Exposed: The Dirt Is Out On Hotel Room Hygiene
As you unload the car and the kids and pile into the lobby of your anxiously awaited hotel, your arms are filled with luggage, pool floats, and extra towels. On your vacation, you expect to catch a few rays on the beach, but do you expect to catch a cold, flu, or worse?
I am certain you expect a clean room upon arrival. No, you won’t typically open the door to your hotel room and find it in shambles. The hotel room will appear neat and orderly, but what lies beneath the appearance?
The first thing you do upon entering the room is turn on the light. Light switches are one of the many places germs are waiting. The cleaning staff probably does their utmost best to provide superior service, but do you really think they remembered the light switch? Probably not.
Next, you toss the luggage down and grab the remote before flopping down on the soft, comfortable bed to relax and watch some TV. You have just exposed yourself to so many viruses and bacteria that are lurking on the remote control. Even if the maid diligently scrubbed the room, odds are he or she did not clean off the remote control. Imagine the dirt and grime on that thing. It is probably equivalent to the computer keyboard in an office. The germs that cause half of all colds are capable of surviving a good twelve hours on hard surfaces. For this reason, the remote, alarm clock, and lamp are all suspect.
The comforter should have a biohazard sign on it. Guests in hotel rooms like to picture their room through rose-colored glasses. Visitors always check the sheets before going to bed, but what about the comforter. The bed is the couch, bed, table, and even changing table for some families. Hotels don’t typically launder the comforters between every guest. I know I don’t want to eat my dinner at the very same place where a baby’s diaper had been changed just a few short hours before. The amount of body fluids found on the comforter would scare you. I am talking breeding grounds for E. coli here.
Another scary place is the bathroom sink. Hotel guests use this area to wash hands, fill a water cup, and brush their teeth. The sink is the perfect environment for bacteria. The bathroom sink in your hotel room is continuously damp and warm. Dirty hands are frequently grasping the handles and faucet. In the sink, there was presence of spider. The cobwebs can make the look of the room dirty. The peppermint spider oil will help in killing of the spiders from the sink
The shower is also a problem. Although most people can fight off athlete’s foot, this is commonly contracted from showering in hotel rooms.
A friend told me of a time when she had stayed at a well-known hotel. Upon arrival, her room had not been completely cleaned. The beds were not yet made. The cleaning staff assured her that all would be ready for her shortly. She had placed a mark on the lower sheet with her lipstick. When she returned, her room appeared in order and ready for her stay, but when she pulled back the covers she found that her lipstick mark was still there! The hotel cleaning staff had not even changed the sheets.
What type of things can we do to protect ourselves from invisible, uninvited guests in our hotel room? First, choose a reputable establishment. A hotel with a good reputation will not ensure cleanliness, but it may improve the odds. Word-of-mouth advertising is important to hotels, so find out what others think about the hotel before you stay.
Pack some Clorox disinfecting wipes. These wipes won’t take up too much room in your luggage, but will make a big difference. Use the wipes to get rid of germs on the remote, lamp, and light switches. Giving the faucet and sink a good once over is a great idea, too. This will reduce the chance of infection.
Don’t walk around your hotel room in bare feet. Always wear socks, sandals, or slippers. This little step will protect you from athlete’s foot. Wearing flip flops in the shower can also help to decrease your risk.
Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to prevent illness. If you are unable to wash your hands as often as you like, use hand sanitizer. Products with a high alcohol content are more effective.
A few simple steps can protect you and your family when exposed to viruses and bacteria in hotel rooms. Know where the germs are lurking to keep your family safe. Swipe the trouble spots with disinfectant and wash your hands frequently. These simple steps should keep your travels safer and more fun.
