Hotel Cleanliness??!!!???

[Bella the Ball 360]

We ALWAYS take our own pillows (to any hotel/condo we stay at)... I worry to much about other people's sleepy drool, or wondering if they used them to prop their feet up, or whatever!

I take Lysol and wipe down doorknobs, switches, handles, faucets, buttons, counters, ect... I also do the phone (both the ear/mouthpiece and the number pad).

I saw the RC in a baggie tip on here after we were back last time and it stuck in my mind, I will be doing that one from now on!

I immediately strip the comforter off of the beds... we will never use those as I have seen far to many documentaries where they are infrequently (if ever) laundered!

I always take a antibacterial handsoap bottle (cheap... not Bath & Body Works or anything, more like a Softsoap type) for use by the sink so we do not have to use a handsoap bar to wash dirty hands!

I check the sheets immediately upon check-in... any hairs or spots... we do call for them to be changed as that is nasty! Ugh!

We never have before (as it did not occur to me) but after reading a few posts on here... we will inspect the mattress/box springs (due to bed bugs). I do not expect to find any but will check!

We always take "surf shoes" for the pool area/pool and we most definately will also be using them at the two Waterparks!

We always bring slippers/flip flops for walking in the room!

I will bring my own small Sharpie container (for my diabetic supplies) and pack it in my suitcase (inside a baggie) to come home with me so I know with certainty it is properly disposed of!

This is my kind of thread! However, I noticed you said you bring flip flops for the room WHAT ABOUT THE SHOWER! It is hard enough for me to get into the shower but I have to have flip flops on other wise I feel like I am standing in a toilet bowl!

I know I do not have to say this but be sure you have hand sanitizer to put on your hands after touching everything at the parks..eww!

This is a little OT but I also bring an old sweat shirt to put on the back of the chairs in the movies b/c I am afriad of head lice. I know the arms are gross too but as a teacher, I am pertrified of head lice! lOL

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Me too. I've always used the comforter, towels, pillows. I sit on toilets and I rarely use anything antibacterial.

YOU are a strong woman! LOL

 

[GAnative]

I did not say in my earlier thread that I had ever been robbed while at Disney. And I didn't mean someone would ransack the room with housekeeping in there. I always keep my valuables in the safe, even though I don't let them in. I was just stating that this is something that I have thought of. If you happen to come to the room while housekeeping is there, they will wait outside while you are there. They have no way of checking that this is really your room. Just because someone doesn't get somethimg of value doesn't mean they won't come in and check around. I don't even want to think that someone could just wander into my room. I am not implying that this happens at Disney or anywhere for that matter. Again, this is just something I have thought of. I do not go into any vacation blindly. I try to think of everything that could happen and prepare for it.
Unfortunately, as we have learned, this is not the same world we grew up in.

 

[Disney8704]

Not the OP you were talking to..but No..we just dont freak over every last germ. I to have sat on the toilets. I have walked on the floor in my bare feet in my room. We dont use the comforter only because its to darn hot to use it, so we just usually take the comforter and roll it to the edge of the bed and let it lay there on the bed. We have touched the remote. We have never cleaned or santazied anything. Yes even the galsses that arent wrapped! Yet till this day me and DH and even when I went to disney with my sister, none of us got sick. IMHO, your all just jumping the gun to much. If you even think for 1 moment that if you dont santize the room, you will get sick...and if you dont santize it, then you do get sick. Its all about mind over matter. If you dont even think about germs, guess what you have about a 95% chance of not getting sick.

Oh yes, and we dont even use hand sanitizers either. We do wash our hands before we eat, and after using the bathroom but outside that, we have touched doors, railings, the railing inside the cars that you sit in for rides, etc.

