Well, both:
1) other travelers are like you,
2) you are a germ freak.

Hope this helps!

I'm sure some other travelers are like you, but personally I think you are a "germ freak." (Not that there's anything wrong with it...)

I don't do any of the things you describe and I have never caught anything that I know of from the sheets, rugs, blankets, or shower in any hotel.

Now we will have a bunch of posts telling us all the disgusting things people do in hotel bathtubs and on hotel bedspreads, but so what? There are a million similar things you are exposed to all the time but you just don't know about them. If you continue down this path you end up like Howard Hughes (and I don't mean rich).

Did you know that children who are raised in less antiseptic environments actually are healthier because they develop resistance to the bacteria around them?

You may want to read this
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2001/ocd.htm

I agree that there are others like you, and also that you are a freak. Having said that, we all have our little quirks. I don't like to touch food with my fingers for example. It's not about the germs, it's the feeling. I do use the hotel bath tubs, but do not use the "public" hot tubs or heated pools - this is about the germs.

I will however tent camp at Assategue Island and use an outside cold water shower barefoot - without hesitation (my husband dislikes sand so this is a rare vacation for us).

I think that the shower shoes & slippers are taking it a bit far BUT then again you might find me a freak eating a MCDonald's chesseburger with my fork & knife!

You are not a germ freak, you are well informed....even in the best of hotels, there are things that will freak you out.

Here are some things that I do:

First of all, the comforter is not changed with every new guest, so just think of someone else's ass germs (or worse) on that - I do not blame you for removing it. Although I do not remove it immediately, it gets turned down at night so it does not touch me, but I do not even sit on it. When getting dressed I always sit on a towel.

Also the blanket is *sometimes* changed, but it is hard to tell so I do not risk it. I have noticed lately the hotels we have stayed in sandwich the blanket between 2 sheets - I love that.

So you so not have to wear flip flops in the shower this is what I do. I fill up the tub and drain it 2x with only hot water, that will kill anything.

I also flush the toilet a few times before using it as the vaccuum will suck a lot of germs down.

Also the GLASSES that are in the bathrooms and the room. Run hot water in them for 2 minutes to kill any germs.

I always wear the slippers provided in the room too or socks if none provided.

You are not a germ freak but you realize not everyone is as clean as you. Housekeeping sometimes is so overloaded they cannot clean as well as they should, so the glasses may not be changed and the blanket may be a leftover - hey you never know.

Also I never ever use the spare blanket and pillows wither that are in the closet. They for sure are never changed, just folded and put back in the closet.


you should really think twice, as you can get very sick form someone else's germs. Did you know that fecal matter can go 20 feet in the air when being flushed? Just think of someone elses kaka sprinkled all over your hotel bathroom Not a plesant thought. Just be careful where you lay your toothbrush!

Take it from someone who travels frequently - better to be safe than sorry. I don't carry lysol or clorox with me, but I do take precautions before using anything that I sleep on or drink from. There are some pretty discusting people in this world. Next time you are on a plane, take a look around, it ain't a pretty picture is it? They stay in hotels too!

Hasn't anyone seen the news shows where they go into all kinds of hotels (from 4 Seasons to Holiday Inns) with a pietry (sp?) dish and a black light? They find piss all over the place and germs galore, besides other goodies. These rooms appear to be clean with the naked eye, but you are sitting on someone else's dried wet spot! You bet I wear slippers and sit on a towel!

It's okay as long as you acknowledge you have these "characteristics". I don't care what others do in their room, but I hate it when I travel with people who CLAIM they can sleep anywhere, and have absolutely no preference in terms of hotel, BUT then complain all day the next day how dirty that place is.

Annabel - what do you do in restaurants? After all, who knows where all those glasses, plates and knives have been? And what about the hands of the wait staff? think of typhoid Mary!

Let's see, Annabel, you take all those precautions and don't get ill. I take none of those precautions and don't get ill. Care to draw any conclusions?

It makes you think though.........
I thnk Annabel points out valid information but if we dwell on it too much we may never travel again.
I take some precautions, ie never drink out of the water glass, don't use the tub, and take the comforter off the bed.
I try not to think about too much, I am only in the room to basically sleep, I would like to be out sight- seeing during my waking hours.

