 

[cardaway]

Wow. For me, cleaning the room ranks right up there with cooking in it.

Aren't these people on vacation?

I even try and talk my wife out of unpacking the suitcase. We don't need to use a dresser on vacation.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

No, I do not bring cleaning supplies while on vacation! We do use Purell on vacation though.

Why are all these old threads reappearing?

 

[DisMN]

Reminder to self : Buy loads of stock in the Lysol company!!

I think the "germ" fear is perpetuated by the cleaning product industry. I think people are healthier when they have a little dirt in their diet.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I've read this whole thread. I sincerely hope that I never get put in a room next to the Lysol-aholics. Simply because I'd be struggling to breathe if that happened.
My mom is a certified germaphobe. Our house is squeaky clean. Forget the 5 second rule if something falls on the floor; it's 10 seconds in our house. Everything in our house is antibacterial, etc. On cleaning days I have to leave because of all the fumes. I am positive that's a problem. I've been sick more than anyone I know. I'm discovering new allergies to stuff on a daily basis. There was another thread on here recently about allergies, and how our super clean lifestyles are leading to them. I happened to mention it to my mom. Even she caught on.
My dad on the other hand is about the healthiest person I know. He grew up in a house that was less than squeaky clean. He works installing treatment systems in waste water (that's right, he works in YOUR poop). He gets one cold about every 3 years. BTW, he no longer lives in my squeaky clean house. My sister and I both had chicken pox years ago, he had never had it, and he still never got it.

Now surprisingly the germophobe stuff flies out the window when we go on vacation. We do usually rewash the dishes when we stay in condos, but that's about the end of it. We'll rinse out in room hot tubs too, but I'm fully aware that that doesn't do a whole lot. I sleep with the comforter and blankets over me, lie on top of the comforter, walk barefoot across the floor (hell I walk barefoot everywhere in my dorm except the bathrooms, and I SEE what goes on there on the weekends), use the pool and hot tub. I'm not a squatter either. I've NEVER come home from a vacation with any germs that I didn't have before I left.

 

[disneynutt1225]

I don't clean the hotel room upon check in - I unpack, freshen up, and begin to enjoy my vacation. I used to work in daycare and now I work in a bank. I guess between the two, I'm pretty relaxed about germs. You can't exactly scrub your hands between transactions when there's a line - you just have to keep on moving. I guess I live dangerously touching other people's money all day long. In the year and a half I've been working in a bank I've only gotten a cold.

My house is not completely sanitized - the one time I super cleaned with a well advertized product I wound up in the hospital with pneumonia, so I'll never do that again. Don't get me wrong, I like a clean house, but I just can't go all commando on it. More power to those of you that clean your hotel rooms I hope I'm in the room after you.

 

[MoniqueU]

The first thing I do in a hotel room is set up my laptop.

 

[pampam]

Why do you pour water on the bedspread??? If you want a clean bedspread, call and ask them for one. They'll bring it.

I pour water on the bedspread, call housekeeping and explain that I've spilt something on the bedspread and could I please get a clean one. The reason for the h2o is so I don't lie.

 

[yeartolate]

I pour water on the bedspread, call housekeeping and explain that I've spilt something on the bedspread and could I please get a clean one. The reason for the h2o is so I don't lie.

Wow.

I tend to be loyal to hotels. Do you go back to the same one twice? I would think they would see you coming and have a "special" bedspread waiting.

 

[FSUGrad97]

I pour water on the bedspread, call housekeeping and explain that I've spilt something on the bedspread and could I please get a clean one. The reason for the h2o is so I don't lie.

I don't mean to sound snarky, but do you think this is normal behavior? How do you know that the new one has been washed?

 

[cheerbop]

I can't believe some people's comments about people cleaning their rooms.
To each his own...this is what makes people different.

I stated that I do take Lysol(which I zip securely into a ziploc bag just in case it leaks) to spray things down..and NO! As one poster said they thought it would stink, I buy the fresh smelling ones like green apple or Linen...they smell like I have burned a candle...
I also bring a few Lysol Wipes..you would be DISGUSTED if you saw how BROWN and mucky they get just by cleaning off the phone earpiece, doorknows and sink and toilet knobs..YUCK!

Haven't any of you seen the shows on TV like Primetime or 20/20 where they test the cleanliness/dirtiness of hotel rooms? Quite informative.

I am not a complete nut about it..I do it once, as soon as I get into the room..it takes MAYBE 5 minutes..NOT my whole vacation.

YES, we live in a society that has germs and always will, but what's wrong with trying to make your hotel room a BIT cleaner/more sanitary ? This 5 minutes I spend doing this helps me feel more clean and relaxed during my vacation.

A Blessed Christmas to ALL!

 

[Chris2597]

CHEER

I am with you all the way....I dont clean the room daily, just when we get there....and yes...I have watched the Primtime shows on hotels/motels....just plain gross....However I have always disinfected rooms before we settled in....the show just re-inforced why I do it.
I relax and enjoy my vacation, as soon as I know I have made my family's environment as clean as possible....

 

[pampam]

I guess I'm missing something. What's the big deal about wanting a fresh bedspread? Surely you must realize bedspreads are not changed with every new guest! People wander around in the nude, make love on top of beds, and also spill food or make other messes on the bedspreads. The bedspreads are patterened so they look clean, and do not show soil. I just don't want to be laying or sitting on someones discharges.