Room/Airplane cleaning tips. Do you sanitize?

[brown eyed girl]

Why aren't we allowed to bring lysol in baggage...can't you bring in hair spray and other aerosols..I thought that was okay as long as it wasn't carry on. Can someone please confirm as I don't fly often. Also, I spray like crazy when I get in..the floor especially since my family all walk barefoot...and don't get me started oon the bed comforters...those are never cleaned and goodness knows what's been on them.

 

[Lintasare]

I have never disinfected a room on vacation and have never gotten sick.

And I agree with what a PP said...the overuse of antibacterial products is causing more problems then they are helping. The reason we build up immunities to all the nasty bugs out there is because we are exposed to them. If you are constantly trying to kill them off with chemicals you can't build up a natural immunity. And if you have no immunity then you get sick.

So I don't worry about the airplanes or hotel rooms. I just do my normal thing and have fun on my vacation.

 

[ntsammy5]

The reason we build up immunities to all the nasty bugs out there is because we are exposed to them.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

 

[bavaria]

I will admit that I am still getting over a very nasty flu bug which as knocked me off normal for several weeks.

HOWEVER - I have a chronic auto immune disease and I didn't get a flu shot. But based on a thread on the Community Board, MANY of the readers here had the same flu bug, and most of them didn't even board an aircraft or stay in a hotel room in the last few months.

Oh, and the poster who mentioned Airborne? There was a class action lawsuit against them for false claims, and the suit settled in favour of the consumers. If it makes you feel better, great, but it really doesn't do anything to prevent illness.

 

[brown eyed girl]

Maybe Im reading this wrong but I think it is okay to bring Lysol as stated on the TSA web site:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm#1

 

[giapetto]

The best place for bed bug info is to google them . There is alot of information about them. They are nasty. I pull back the bottom sheet or bed skirt and inspect the mattress, box spring, head board and wall around bed, looking for dark brown or reddish spots. This isn't a foolproof way but it will tell you if they have been present and only takes a few minutes. Of course if you see actually egg cases or bugs LEAVE! They quickly get into luggage, on clothes and travel with you! If seen tell the desk what you suspect and ask for a different room. A good hotel will mark the room down and have an expert inspect it to see if that is what it is and take care of it. This doesn't mean the whole hotel is infected. There have been several hotels at Disneyland with this problem in the last couple of years.

I used to work for an upscale hotel company and they are becoming a huge problem all across the country. Travelers bring them with them from all over the world. Most people associate them with cheap motels but that isn't the case.I would take an illness anyday over having to burn all my mattresses and fumigate my home because I brought them home! Plus the idea of them on my dds' makes me ill.

I have also read that these bugs are really hard to get rid of once get them in your home. Very expensive, too. The news stories all report on how travellers can easily pick them up in hotels, and as you said, it's a nationwide problem...and bedbugs don't discriminate. So any hotel can be targeted.

Has anyone tried BEDBUGBAGS? I am planning a trip to Disney later this year. Bedbugbags is supposed to protect your luggage while you travel so that you don't end up with bed bugs in your home. Thanks for any info.

 

[missy2217]

My kids always tend to sick on vacation. I don't know if it is actually just the germs themselves or the changes of schedules that throw their little bodies out of wack.

 

[bambam007]

I always carry antibacterial wipes. My ds is 2 1/2 and touches everything and puts his hands in his mouth.

Hotel rooms, you never know. Did they clean it? Who was there?
On my last trip I carried oust air sanitizer, lysol and wipes. I do spray/wipe everything when we first arrive and go outside. This time I will do a little check for bed bugs first.