Now I am wondering if I am a freak. I will take a bath in a hotel without giving it a second thought. I walk barefoot (but that doesn't say much--I would go to work barefoot if I could).

I have seen the television shows detailing every disgusting thing in hotels and although I am grossly facinated when I watch these shows it does not change my actions in hotels.

I still think this way lies madness. nytraveler is right about restaurants, but what about every other aspect of your life? What about handling money, for example? When you go to the movies and buy popcorn, do you wash your hands before you eat it? I'm guessing that being so germ-phobic you don't have any dogs or cats, but if you do, do you wash your hands every time you pet them? What about pushing the button for the elevator, or handling merchandise in a store that others have handled? Where do you draw the line?

Just don't travel anywhere in the third world -- you'll be paralyzed!

Others may mock us but I'm with you, diazkris. The only thing I don't do that you mentioned is wear flip flops in the shower. Hotels with triple sheet beds are my friends--nothing grosses me out worse than waking up in a hotel drooling on a blanket that someone else drooled on the night before. Ick ick ick. I will take a bath in a hotel room if it's a jacuzzi tub in a room with a separate shower. Shower/tub combos are a no-go in hotels if I'm looking for a bath. My house for sure is germ central and not always clean, but it's OUR dirt and germs, if that makes sense. And, oh yes, my family and friends totally make fun of me...

I'm not afraid of getting sick, it's not that -- it is discusting!

Maybe you like sitting on semen or walking on dried urine but I do not. I'm not walking around like Howard Hughes, but I take precautions like not putting my toothbrush on the bathroom countertop, and yes I do rinse out the tub with hot water, people do pee in the shower, kids crap in the tub when they get a bath--need I go on? Most germs die when exposed to air, so that is why you do not get sick, but do you really want to soak in a bathtub with someone elses pubic hair floating in it? You would return an entree if it had a hair on it wouldn't you? I hightly doubt you would ask the waiter to wrap up the hair in a doggie bag so you could bathe with it later!

These things happen in all hotels, even the high $$ ones. Although in some high end hotels, they are now using a black light to find all these discusting things and have the room properly cleaned.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

I'm puzzled by the posters who seem to think that a jacuzzi would be less germy than a regular tub or a bath with shower. Seems to me that all those damp nozzles, jets, nooks, crannies, and crevices would harbor more dirt and germs than a regular smooth plain bathtub surface.

I share the other posters' aversion to strangers' germs, though I don't do much about it other than washing my hands before I eat and as soon as I get home, and avoiding bare-skin contact with hotel-room textiles like bedspreads and carpeting. And everyone has forgotten to mention the germiest, least-cleaned part of the room: doorknobs.

My personal pet peeve is hotels that think it's fancy to fold the end of the toilet paper into a point -- I don't really want my TP being handled by whoever has just cleaned the bathroom, thanks.

diazkris, you are not a freak. You are a troll! Saw it all on Dateline. How about something original?

This reminds me of a news show I saw a while back about all the bacteria you find in hotel rooms -- the ritzy ones were just as bad as the cheap ones! I just might start taking up some of diazkris' habits...LOL. After reading all the posts, I'm definitely going to start using slippers around the room. I usually leave my toothbrush in one of the glasses with the brushes sticking out so they will air dry, but I do this at home, too.

Everytime I've been in one of the pool jacuzzi's I've gotten a terrible rash and I assume it is from the combo of the heat and the chemicals. However, I don't care to use hotel baths and jacuzzi's because you never know if the bathtub was cleaned with bleach or just wiped out with a dirty cloth.

I, too, take the comforter off the bed, but wait until I'm ready to sleep, or anytime I lay down. I don't care for comforters and always assumed they are not cleaned very often.

Oh yeah, and on another news show I saw all the germs on the faucet knobs in public restrooms. Now I turn them off after I dry my hands and use the papertowel. I've even been known to pull the door open with my pinky and then kick it open with my foot if I can't ditch a papertowel close to the door. I've seen loads of people leave the restroom without washing their hands. THAT'S DISGUSTING!! And as previous posters have said, these people stay in hotel rooms, too!

I don't consider anyone a germ freak, or abnormal for taking whatever precausions they feel comfortable with.

I think the reason why they fold the toilet paper into a point is to let you know "they were in there" Long gone are the days of the toilet seat banner - remember those!