YOU are a strong woman! LOL

 

[delmar411]

Not the OP you were talking to..but No..we just dont freak over every last germ. I to have sat on the toilets. I have walked on the floor in my bare feet in my room. We dont use the comforter only because its to darn hot to use it, so we just usually take the comforter and roll it to the edge of the bed and let it lay there on the bed. We have touched the remote. We have never cleaned or santazied anything. Yes even the galsses that arent wrapped! Yet till this day me and DH and even when I went to disney with my sister, none of us got sick. IMHO, your all just jumping the gun to much. If you even think for 1 moment that if you dont santize the room, you will get sick...and if you dont santize it, then you do get sick. Its all about mind over matter. If you dont even think about germs, guess what you have about a 95% chance of not getting sick.

Oh yes, and we dont even use hand sanitizers either. We do wash our hands before we eat, and after using the bathroom but outside that, we have touched doors, railings, the railing inside the cars that you sit in for rides, etc.

We don't do any of these things either. My kids are really healthy and I do attribute that to the fact that they are exposed to a lot of germs and have great immune systems. They do get mini-colds on occasion but they are 24-48hrs in nature and I consider them good to get as then they are immune to yet another virus/germ.

The youngest has a thing for chewing on shoes and has since he was an infant. If he hasn't ever gotten sick from sticking nasty shoes in his mouth (insert gagging smiley here) I'm thinking the remote isn't going to cause much harm.

 

[Disney8704]

WOW your youngest chews on shoes? Ive never heard that before! Anyways, people need to remember that kids are around germs all day long while there at school. They have more of a chance picking up a bug or getting sick at school then in a hotel room or even in Disney in general. When your in Disney your outside a lot. So therefor the air of course gets circulated. Even when your indoors, they are always opening and closing doors and the rooms are big, so the air gets circulated. But when your in school, the rooms are small and closed in, therefore kids can get sick easier.

We don't do any of these things either. My kids are really healthy and I do attribute that to the fact that they are exposed to a lot of germs and have great immune systems. They do get mini-colds on occasion but they are 24-48hrs in nature and I consider them good to get as then they are immune to yet another virus/germ.

The youngest has a thing for chewing on shoes and has since he was an infant. If he hasn't ever gotten sick from sticking nasty shoes in his mouth (insert gagging smiley here) I'm thinking the remote isn't going to cause much harm.

 

[delmar411]

WOW your youngest chews on shoes? Ive never heard that before!

Yeah it is one of the most disgusting things I've seen a child do. His ped says it's fine but still gross! Thankfully he seems to be slowly out growing it but will still do it if he is bored while we are out at the stores or in the car. It must be the way the rubber feels or tastes (yuck!). I'm beyond grateful that he's got an amazingly strong immune system because there has to be some massive amounts of bad germs on the bottom of shoes.

 

[LoveTwoTravel]

Thanks again to everyone for their tips. I think I must have seen the same Dateline (or whatever it was) special about the TV remotes and , er, "bodily fluids" as the OP. Geee-rrrrossss!

It's such a nice thing that people can share their diverse opinions and solutions here without judging others. Really nice (and appreciated).

We usually wear shoes in the rooms and haven't drunk out of the glasses (unless they were the plastic wrapped ones) but we've never requested new sheets or anything.

My kids are exposed to a-plenty of germs and I agree with the overexposure of antibacterial substances (we even avoid antibiotics if we can). But we do get sick a lot and seem to have *delicate* (grin) immune systems so NOT getting the stomach stuff is what I'm most afraid of.

I'll probably wipe down the handles of things and not use the ice bucket or remote. But that's about as far as we'll go. Well, maybe we'll throw the comforters in the corner! HA!

 

[DisneyShannon]

I was a housekeeper for a large hotel. We always washed our bedspreads after every guest they was stripped off the beds and changed when you checked out. No matter how long you stayed we stripped them everyday. Or after every check out. I nor my co workers has ever used a dirty rag more than once. Thats just gross. I thankfully have moved onto a better job. I also want people to know that it is a low paying job and we are always greateful for the tips.