After that it's mostly hand washing with regular soap for 20 seconds.
Happy Birthday song twice

 

[EpcotGuy]

I am an infection control nurse for a very large hospital. It is not necissary to sanitize your tray table. You simply need to wash your hands with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand degermer (gel or foam). Try to keep your hands out of your mouth too

 

[sskem96]

I bring the wipes to clean the sink since we use it for washing our refillable mugs. I have to wipe the toothpaste out before I can fill the sink to wash dishes. I wipe a few other things down with them too, like the doorknob, lightswitches, phone, and remote. We start taking Airborne 2 weeks before we travel, and we wash our hands a lot. I usually carry hand sanitizer, but we don't use it much. I mainly use it after "sharing the peace" at church. It might kill the germs, but it doesn't get the actual dirt off and I don't want to ingest it. Some kids have gotten sick from spreading too much sanitizer on their hands, and then licking it off while licking their fingers after a snack.

 

[toledo13]

Call me crazy (which is ok, I'll be the first to admit it!), but this is what I do:

A few days before the flight, I load up on probiotics. Probiotics, in more or less words, are good bacteria that help your immune system through your digestive tract. You can get them in yogurt (danactive) or pill form- both are good. I continue to take them throughout my trip and when I get home. I should take them all the time, but I haven't gone that far yet (my sister and brother in law SWEAR by them)

When I'm waiting in the waiting area of the airport, I sanitize my hands, then spray my nose with a saline solution.

When I'm on the plane, I wipe down the commonly touched things like the seatbelt latch, tray table (though I tend not to use one, yuck), armrests, overhead air control. Then I use my hand sanitizer. If it's a long flight, I'll use my saline solution again. If its only an hour or two, I won't. I always breathe through my nose on the plane to filter the air, and if we're going to have snacks, I'll use my sanitizer again.

Once off the plane and in the hotel room, the first thing i do is put the remote in a big plastic bag. Then, I go to town cleaning doorknobs, faucet knobs, bathtub knobs, toilet handle, phone, light switches, tv buttons, Microwave/fridge handles, etc. We NEVER use the water glasses provided (unless they're wrapped plastic cups) or the ice bucket. Once the room is sanitized to my liking, I wash my hands, and enjoy my vacation!

There is not a moment that goes by that I don't have my hand sanitizer. We never touch our mouth, eyes, face, food, etc. without using it first. If you REALLY think about HOW MANY people go to Disney- holy cow! Just think about how dirty the ride vehicles are. We avoid touching the sides of boats, cars, etc. If there's a lap bar, we pull it down with our forearms. If it's a belt buckle, we close it and then sanitize afterwards. And I know that using so much hand sanitizer is bad for your immune system, blah blah blah, but really, one trip to disney is not going to make the superbugs come after me. I just want to enjoy my vacation, and not let a cold or flu get me down!!

Call me crazy... that's fine, but it's worked so far

 

[momma2minnie]

toledo13

I was wondering if anyone gave thought to the ice bucket!
we were at WDW CBR this past Dec for what was supposed to be a 7day/6night trip that was cut short by about a day and a half due to my hubby getting sick (he was in bed for 24hrs before we decided to leave) with a stomach "bug" and I'm telling you it came from that nasty ice bucket I warned him not to use! my DD3 and I were fine but...We didn't use the bucket either.

 

[dani blaski]

I travel quite a bit for work, and my formal education is in dental hygiene. So we as dental hygienists tend to be a little crazy about infection control. I agree wholeheartedly with the Infection Ctrl RN--keep your hands clean!! That is where it all starts. Even if it just baby wipes, that is better than nothing. Wipe/clean your hands before you eat/drink. It can't hurt to wipe down your area on the plan, especially if you have a child. You can wrap the remote, etc in ziplocs but I know my kid--he will touch the walls, sofa cushions,etc quicker than I can say stop and/or go after him. I would need a case of Lysol, rags, hot water and bleach if I were serious.
At home I clean with bleach and water, and we stay healthy. If we have issues while traveling it may be from not eating normally (very hard on a vacation, and who doesn't enjoy the treats!)
I am selective where I stay when I can choose, and some hotels are better than others with cleanliness. I will say that the Disney resorts that I have stayed in were very clean.
That's my two cents!