I think the the reason I do not get sick is because I do not put my fingers in my mouth or touch my eyes or nose when in public places. I always used to get sick one cold or flu after the other, when I realized where I may have gotten them from - shopping cart handles in the supermarket and in the gym from the equiptment. I have been washing my hands and make sure not to "touch my face". Germs are transmitted by mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth. If you have your hands on a shopping cart handle (or doorknob, or free weight, or elevator button etc..) that has cold germs on it then touch your eye or bite your fingernail, you have a good chance of getting sick. I have learned to wash my hands more often when leaving a public place (not compulsively, just mindful) and I have not been sick since.

I am not a germophobe, just educated on how germs are spread and where they are. I just don't like other peoples funk. I'm sure you would appreciate getting a hotel room after me, as I don't pee on the carpet, crap in the tub and don't do the nasty on the nasty bedspread I also close the lid on the toilet before flushing and don't dring out of the glasses--

Oh yeah and another one I forgot to tell you about.

The ice bucket--there is a reason why they give you the plastic liner for it...please use it. I have seen ice buckets being used for more that you wish to know.
I have also used one for an emergency use....but that was in a limo which was stuck in traffic. You get the idea, sometimes you just need a bucket. Please use the plastic bag.

Annabel.

Wow! Chill out.....

If I had to go through life having the same thoughts like you, I'm not sure I would leave the house. The house may not even be the safest place for you.

Maybe it's a surprise to you, but our bodies are extremely<b/> resistant to most germs. People have been traveling and staying in public accomodations for thousands of years. I never heard of a hotel disease killing hundreds, thousands or millions of us. I don't have statistics to back me up, but I would be willing to bet a lot, that there are millions, maybe hundred millions of guests on any average night staying at hotels all over the world. Do you see an epidemic breaking out?

Finding out that there maybe something on the wall or on the seat in the hotel would not be pleasant, but again, if you only knew what goes on in restaurants, trains, airplanes, your friends house, you would never go anywhere.

Do you know that USDA and I'm sure most governmental food control agencies in the world allow certain amount of hairs, fecal matter, and other stuff in any food that gets sold to the public?

The bottom line is this, we as humans can't avoid most germs/pollution that hits us on a daily basis, but due to the wonderful and many think, magical make up of our body, we are able to resist most of the invisible critters.

So chill out, and try to enjoy life. Nothing wrong with few precautions, but I do think you are taking it way too far.

What about within your own homes? Are there other family members? Ass-gas in the sheets from your own spouse? Kids? Older parent? Visitors? Seems the chance of "catching" something is just as great in your own home as somewhere else.

And consider this. The less you expose yourself to common germs, the less immunity you have in your body. And a place with the least common germs (like a hospital, where they use pretty strong disinfectant for everything) is the place with the most nasty germs that are resistant to cleaning agents and drugs.

We don't live in a void; microbes are everywhere. More we care about disinfecting this and disinfecting that, the more likely we are going to suffer and die from them.

Annabel -- you really "crack" me up, but some of this stuff is really food for thought.

I have lots of friends who travel with their pets, and you can bet they don't run and point it out to the management when kitty has sprayed on the furniture or barfed on the floor.

And then there was the time when my friend and her kitty arrived at the $250-a-night hotel, one flight ahead of their luggage. Obviously, the closest thing to a litter box was the bathtub.

The problem with the philosophy diazkris and annabel are putting forth is the inconsistency.
Nothing wrong with being careful in a hotel.
But you ARE exposing yourself to countless disease causing bugs when you breathe (recirculated) airplane air, touch the FILTHY seats and arm rests of a plane, touch money, touch any public door handle or knob....
The list just goes on.

You're fooling yourselves. The hotel precautions you take probably cut your overall exposure by 1-2% in a 24 hour period.

Please re-read my posts.......I am not afraid of germs--I just think sleeping on OTHER peoples drool, funk whatever is gross. For example - just because you know you can't get sick from it does not mean it is not discusting. I don't watch fear factor becuase it is discusting..I don't sit on the seat in an airplane because it's discusting. I know smelling someone elses farts in an elevator will not make me sick but it certainly is discusting, isn't it? There is a difference, I just happen to find some things gross, but I am not afraid of germs. We travel all over the place, eat out 3-4x a week I live a normal life, I just might see more than the person who travels once a year does.

