Everyone with a bedspread death wish, check in here!

[zdad]

Well, all the bed linens bother us immensely. First thing we do when we arrive is to strip the beds and take them to the laundry. We re-wash everything, including the spreads and the towels. Hope the WL washing machines are large enough to handle the spreads or we'll have to take them off site.

We keep our special hotel slippers in ziplocks when we are wearing our park shoes. Aqua shoes are in the bathroom for showering. Would never consider "sitting" in a hotel tub !!

Pools and hot tubs are off limits for obvious reasons.

We heard that the air quality at WDW is questionable so we are bringing our own bottled oxygen for breathing. Can't risk those airborne germs !

Of course we take a roll of Saran Wrap to the parks with us and cover the ride seats before sitting down. Wish they made little disposable packets of Saran Wrap. That would save toting around the entire roll everywhere. Also, after every ride, we disinfect with premoistened (hermetically sealed until use, of course) to wash our hands and any other exposed flesh.


(Ok now, I am not intending to belittle anyones legitimate medical needs or germ phobias. It's just a rainy Saturday night and thought I'd craft an extreme response in an attempt to lighten the evening.)

 

[Eeyore2003]

Well, DH is a Dr. and I am an RN. I literally have "germ" warfare going on in my home daily!!! Believe me after 28 years, the germs won and now fight amoungst themselves. I flew the white flag long ago.

When on vacation??? I relax!!!

 

[tiggerju]

This might be one reason why it's a good thing that your room isn't ready when you check-in because after a long day at the parks, you won't be awake enough (let alone have the strength) to do all that massive cleaning. When you're in the World there should be nothing else on your mind. Add me to the club as a fellow nasty comforter user.

 

[idofabric]

Me too. And next trip I plan on using the bedspread as my towel, ! NOT! But I never worry about it either, and we go barefoot on the carpet, and we use the glasses... we even breath the air in the room! Shock! I am going for a good time, and don't have the time to worry! Besides, if you could see my house/sewing studio... that bedspread is looking pretty good by comparison!

 

[DebbieB]

I never worry about it. I don't pull it up when I sleep, I leave it folded about half way down if it's cold. I've never seen anything "suspicious" on them. You would drive yourself nuts if you worried about all the germs. You worry about wiping down the remote and then your hands are on all the ride surfaces in the parks, which are touched by thousands each day. Germs from the person who rode before you are more likely to be spread than stuff touched hours or days ago by the previous room occupant.

 

[disney]

I'm in the "I never think about it club". To the mom who didn't want her child touching the elevator button - how do you expect them to fight off germs if you don't expose them? It's the body's way of building immunity.

A great reply. I have to agree.

 

[landmark]

Oh my gosh I'm almost crying. The comment about comforters being a Fear Factor episode is hilarious. Could you imagine. "Now you must lay down on this bed and cuddle with this comforter the one that lasts the longest wins." I never gave it a second thought until reading the forums... thanks to the internet I think we are all a little more educated on some things than we need to be. I do fold them down at night but like most people have mentioned here I haven't heard of anyone dying of comforter exposure and remember if it were truly a large health risk I think that the requirements would be more strict. I actually find myself thinking more about the handrailings and rides more than the comforters... I mean at least the comforters are washed eventually... how often are the railings wiped down?

Another family living on the edge.

 

[snyderla]

This thread is so funny! Count me as one who had never thought about it and didn't know they weren't washed regularly, but doesn't really care. I fold mine down, too, but because it is scratchy against my face, yuck!

Lori

(I think I might start bringing lysol with us now, though, hehehe!)

 

[jenny2]

Count me in!!

I never thought about "germy comforters" till I read about it here, and it still amuses me the great lengths people will go to to "protect" themselves from germs. What do they do on public transportation? How do they open doors at the mall? What about money - do they know how dirty money is? I find all that worrying silly. So as long as it looks clean, we'll be rolling around on the (clean? dirty? who cares!) comforter each and every trip!

