Please don't think I'm crazy....

[cinmell]

I know clorox has the round container and a box. If you want to save space, I would buy the boxed ones and take them out and put them in a ziploc. That should take up less space.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

You can also buy the refills for the box that are in a flat pack and are more compact than the box. They have a pull tab label that seals back up so the wipes stay moist. That's what I pack.

 

[Tesabat]

I read on another post a few weeks ago - might not have even been this board, not sure - that someone had watched one of those "expose" shows where they filmed housekeepers with a hidden camera and one of the housekeepers would clean the toilet with people's toothbrushes. My guess is they saw the same show and now lock their toothbrushes in the safe.

I'm a nut about the glasses or mugs that are provided. I wash them in super, super hot water and soap I've brought from home. Why? Because my mother - who was a head housekeeper at a hotel for years when she was younger - fired an older woman because she "saved time" and washed the glasses in the toilet - while she had the disinfectant in there - instead of swapping out racks of glasses with the kitchen. Disgusting.

Talk about paranoid. If you grew up with my mother, anywhere we stayed had to pass her "room test" and trust me, she knew what she was looking for after years of cleaning rooms, and then inspecting the rooms other people cleaned...she was tough. Whenever we drove somewhere on vacation and stopped along the way before our destination, we always - always - had to ask to see the room first, she would inspect it - and THEN we would stay. As kids, we were horribly embarrased and could not figure out why she was SO fussy! Then, you get older - have kids - and find yourself yelling - "don't drink from that!!" - and cleaning glasses that are supposed to be clean!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I think you can get small packs of antibacterial wipes in the diaper section at the super market. They are small to fit into diaper bags.

 

[CdnMom2]

I have been stripped of my naive innocence on the Walt Disney World Forums. Who would have thought. LOL! Now I'm almost afraid to travel. Clorox wipes, antiseptic spray, DEFINITELY use room safe, LOTS of American dollars, our own water, sunscreen, hats....

All I can say is a very big THANK YOU all of you that I read about this BEFORE our first big family trip involving hotels & Florida theme parks.

 

[s&k'smom]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll pick up some next time I'm at Walmart.

 

[jennymouse]

OH MY GOSH...I have never heard of anything so discusting in my life.........I'll definately be locking our toothbrushes in the safe from now on.

 

[2disneywego]

I'd never heard the toothbrush story before.
But, I travel a lot and I always locked all of my toiletries up every morning. I'd walk down the hallways and see other rooms being cleaned with stuff all over the vanities with the housekeeper merrily spraying cleaner everywhere.
That was my main reason, along with the fact that I'm basically mistrustful of people.

 

[cinmell]

DisneyFreaks, I didn't know they sold refills. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Shercara]

This is a little off the cleaning subject -( Thank you all for your tips )- but for keeping things neat and organized - I found a great idea from the DIS Cruise Line Boards --

Buy a cheap over the door shoe holder - with clear plastic pockets -- hang it on the out side of the hotel's bathroom door - you can keep all your toiletries - extra film - pens - hair ribbons -whatevers! that would normally be in a bag, or all over a counter -in one neat, orderly place! -- But I think I will use the safe for the toothbrushes after reading that link!! You can find these at the dollar store!

 

[phamton]

I wouldn't worry about the toothbrushes too much. Snopes labelled it as undetermined but probably unlikely. http://www.snopes.com/racial/crime/toothbsh.htm (I know..anything is possible.)

I would be more concerned with cleaning solution getting on my toothbrushes when the room was being cleaned.

Bev Hamilton

 

[Lesley]

There are a lot of things that could be done to a toothbrush....though I never thought of that before! Kinda makes me glad we usually stay on our DVC points and don't get daily housekeeping! LOL

 

[Angel1]

I go to Disney to forget about germs!

Heck, most Disney bathrooms are cleaner than my own!

 

[AF Brenda]

I think that the safest thing to do is to set up camp in the lobby with a sleeping bag. That way, everything is in plain sight, so we don't have to worry about maids and bellboys committing nasty acts with our personal items. Also, the lobby is always kept clean, in order to present a good first impression.

Yep, camp out in the lobby of GF, the only truly safe and sanitary way to do Disney!!

 

[webhead]

Sorry... I agree with your husband, I think you're crazy

If I worried about all that stuff while I was on vacation, I wouldn't enjoy a minute of it. I'm not trying to upset you more, but do you wipe down the silverware when you go to a resturant? I mean, you don't *know* they went through the dishwasher... if there wasn't any food residue on a used fork it would look clean and they could just set it back on your table.

I would rather have faith that the business that I'm in keeps the place clean. That being said, if cleaning everything with Clorox gives you piece of mind and makes you feel safer, go for it, you aren't hurting anyone.

 

[CyranoJones]

http://www.safe-tel.com/

http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Kill-All-Bacteria.htm

 

[DisneyFreaks]

I don't think I'm obsessive about it because you're right it would ruin the whole vacation if you were. But like most of you I just feel a little better wiping down and spraying the obvious things. {although the toothbrushes & meds will now forever go in the safe or get locked up in a suitcase LoL} My daughter is such a germ freak she actually wanted to wear surgical gloves while at WDW. She didn't want to touch any door handles with her bare hands. I put my foot down about that but webhead, silly as it sounds, I always wipe my silverwear off with my napkin before I use it at a restaurant. It's just something I have always done.

 

[Tesabat]

I loved the idea of the over-the-door shoe holder for toiletries. I could use that in my house! I agree that just keeping your things "picked up" is adequate. That's what I do. It makes it easier for the housekeeper and I would say the vast, very vast, majority are just people like you and me with a job to do...they would never do something like scrub a toilet out with your toothbrush, or wash glasses in the toilet, but they "could" accidentally spill cleaner on toiletry items. Those sink areas aren't very big! (However, I will still wash glasses in hot water and soap - childhood implants are the worse!)

The same place I read about the toothbrush, mentioned about the bedspreads and the pillows. I think it must have been the same show - like a 48 hours. You could drive yourself crazy with this stuff. When I went on a business trip with a co-worker, she wouldn't even SIT on the bedspread...pulled it completely off the bed and onto the floor because she was so freaked out about what was on bedspreads according to this show. Now, I pull it down to the end of the bed when I'm sleeping, but refusing to sit on it fully clothed?? But, hey, it made her feel better, so that's what counts...and - she thought I was nuts to sit on it!

My feeling is if it makes someone more comfortable to wipe down a room, and it only takes a few minutes....hey, there are worse things! Go with your cleaning supplies and Have Fun! Your at Disney!

 

[phamton]

I really don't worry about my toothbrushes being tampered with and would never feel the need to lock them in the safe. I just posted the snopes link because, in my other world (outside the Disney obsession), my hang out is the snopes board. (I've been contributing to that board since David started his board.)

I'm also not one to clean my hotel room after it has been cleaned. If I didn't trust the staff at a hotel then I wouldn't be staying there. That said, I don't see a problem about others who want to sanitize. Many families have health problems and are more suseptible to illnesses. My family, on the other hand, could eat after the dog and be fine.

Bev