Also I have noticed lots of people using the Sky Mall magazine for other things than reading then putting it back. So I never touch that either. If you have ever wondered why the pages are stuck together --- well I'll tell you why...it's snot. Just last week I saw a woman in the next aisle with a stream of snot hanging out her nose at least 4 inches long in a hanging drip like egg whites...what did she do..she reached across and grabbed the Sky Mall Magazine and flung it in there with her finger. She closed the magazine up and put it back. Need I say more? Do you think she is the minority or the majority? I have seen more people use it as a kleenex than a kleenex. Do you really want to read it now? If you say that does not bother you, than I am not the one with the problem. I just don't know why people have to be so discusting. Like I said, I travel often and maybe I do see more thatn the average person. This is just what I have SEEN, not read about. In the future bring your own magazine.

It's just like the Dial Soap commercial..."not as clean as you think?"

Annabel -- does this mean you wouldn't take a book out from a library either? Or who's to say the magazine you buy isn't just as contaminated (after all, think how many people have flipped through it at the store?) I'm not trying to be rude, I'm really just curious after reading your last post.

Paranoia will destroy ya!!!!!!!!!

I think some people have no children. It is impossible to think about germs the same way after having a child. Anyone remember trying to keep a pacifier clean when the baby insists on tossing it so you will catch it?
How about babies picking up everything off of every surface and sticking it in their mouth?
Then they wipe their mouths and hands off on you.
We won't discuss the diaper parts.
Every day we are bombarded with germs..you would have to live in a bubble to escape what seems to cause you such dread!
We knew someone who behaved the way you sound, he washed the change he had in his pockets when he came home. He would cross the street if he heard someone sneeze. He would use a handkerchief when he opened doors so as not to touch them. He was no healthier than anyone else, just a little crazier.

Can you read??? It's not about germs or paranoia, but discusting behavior.

I also think there are more people flying than going to the library on any given day. So your odds on taht are way off. Who needs a library when theres the internet and also amazon.com, where you can actually buy a book for less than it would cost to pay the library's late charge.

Maybe you will get a Sky Mall magazine so filled with snot that you go from page 3 to 25 because they are all stuck together or an ice bucket that smells like piss some day..don't say I did not warn ya!


What do you do when you go to an expensive restaurant and your wine glass has lipstick on it? Do you ignore it and drink from the other side or ask the waiter for a new one?

Annabelle, you seem to have a problem with bodily secretions and are obssessing over them. I think you need to relax and think about something else now.

Anyone else guessing that Annabel is single?

rwilliams, What is your point?

I noticed references to money in a couple of posts. Sorry, this doesn't have anything to do with the original question, but has anyone else ever heard the story of the man with the "ass-pennies"? According to the story, he had such a disdain for his fellow members of the human race, that he "supposedly" stuck every penny he ever got into his butt, before he spent it. Then, he had the satisfaction of knowing that anyone who ever received or handled one of "his" pennies had touched his "funk" ... sorry, I just couldn't help myself ...

The latest reasearch indicates one reason there is so much asthma and other "trendy" diseases among American children is because of all the "disenfectant" soaps and neat freak mothers. In generations past, kids developed immunity by living among normal people with normal habits. Nowadays so many folks are worried about every little germ they don't develop immunity to them.

EVERYTHING you do subjects you to germs. In a restaurant, have you ever sent a meal back to the kitchen? Talk about disgusting habits You can't even say on TV what the chef might have done to your meal before sending it back to you.

Relax and enjoy that lovely hotel room, clean-ish carpet, clean-ish tub, etc. The amount of water in a typical bathtub dilutes any germs to waaaaaay below the danger level. . . .

Anabel- you tell us you continue your obsessive behavior because of your fear of gross and disgusting things. Why then do you think that writing such gross and disgusting details here is acceptable?

Just understand that you are NOT normal and quit trying to talk others into joining you in your obsession! Sheeesh! there are medications that can help you relax.

