To all of the people worrying about the chemicals used in cleaning products, you bring up a good point, as I have severe chemical allergies myself, so here are my thoughts:
1. Those of you saying that guests who use cleansers or Lysol wipes are harming you or your kids, aren't really thinking logically about it. If I check in (I don't use chemicals, by the way, as vinegar & water or natural based sprays are great) on Sunday, and wipe down my room upon check-in and then check-out a week later, not only have those chemicals dissipated soon after I used them, but housekeeping used commercial cleansers (bleach based I am assuming) to ready for your check-in, so my chemicals are all long gone, and it is the housekeeper's much more potent chemicals that are lingering. I will say though as someone who gets sick easily, it's much better for me to breathe in a few chemicals and take a puffer, than to catch a virus from an uncleaned remote or WDW handrail, as viruses last a very long time for me - no such thing as a 24 hour bug for me, more like 5-6 days!
2. For everyone who is worrying about chemicals, and with good reason, there are lots of natural/organic non-chemical cleansers out there such as: Method, Seventh Generation, Shaklee, vinegar, lemon juice or water (we have a Lotus Sanitizing system that we are bringing with us). These work just as good, or better than chemical laden cleansers, so for those of us with allergies/asthma, we can clean without getting sick!
3. Along these same lines, each
DVC villa has it's own air filter and you can request these be changed for your arrival! One of the head engineers who was changing out the filters on our floor last summer at SSR, told us about the filter rotation schedule, but for those of us with astma or serious allergies, they will come and check the filter and if necessary, put in a fresh, new one right away.
4. Again, people keep bringing up the fact of oversanitization and doctors telling them not to do it, and that is true, on a daily basis. Cleaning down your room upon check-in that someone else has occupied before you does not fit into this category. They are talking about people who constantly use hand sanitizers all day long at home, etc., or, for people who have antibacterial everything in their homes, cars, etc. Quickly wiping down hotel remotes or telephones does not fall into this category, and, in fact, most doctors will tell you to do so as these hard surfaces can carry some
seriously contagious bacteria as they are hardly ever cleaned. The pediatric specialists who treated us at Arnold Palmer's Children's Hospital in Orlando, mentioned to us a multitude of times that they wished more visitors to WDW would practice
better hygiene, quickly wipe down phones/remotes, stay home or inside if ill, not let babies crawl on ground as they can pick up many foreign germs that are very dangerous to their young immune systems, and, the best advice - wash, wash, wash those hands all day long!! Basically, in a place like WDW that sees millions of visitors per year, they told us that this is an
extreme situation; therefore, it is prudent for parents and guests to practice extra sanitation as they see some
seriously ill children who were visiting WDW. The best extra one can do, is wash, wash, wash those hands, but they did say, that hand sanitizers if used properly (every 3rd time actually creates more bacteria, so 1x or 2x and then it's time to go and wash hands with soap/water) are necessary in places like WDW.
** People keep bringing up handrails, benches, knobs, restaurant menus, buffet lines, etc. in the parks and with good reason. Again, those of us who clean our rooms most assuredly already wipe down handles, use sanitizers or wash our hands. Docs told us that they have swabbed these areas, as well as shopping carts, public phones, etc., and found not only bacteria, but drugs as well; therefore, I totally agree that in this respect, rooms are cleaner than the parks, as did our docs. They actually said they have done cultures in WDW parks and found very nasty stuff. They advise
all people to be
extra vigilant in the parks, because although there is good bacteria present, there is also very harmful bacteria present, and this is the stuff that they don't want to see as it guarantees them babies and young children in serious medical distress, been there, done that.
Despite the fact that with most things on the DIS, this has turned into an Us vs. Them debate, a little foresight and education goes a long way in regards to this topic as per our pediatric specialists at the hospital, and, as I previously reminded people, there are many immunocompromised people who visit WDW, so please remember that. I find it highly insulting for people to say "Stay home." What about a little compromising? Those of us who like to clean will do so sparingly and with less chemical based products, and the rest of you who like germs, will remember that this is fine in
your own environment, but when you are sharing WDW with millions of other people, it wouldn't hurt you to be a little more cautious and respect the fact that although you may have a strong immune system, not all the rest of us do, especially young babies, elderly and cancer patients, so please, continuously wash your hands, and remember, that villa is not your home, it will be shared by someone else right after you!
Healthy vibes sent to all WDW guests, Tiger
I've been teaching for over 14 years been thrown up on, sneezed-on, wiped snot off of desks and papers, etc. All in all, I've had two minor colds.
When we eat at restaurants, we hope that everything has been cleaned and we are fully aware that maybe we are eating off of plates or silverware that haven't been completely sanitized. But why should we further increase our exposure to unsanitized plates/silverware by eating off of the plates and drinking out of the glasses provided in the room? Especially when we don't have to and it isn't an inconvenience to bring our own paper products. I would rather take out my paper plate, which takes 5 seconds, instead of spending time loading and running the dishwasher. It's just easier for us. There is the possibility that restaurants adhere to a higher standard than housekeeping. And if not, oh well. I control what I can when it comes to germs. But I am not so much of a germaphobe that I will choose to skip eating at Jiko in favor of going grocery shopping so that I know my food was prepared with a clean skillet.
? About the best I could do with the smilies.
