Inspired... Not washing blankets at resorts??

[foxtrotter]

I have always removed the comforter merely because they are always that cheap, nasty, poly/nylon material. I see now that I could also have been avoiding some really nasty crud.

My sister brings her own bedding to hotel rooms. It's really annoying actually, but at least she feels better. I just remove the comforter and conveniently forget about everything else...

 

[lclark0621]

I know they are going to clean the comforters & all the linens in my room this summer since my son has severe allergies & the reservationist told me that they do that for things like that.

I am so relieved. But I can only hope it actually gets done.

Seriously check this when you check in. I would never take a CRO CM's word on that.

I will never ever use the comforters & blankets in hotel rooms.

Like I said I always request freshly clean ones. Generally they are brought to the room folded well & most of the time they are in plastic bags. I guess hotels store the clean ones.

 

[DianeV]

I think that some are failing to see that it is mostly a "gross" thing. For what we pay for a hotel room (especially at Disney) we shouldnt have to worry about sleeping on leftovers from a couple or baby pee or blood or whatever. That is really just gross

 

[njchris]

I keep telling myself .. ."Don't read any more.. don't... DON'T!!"

But, like a car accident on the side of the road, I can't help but look.

 

[Ilovestitch]

Here's a great way to test out your comforter sanitizing skills before you leave for your trip!:

WARNING: this photo may be considered graphic for some people, please remove any small children from the room.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1380&item=6519033404

Should I email the seller and ask if it comes w/any STDS, or are those extra?

j/k- that seller is really awesome and has some neat stuff listed

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Here's a great way to test out your comforter sanitizing skills before you leave for your trip!:

WARNING: this photo may be considered graphic for some people, please remove any small children from the room.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1380&item=6519033404

Should I email the seller and ask if it comes w/any STDS, or are those extra?

j/k- that seller is really awesome and has some neat stuff listed

Hey thanks so much for posting that! LOL I was expecting to see some sort of blanket with a black light on it or something! LOL But thats really neat I'm so bidding! `

 

[Luigi's Girl]

On the 2nd night of our trip last month, we woke up to my dd4's projectile vomiting. House keeping was up to our room within 1/2 hour with fresh blankets and sheets. No new comforter. The guy that delivered them had blue bio hazard gloves on and wasn't getting anything on himself. She did it again about 2 hours later - only this time we were prepared and only some towels got it. We were staying in DVC villas and got an extra cleaning the day after the incident.

Both times, the comforter was unscathed. I always fold them up and leave them on the foot of the bed. In addition to the germ issue - they are always scratchy and uncomfortable.

They're probably always sratchy from all that tapioca!

 

[JennyMominRI]

Wow,I can't believe some of the stuff I'm reading here.. I am a 14 year survivor of AIDS..I have children who I do not wish to infect... The AIDS virus is VERY fragile and dies within second when it comes in contact with air..Hepatitus is far more of a hearty drug and lives outside of the body for much longer . You will not get AIDS from going in a pool with me,or sitting on splash mountain after I've ridden.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

I've always liked to think of myself as germ-concious, not germ-obsessed. Here's what I do at WDW :

1) I only walk around the carpet with slippers or socks
2) When I arrive, I bring a pack of Lysol bathroom disinfectant wipes (the ones in the green package - they look like a travel pack of baby wipes) and I use them on the sink, faucets, toilet, shower, and, though many forget, the REMOTE.
3) In the parks, I have a small bottle of handsanitizer (less than $1 for a travel size) which I use between actual hand washing.

When it comes to the beds, I pull the comforter off immediately and inspect the sheets. If they don't look like new fallen snow, I'll call for a new set.

It's just about being smart. Yes, some germs are good for us - but when I'm living in a room for a week I want to make sure the only germs I'm passing around are my own. It's just good sense to me.

N.E.D.

 

[coach4448]

I work as a nurse in a hospital so I have encountered all kinds of germs and diseases and get educated in them a lot.
Look at it this way hep and Aids can live outside the body for a good period of time so you are just as likely to contact these from the ride seats as someont riding before you might have left some of there fluids behind unnoticed to you and than you sit on that seat, but do you go around cleaning the seats?

The following is from the CDC:
Unfortunately, false information or statements that are not supported by scientific findings continue to be shared widely through the Internet or popular press. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prepared this fact sheet to correct a few misperceptions about HIV.

Stating that someone is likely to contact Aids from sitting on a ride seat is just poor information! I can't imagine in this day and age folks aren't better educated about this disease.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/transmission.htm

 

[zurgswife]

OK...finding this thread amusing as it pops up at least once a year...

I'm alive and well and i snuggle my blanket and comfortor every visit to the world....and I crawl on the rug playing with my kids...

Germs are Germs and they are everywhere.....guess I'm the opposite of a germ-a-phob....don't given a second thought...

 

[coach4448]

Here is another one to get you all going:
I'm sure that you run the cooling\heating system on your visits. Think about what is spewing out of those.
What's growing under the wallpaper in the room? Under the carpet? Under the paint?
It's amazing that some of you even travel given all your fears.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a surprising number of hotels had sub-standard air quality in their guestrooms. The article focused primarily on mold and bacteria, but noted that most hotel rooms have little fresh air exchange. Mold and bacteria thrive in an environment of vinyl wall paper and shower steam. According to The Wall Street Journal article, many guests feel worse when they wake up. The typical symptoms travelers experience are sore throats, headaches, and burning eyes. These symptoms are likely reactions to poor indoor air quality.
According to James W. Kimbrough, Doctor of Mycology in the Plant Department of the University of Florida, many hotels are not built to prevent mold and mildew. The biggest issue in hotels and resorts today is that the paint over interior drywall traps moisture, creating a perfect growth environment for mold, he said. Vinyl-covered walls, required by most brand standards, are even worse. The cellulose backing of the drywall, along with the mucilage (organic) glues of wallpaper, are favorite nutrients of fungus. When the AC is on, the vinyl wall covering gets cold and blocks condensation on its underside — allowing moisture to accumulate and mold spores to germinate with their food supply right on site.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Molds can be found almost anywhere. They can grow on virtually any organic substance, as long as moisture and oxygen are present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, foods, and insulation. When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth often will occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed.