Maybe there is something to the fear factor comment. I have friends who love the show and I can't even watch the commercials. I rarely read library books, and buy lots of discounted paperbacks (except university library books-- I can't imagine even the most extreme "germophobe" could work on a doctorate without using a library).
I take the blanket cover off right away and prove my own point since I usually have no choice but to leave it on the floor. I wear slippers in the room and usually in the shower. I hope that the toilet and sink take priority in cleaning since I don't line the seat and put my toothbrush near the sink. I just started travelling with my own pillow and two cases-- and I sleep so much better knowing that I can burrow my head into the pillow. After a particularly questionable blanket in a hotel I've been travelling with a light-- but warm enough-- easy to pack fleece blanket which I put on top of the sheet. Most importantly, I never use a hotel wash cloth-- I have seen too much on those things (in motels as well as really nice hotels) and always take a few washcloths with me. If I'm going to one place for a few days at least I will try to take some towels but I usually use the towels in the room (after checking them as well as I can) Maybe this is extreme-- but it is natural and easy for me-- and I do have confirmation that I'm not the only one.

My boyfriend and I knew we were made for each other when we discovered we both crossed the street when we saw someone sneezing in a nasty manner. I know germs are everywhere, but the thought of breathing in a stranger's spit is gross. But raise your hand if you've ever taken home a stranger from a bar!

But the only "germyphobe" thing I do in hotels is get rid of that gross comforter, and that's probably just a habit from my mom.

And until I came to this forum I never tipped a maid, and I hope to the sweet baby jesus I saved her from having to touch one more nasty germ infested dollar bill.

What? Settle down, the world's a gross place.

love
roxy

Sorry, I can't stand it anymore. Annabel, it's d-i-s-g-u-s-t-i-n-g, with a "g" not a "c." Root word "gust" as in gusto, gustatory, having to do with taste. As a friend of mine always says, "De gustibus non est disputandum," which means there's no arguing over matters of taste -- so that's all I've got to say on this matter!

That too, thanks Marilyn, that spelling was driving me nutty too.

luv
roxy

"Anyone else guessing that Annabel is single?"

Can you imagine her sex life? Discusting!

I'm not a guffaw kind of person, but this thread has made me laugh right out loud. Annabel, please say it ain't so, and that you are pulling our collective legs just a little bit--it does read that way.

Not that my life is any of your business, but just to let you know you are wrong on all counts. So I guess you are not as smart as you think!

Well except for the one who corrected my spelling - you are definately a much better person than most.

Parenthood does not cure germ freaks; my mom raised two (relatively normal) kids and nevertheless is one of the worst. Probably not OCD, cuz she's not into senseless repetition. But she won't use library books and in restaurants she cleans the silverware with alcohol wipes that she always carries in her purse. I don't think she's touched a public doorknob wth her bare hands in years.

Leave annabelle alone. She is entitled to hr opinions, she was just answering diazkris questions.
It is interseting though to see all the comments from everyone.

Yes - I CAN READ - it is not that you are afraid of catching something, it is just disgusting (see - proof that I can read!)

That said, it must be very difficult for someone with this fear to go anywhere or have anyone into their home. Every aspect of our lives is filled with disgusting germs.

And as far as distinguishing between high priced hotels and Motel 6 - as a community health RN, I find that there is not a difference between someones economic status in life and their level of pigginess - in fact, most homes of people of very limited means are more super-scrubbed with Pine Sol (I can smell it) before they know I am coming that those in million dollar homes.

Um - Annabel - the word is spelled "definitely", not "definately".
Sorry.

There were several articles written in the 1890s warning people about dirty library books -- not books with smutty content, but books that could spread the dreaded MICROBES from person to person! The concurrent rise of public libraries and the popularization of science and germ-theory prompted a rash (so to speak) of worries that people were getting diseases from libraries.

The more things change......

(By the way, many who study the epidemic levels of asthma note the higher rates in cities and are far more worried about generic, industry- and car-created air pollution and decrepit old city buildings than they are about household cleaners, although household cleaners are not entirely out of the picture.)

Annabel, I'm fine with your neurosis but would you please keep the graphic descriptions to yourself?

I have a weak stomache and your descriptions are freaky.

We defunitly discust this thurally.

I asculutaley aggrree wit yu, mrwunrful.

Mee twoo!

You all are being mean...

Tess,
she started it!! LOL~

Actually, anyone going into such nauseating details about bodily functions and secretions, can hardly be a delicate flower, now can they?