 

[keys2kingdom]

In all my stays at numerous hotels around the US and UK I can honestly say that I have never "spilled" any of my "bodily fluids" (OK except for possibly a little drool ) on any of the hotel linens. Just who exactly is doing all this alleged "spilling" that is supposedly contaminating the bedspreads and blankets. I would venture to say that in the month or so that each bedspread is on the bed without being washed very few of them are having bodily fluids spilled on them. Even if you did spill something on your bedspread wouldn't you be kind enough to alert housekeeping so that they could bring a clean one for you not to mention the next guest! If I ever spilled ANYTHING at all I would certainly let housekeeping know about it. I happen to think that these contamination spills are probably few and far between, perhaps I am being naive but I can't imagine that this happens on a regular basis. Besides, it's Disney aren't all unpleasant spills immediately vaporized into thin air?

 

[disnutt]

Amen and hallelujah sister.
I'm a nurse on a med-surg floor. If I even began to describe the things that have found their way onto my uniform/shoes...and stayed there until I could get home...you would all give me a wide berth if you saw me coming your way. After that, the bedspeads seem almost sterile. I plop right down on them and never give it a second thought...and I've made to 38.

Hugsquared I know what you're talking about. I worked as a medical social worker for over 10 yrs primarily on a med-surg unit also moonlighting in ED (ER for the old school types). We didn't even get uniforms. I got so much gunk on my clothes/shoes and I wasn't even doing hands on care.

People needed hugs and hand holding and I wouldn't let the thought of contacting millions of antibiotic resisitant germs affect my caregiving. So, I'd grab on and hold tight.

I never saw a diagnosis including the words "Hotel bedspread acquired..."

 

[ctrabada]

Count me in! Sleep on them, walk barefoot, use glasses, the works.... I carry no Lysol, wipes, or any germ-fighting material. I do wash my hands frequently, but that's about it. I haven't gotten sick yet after numerous trips, so I guess I'm living on the edge...

 

[tiggersgal19]

If everyone pulls down or takes off the bed spread, don't you think the blanket would be just as gross!

 

[cobbler]

Yep I don't think about it. I think that is why we don't get sick very often because me and my family have built up quite the immunity to things by touching the remotes, the bedspreads, elevator buttons, shopping cart handles and so on and so forth.

 

[NCRedding]

Add me to the group--I was oblivious to such things until I started reading these boards. I still have not changed my habits. I fold the spread down simply because of its texture.

I carry lysol, but only to rid the air of the smells we put there. We do wash hands frequently, but other than that, we are risk takers. So far, we've been blessed with great health, on vacation and at home.

 

[queenmichelle]

I also do not fear the bedspread!!!

 

[randyl]

We leave our bedspreads on during our entire stay. Never have come across a really cruddy bed spread (and would remove it if we did).

 

[Tishke]

Okay, okay, I admit. I leave the bedspread on the bed and even lounge on it to watch tv. I have heard that they don't get washed as often, but we usually keep them turned down to leg level at night and DS prefers his all the way off the bed as it is "scratchy". I always check to be sure that there aren't any obvious germy concerns, and if there ever were any concerns I would definitely call housekeeping. I figure there are enough people who are afraid of them that they aren't as bad as they used to be. (shhh...don't tell me otherwise or I will have to bring a can of Lysol)

Tish

 

[nliedel]

I cannot live my life in terror of germs. I wash my hands and make the kids wash theirs but honestly I don't let it get to me or I would never travel.

 

[dbenlee]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!!!!!! (LOL). OK, now that I have that out of my system, we also leave the comforters on. I can't imagine that there is a germ out there that will survive on a bed that will "get us". With all the germs out there, I figure if one makes me a little sick then I needed it to help build up my resistance. And just for the record, I have never gotten sick from sleeping on "contaminated" comforters.

On the same note I work with a woman who is so germaphobic that it is approaching a nerosis stage. when we go to the cafeteria at lunch time she makes someone else open the doors for her so that she won't get any germs on her fresly washed hands. I can go on and on about her nerotic behavior, but I' sure they limit the length of these post to a certain degree. The truly amazing part of her germaphobia is that we work in a HOSPITAL in a radiology department and she has multiple, direct, sick patient contacts a day!!!