 

[LoveTwoTravel]

I was a housekeeper for a large hotel. We always washed our bedspreads after every guest they was stripped off the beds and changed when you checked out. No matter how long you stayed we stripped them everyday. Or after every check out. I nor my co workers has ever used a dirty rag more than once. Thats just gross. I thankfully have moved onto a better job. I also want people to know that it is a low paying job and we are always greateful for the tips.

Thanks DisneyShannon for your insider's perspective. You make an excellent point (what I take away): in every career, be it high or low paying, there are people who take pride in what they do and do their jobs well. We should NEVER stereotype anyone or any career.

I think that this particular thread (Hotel Cleanliness?!!) has shown that people care about their families and providing the best that they can for them. I appreciate that no one has put anyone else down or put blame anywhere in voicing their concerns or strategies for housing their families in a clean environment.

 

[kimis]

I do the usual things that have been listed already. But one thing I do while at Disney is leave the Do Not Disturb sign out the entire time. I straighten our room daily and take our own trash out to the trash cans. Housekeeping leaves you a bag full of towels and supplies hanging on your door each day. That is about the only thing you need changed. This way you don't have to worry about nasty towels being used to clean your room.

I started doing this not so much because of worry about cleanliness, but because when they are cleaning your room, they usually leave the door open or cracked. I have come into my room when they would be cleaning and they don't check to see if this is actually your room. They don't have a way to check since room numbers are not on your KTTW cards. Anyone could walk in, act like they are just looking for something and rob you blind right under housekeepings nose. Then when you returned and found things missing, you would automatically assume the housekeeper took it. To protect them and my stuff, I would just rather not let them in.

Actually dh and I stayed at POR last Feb. When we returned to our room the mousekeeping was just finishing. I started to walk into our room and she called me back out. She shut the door and made me use my KTTK card to open the door. She was very sorry and I told her not to be. I appreciated the fact she was being cautious.
As far as cleaning the room the only thing we do is wipe off the remote and the phone. We do take antibacteral soap in my fanny bag to wash our hands a couple of times a day after touching so many rails and rides.

 

[cmul04]

BTW, so sorry to the family who stayed there after us! Whoever you are, you probably didn't even know!

 

[GAnative]

Actually dh and I stayed at POR last Feb. When we returned to our room the mousekeeping was just finishing. I started to walk into our room and she called me back out. She shut the door and made me use my KTTK card to open the door. She was very sorry and I told her not to be. I appreciated the fact she was being cautious.
As far as cleaning the room the only thing we do is wipe off the remote and the phone. We do take antibacteral soap in my fanny bag to wash our hands a couple of times a day after touching so many rails and rides.

I'm glad to hear that at least someone has been asked to prove it was there room. Maybe this is something new, being done in recent years. I've been going to Disney for about 20 years and before I started leaving the sign out all the time, no one ever asked me anything. Hopefully policy has changed. Disney usually tries to look out for their guests.

 

[LeslieR]

I will for-sure be wiping down the airplane trays and arm rests, and even knobs and handles in the hotel room but I don't really get the shoe wearing in the room. How do you get sick by walking bare footed in the hotel? or is it just worring over warts or something? (I'm not being a smart-alick, I really don't know)

 

[farmfresh]

Its interesting to see the amount of anxiety travel can create! Whilst I agree, no-one wants to waste time being sick, there are quite a few things being listed here that could be given away as rituals! Things like poorly laundered comforters won't make you ill, they just seem gross. So by all means take them off, but this won't help you stay well.

The most important way to avoid picking up germs is to have clean hands. Instead of disinfecting every surface, just keep your hands clean. (that's why disposable cups are a good idea, but unless you have open wounds or something on your legs, germs on towels find it hard to get in!)

Portable hand sanitisers are a great way to achieve this - you can take them to the parks, use them if bathroom surfaces are unclean etc. Won't help much with head lice, but sadly, some things are just part of the human condition. put a bunch of kids together anywhere and....