 

[Sammie]

I have always removed the comforter merely because they are always that cheap, nasty, poly/nylon material. I see now that I could also have been avoiding some really nasty crud.

My sister brings her own bedding to hotel rooms. It's really annoying actually, but at least she feels better. I just remove the comforter and conveniently forget about everything else...

Does she bring her own mattress? If not she has not removed the part that can actually be the worst. The other, sheets, etc does get washed.

 

[NMAmy]

OK...finding this thread amusing as it pops up at least once a year...

I'm alive and well and i snuggle my blanket and comfortor every visit to the world....and I crawl on the rug playing with my kids...

Germs are Germs and they are everywhere.....guess I'm the opposite of a germ-a-phob....don't given a second thought...

I'm the same way, zurgswife! I do tend to remove the comforter but mainly because they're that icky, polyester type fabric. At the Dolphin, though, I snuggle right up in those heavenly beds! I do believe that they wash the whole kit and caboodle after each visitor, though. We were there for two weeks at Christmas and every time someone checked out, they'd have the comforters and sheets in a big bag outside the room as they cleaned up--including our last day when all the bedding was placed outside the room.

Usually, I pay no attention, though. I think you're wasting a lot of time worrying about germs when you can't really avoid them anywhere.

 

[disnutt]

What you all think about water parks??? (and not nec. Disney ones) Up until now, I've avoided them completely! Seeing the signs that warn: "if you have Aids, Hepititis, venereal disease, open wounds, etc, etc, please do not use these facilities".

In 1988 I went to one in Orlando-think it was Wet n Wild. Had a great time but got ringworm and a bladder infection.

I've gone to others since then, but I'll never go to a Wet n Wild

Despite that bit of trivia, other than pulling the comforters back on the bed, I don't go out of my way to disinfect anything.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

How can the health department overlook that? They wouldn't for a hospital, which I realize is a bit more risky, but its not like they have an "only change it if there's blood or barf" (or other bodily fliuds) policy... I'm glad you told me that, though, t least I can go prepared! I'm sooo creeped out now thinging of the all the times I've stayed in hotels, thinking I was safe...

I work for a commercial bedspread and drapery manufacturer for the heathcare industry and I can tell you, this is exactly why hospitals don't provide bedspreads on beds, only blankets. Think about it, have you ever seen a bedspread on a hospital bed? Washing bedspreads over and over can be very expensive. A quilted spread, that everyone expects to see in a hotel room, would look like a pancake and lose all of it's fill if it were washed everytime a guest checked out. It would just flatten out. The spreads can cost from $45-$100 each, depending on fabric and fill (stuffing) so the cost of a hotel room would rise dramatically. An average bedspread still looks decent for only 30-40 washings. Think about how crummy and flat the spreads look at any Motel 6. Those babies have been there a looong time!!
The heathcare textile market has developed a fabric that has a anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, soil resistant finish, but it is only being used for cubicle curtains (the privacy curtains that you pull around patient beds). Hopefully, the fabric can be tweeked and eventually, it can be used for bedspreads and draperies in hotel settings as well, but until then, bring your own linens and stay away from the bedspread and blanket. It probably won't kill you, but it is pretty gross.

 

[kdtwiss]

I guess I am done with this thread also - but just wanted to say -
you think a teenager might be lying about sexual activity? Oh my, maybe it is just me - but I do not know any teenager that WOULD be honest given that situation!! I do not think teenagers are overly confident of the whole doctor/patient confidentiality thing! LOL


AND - while THEORETICALLY it is possible for someone to contract HepB from coming in contact with it and - what - picking their nose? That is a one in a bazillion chance I would think. HepB is just not that easily spread! It is not a disease spread by casual contact! As a matter of a fact - a nurse who caught HepB from a HepB positive patient that spit in her eye was sooo unusual it was written about in edical journals. As far as I am concerned tho - being a nurse and coming in contact with probably a large # of Hep B positive patients - how could they be absolutely sure it was this instance responsible for the transmission?

I do TONS of research on all kinds of diseases, my oldest son had a bad reaction to his 2 and 4 month vaccines (after which we stopped vaccinating) and was later diagnosed as having autism. I have 3 younger unvaccinated children - so while I do not live in FEAR of diseases I research them like crazy so I know as much as possible about them. Knowledge is power!!

 

[kellymouse]

They never wash the comforters at hotels. My Mom taught me years ago as soon as I check in a hotel room to take off the comforter and put it away and not use it the rest of the time. Icky!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Does she bring her own mattress? If not she has not removed the part that can actually be the worst. The other, sheets, etc does get washed.

This is a great point! When using your own bed linens, put them over the existing sheets and pillowcases. Don't take them of and expose the mattress or pillows. Yuck!!!

And since kdtwiss brought up boogers, what about little kids, and I guess, some adults, who pick their noses while using the TV remote control?!?!?! Blah!!! That'll stop the channel surfing for your "Zip-a-dee-do-da...Tip for Today!!"!! Here's a tip "Drop the remote immediately!!!"

 

[DVCLiz]

Did I really just read that someone purporting to have medical knowledge said you could get AIDS from riding a theme park ride after an AIDS patient had ridden?? You ought to be ashamed of yourself...