 

[stelle1966]

all of this nonsense is what is actually promoting the rise of superbugs and asthma etc.

we are destroying our immunity and improving that of the bugs!

 

[AC & Savy's Mom]

I completely agree with those who have said that all this antibacterial stuff is helping the superbugs become resistant and so forth. At home, I won't even buy antibacterial handsoap (which is getting more difficult to find these days). There have been so many studies that have said the antibacterial stuff is just as or less effective than regular soap and water. I don't even use chemicals at home (other than in the bathroom). All my cleaning is done with "natural" cleansers.

HOWEVER, last year BOTH my kids came down with Pneumonia during our disney trip! (DS was 3 and dd was 15 months!) So I am bringing the chlorox wipes and wiping down the remote, telephone, light switches and door handles. After that, I'll be putting them away until next trip.

Like I said, at home, we just wash our hands. But we're going away for 16 days this time (woo hoo!) and I'd rather be safe than sorry!

~Tami

 

[TiszBear]

I always bring clorex wipes with me and wet wipes. One the plane I use them after once or twice a flight, to wipe down the arms and tray tables. When I get to the hotel room, there is a series of things I do. My family stays out of the way and in about 10 min we are good to go. First, I take the bedspreads off and fold them up and put them in the corner of the room, I then take out the clorex wipes and wipe down the bottom of the carry ons and the handles as well as the handles of the checked bags. I then wipe down the phone, tv remote, all the door knobs, light switches, and toilet seats. Then the family can come in. Oh I also do the tables and arms of the chairs. I do this for every hotel we stay in and will continue to do so.

 

[ntsammy5]

This is definitely an OC thread.

 

[MontanaZoo]

I agree about antibacterial and over sanitizing is creating the superbugs etc....

However...I almost always get sick when I travel to the east (I live in the west). Really, I think this is a result of different types of allergens out east, and I've heard that around Philly where the company I work for is based, is especially notorius for bad allergies. I think this is mostly due (for me) to different molds out east that we don't have out in Montana cause it's too dry.

Both times that I've been to WDW before, I was sick. So this time we did sanitize the plane and the hotel rooms, airborne, the new coldeeze immunity pill, claritin-d, lots of rest and water, whatever I could think of since I knew that my resistance would already be lowered by dealing with allergy symptoms (I'm guessing). Whatever we did worked, neither me nor my niece (who is also allergy prone), was sick in WDW and we were there for 9 days. She did have some coughing since she was on zyrtec and not zyrtec-d (should have warned my sister to get her the zyrtec with a decongestant), but that was it. And it was most noticeable at Seaworld around the big water tanks (Shamu).

So I'd say, if you think it will help get you through a trip without illness, go for it!

Last time I was sick in WDW, I was there for a conference for work and was fine the first few days that when I went to the parks, but by the time the conference started, I had laryngitis. There's a WDW diet plan, try getting food in the park without being able to talk. I had to carry around a sticky note at the conference that said - hi, I'm your moderator, I can't talk right now but if you have questions, I know where I can get answers.

 

[Becx N Gav]

So do all you guys get a discount? As Mousekeeping can't have much work to do once you're all done

 

[Avonlady1001]

I don't do much in the room. Although, the remote is a good idea. Saw something on the news one time that said this was dirtier than a public toilet!

On the plane, I will be disinfecting the seats this time. In Jan 2006, we landed, and about 1 hour later, I was throwing up....had to keep pulling the car over. By that night, my DH was emptying out of the mouth & south, my mom was so bad (dehydrated), we had to take her to the ER. The next day, my sister & BIL were down, and the day after that, my other (pregnant) sis & BIL were down. MY DD/1 managed to escape. Our 8 day trip, we each got 4 days of "fun" in the parks. The doc at the ER suggested we caught something on the plane.

Our last trip, Sept 07, my niece/1 was sick the first few days of the trip, and my DD/2.5 was sick the last half. Not a fun time. I think chances are pretty good all this was from the plane.

Hoping to make it through this trip WeLL!!!