The second thing you can do to stay well is choose and store food safely. You are more likely to be made sick from poorly refrigerated buffet food than from coffe mugs - and some of the reheated offerings are truly scary!

Oh and don't forget trhe sunscreen - too much heat and not enough water can also give you nausea/headaches, much faster than a Tv remote will.

Hope you all have wonderful trips and that you stay well!

 

[annie1995]

I will for-sure be wiping down the airplane trays and arm rests, and even knobs and handles in the hotel room but I don't really get the shoe wearing in the room. How do you get sick by walking bare footed in the hotel? or is it just worring over warts or something? (I'm not being a smart-alick, I really don't know)

I think its athletes foot that people are worried about. I have never really thought much abou it before. I walk barefoot in the room, and probably will continue to do so in the future

 

[kimsuenew]

I think its athletes foot that people are worried about. I have never really thought much abou it before. I walk barefoot in the room, and probably will continue to do so in the future

My DS & DH do not ever go barefoot, even at home and in our house! It is an aversion of theirs! They have sandals or slippers on, neither have ever liked going barefoot. Me on the other hand, love the feel of sand and grass beneath my feet! As a child my shoes came off the minute school (or Church) was over... otherwise I was barefoot.

Up until I was diagnosed with Diabetes I still always went barefoot but that is frowned upon, and very dangerous, for diabetics. I know even wear slippers or shoes in the house!

My guess as to peoples aversion to being barefoot in hotel rooms could a fear of something being in the rug (eg a straight pin from a new shirt, a tiny sliver of glass, a nail or staple in the floor, ect... I personally would worry more about those than Athelete's Feet! Also, if people have any kind of foot wound, you would not want to take a chance of dirt, bacteria, ect... from the floor getting into it nor also would any diabetics want to take any chances with their feet!

Now, the AF "thing" does worry me in public places (like pools, pool decks, showers, the Y, ect...) and we have all always wore "surf shoes" to alleviate that concern!

 

[bear_mom]

Last February, we were staying at the BCV and my DD10 was sleeping on the sofabed in the living room when she suddenly jumped up and although she was sprinting to the bathroom, she didn't make it. She puked on the carpet right in front of the kitchen, a huge mess of grape juice and noodles. It was so gross.

Did you call mousekeeping? My dd threw up in our room during the middle of the night and a desk clerk person came with towels and blankets for us. She then asked us to lay a clean towel over the area and they would clean our carpets in the morning. Got back from the parks (dd wasn't really sick, she randomly wakes up throwing up during the night so we weren't passing nasty grems around the parks) and you could tell they had steam cleaned the carpets.

On another note - we don't do anything special cleaning when we get to the rooms.

Just a quick note, it takes anywhere from 2-10 days to actually get sick after you are exposed to bugs so just because you got sick while on vacation doesn't mean you got from the hotel room or from the parks.

Emily

 

[fairydust1278]

Bump

 

[natnelliesmom]

.

One of the best things about staying at a DVC resort room your room does not get cleaned the whole time you are there. They come on Wed and take the trash and replace the towels so I do not have to reclean every day after housekeeping has been there. I will spot clean through out the week.

I agree totally! Although one thing that I do anywhere we stay- is put up a do-no-disturb on the outside of the door. I don't want any housekeeping services until the end of our stay. We can reuse our towels or ask for them to drop by new ones while we are in the room. I just hate the thought of someone in my room with my stuff while I'm not there.
Also the DVC rooms have a kitchenette with dish soap and cleaning supplies so I can keep the dishes clean my way!

I also bring nap sacks (like thin sleeping bags) for my girls to sleep in. Then I know they are warm- but not using those dirty comforters!
We too bring our own pillows. I use one of those space bags that roll to get out access air and I can fit each person's pillow in their suitcase.

It's nice to know there are other clean freaks out there!
-Sarah