Scarlet,

I feel like I'm listening to my kids bicker--'She started it!!' 'Bodily secretions, bodily secretions, nah nah nah!'

Tee hee

Exactly

Well, let's see now:

I do wash my hands after I've petted a dog or a cat, if it's possible. That's because I'm terribly allergic to their fur. But I love dogs and cats!

I also carry my own slippers. It's because they are more comfortable than bare feet for me. A lot of hotels and motels don't offer slippers.

I never take a bath. I only shower. Even at home.

I love tripled sheeted hotel beds, love the big fat thirsty towels, and do try to use only the plastic cups that are plastic-wrapped, so I'm the only one using the cup.

Having stayed in hundreds of hotel rooms, I try not to touch too many surfaces. The comforter and the blanket don't bother me. I'm not touching them. Only the sheets. They have to be very clean. I lay out all my clean clothes on the sheets, so they don't touch the blanket nor the comforter.

My entire family opens public bathroom doors with the paper that we just dried our hands with. We've become expert basketball players when tossing that paper into the waste container. This is a family habit.

I take the same precautions whether it's a four star hotel or the Calcutta YMCA with it's bedbug-filled mattresses.

Do all these precautions make me some kind of freak or half-freak?

I think the answer lies in if you believe in bipolar toilets...Annabel says that she flushes the toilet (a few times) to get rid of the germs, then says to beware of flushing toilets because they shoot doo-doo twenty feet in the air.

wolfshin: Annabel does close the lid every time.
easytraveler: you are about a quarter freak, maybe less; maybe diazkris is only a half freak, considering Annabel.
Tess: not being mean, just answering the questions.

This thread is a hoot. Reminded me of my mother's experience at her local library. She was returning a bestseller and told the librarian that it was the dirtiest book she had ever gotten from the library. She said it was so disgusting she almost couldn't finish it. The librarian was perplexed and said that they hadn't had any other complaints about the book. My mother opened up the book and started showing her all the filthy (with food and who knows what) pages. They both then realized what the other was referring to and had a good laugh.

Germs are all over, but I do try to avoid them especially when I travel. I try to wash my hands frequently and avoid touching doorknobs, handrails, etc. One of the worst experiences in my opinion is to catch the 24-hour "flu" while you're on a trip...

I wish I'd never read this thread. Before I did I'd never heard of "ass germs" before. Now I'll never be able to sit down on anything again. Thanks a bunch!

Boy did I pick the wrong thread to start off my week while eating breakfast!

Half the time I'm getting grossed out. The other half I'm snorting my cereal thru my nose laffing!

I guess my habit of licking the keys in an elevator and the remote control for the TV is a bit "freaky"?

This thread can't possibly be for real but it is highly amusing. I think we should award the "Where is Howard Hughes when we need him" award to diazkris. :

I just keep running a commercial through my mind as I read this thread.

Guy is looking at a new car on a sales lot when a couple approaches with obvious interest. As they get close he leans down and licks the driver side door handle. I love that commercial!

Everybody has issues I guess. My answer to the original question: germ freak

I'm with you Kal.

This does however remind me of humorous story...
A friend of mine was at the airport with his wife and their two young boys. They've got them hand in hand, being very careful, etc. and so forth. When while they are waiting in line to board the plane, he is holding the hand of his two year old, he glancing down at him smiling to see that his little boy has mouth open and his tongue on one of the divider posts next to the line of people boarding. He was just horrified.
You have to know my friend, he is somewhat of a clean freak, but that story always makes me laugh.
Personally, while staying clean, and being somewhat cautious, I try NOT to think about all the germs out there, especially while in a hotel, alas I would never being able to fall asleep if I did!

Safe journey to all.

Annabel,
Can you just tell us where on the plane you do sit, if not on the seat?

That's got to make it pretty difficult to fasten your seat belt.

Thank you, mrwunrfl, now I can go through the rest of the day, knowing my exact status as a quarter freak!

BTW,I don't obsess about the cracks in the hotel bathroom tile, in which cracks a kzillion germs reside.

Nor do I obsess when petting a cat that I am touching the cat's dander, which is another name for dry cat spit.

Yes, this is a troll post in my book. I wonder what diazkris will say or do if she knew that she can maintain food in her digestive system only because of the millions of germs that reside INSIDE of her?

We all have to coexist and, as the more recent guests on this earth, maybe we should respect the other critters a bit more. I once saw a marvellously explanatory diagram which put the entire billions of years lifecyle of the earth as a 12 hour clock. Human beings will be on earth something like 1/2 hour, between 4:30 and 5, whereas bacteria, viruses, and other small critters will be on earth a lot longer, something like between 3 and 8 o'clock. So, I think it's really the germs that are saying: "Let those humans live awhile, their time on earth is so short".

RE: Leona's comment

I too was wondering where Annabel sits ("I don't sit on the seat in an airplane because it's discusting")...maybe she covers it with one of those keen car seat covers you can get at a flea market (or would she not go to something so discusting sounding as a flea market)? Maybe she has a little travel can of Lysol? And maybe she could go through the whole plane before takeoff and Lysol down the unkempt masses! Say 'aaahh'!

Itchin' for your love,
roxy

Oh Roxy, girl, your closing did give me my Monday chuckle.

The best part of this thread is that Annabel's responses get wackier and wackier each time.

And if she's right that rinsing the tub with hot water will "kill anything," I guess we're all OK with jumping into the community hot tub.

Kal, very funny

When my son was about 6 and we were driving behind a NYC bus, in the winter, he asked, Would you lick the back of the bus for One Million dollars?
Sort of reminds me of this~

Annabel, if fecal masses can go up 20 feet in the air, and you flash toilet twice, I assume standing there, what happens? You inhale it?

And whis is it everybody says the sheets are clean? They are washed in the same laundry machine with the towels, and who knows what they were used for?

Ahhhh, what can give you a better feeling on Monday then to make a paranoid person even more paranoid

So I guess the consensus is I'm only 1/2 freak but still freak enough to win the Howard Hughes award. I'm not trolling and I'm defiantely not half as neurotic as Annabel. In fact, I've been known to taste the grapes at the grocery store before buying them and even follow the "five second rule" at times. I grew up with dogs and a cat. I guess everyone has things they are picky about and hotel rooms and bathrooms happen to be mine. Perhaps I have seen one too many Today shows with travel guy Peter Greenberg. Sorry to have ruined someone's breakfast and hope I didn't put a damper on your next hotel stay...

This thread reminds me of the one by Fussy Traveler some time ago asking if anyone else traveled with their own bedsheets. As I recall, FT defended her practice (despite staying in $3-400/night hotels) but then eventually admitted that she also did not like to use cloth napkins, which had nothing to do with their cleanliness, but rather with the contact of food with fabric. Okaaaaaay.....

I did a search to try to top it (it was on Other Topics) but I couldn't find the thread. Anyone?

Whoa, diazkris, you wear flip flops in the hotel shower which has presumably been cleaned with disinfectant, but you eat unwashed grapes and have been known to follow the 5 second rule? You're right, we all have our things we're picky about!

And really, no matter how neurotic or strange you are, there's always someone weirder!

I mean ""definitely", Sorry Meetshare!

Scarlett: last week Jay Leno had a guy walking around in Manhattan asking passersby what they would be willing to do for $5.
A relatively normal looking guy volunteered to lick the bottom of the interviewer's shoe for $5. (And it was a legitimate full-tongue lick).

I'm guessing he's probably not related to Annabel.

OK, now THAT'S a freak.

Question's answered!

I think this thread doesn't have nearly enough discussion of icky stuff on airplanes, where people are packed so tightly and eat, sleep, drool, cough, etc. in recirculated air.

Hasn't anyone seen the studies of the quantity of germs on airplane seat-back trays being higher than the toilet seats, since they're cleaned less often?!

This was pointed out to Annabel in particular, but her response was that she doesn't sit on the airplane seats.
(I'm still trying to visualize how this is done, and how one avoids touching anything on a plane).

Parts of me have been known to levitate given certain stressful situations like germ exposure or flying. :-"

But I still have to click on a seabelt.

I kinda look like a Macy's Day parade float when the flight attendants lead me down the isle to my seat.

Maybe Annabel wears disposable rubber gloves on airplanes.

The way I figure it, with maids in and out of the rooms every day, most hotels are a lot cleaner than my own home. But then I like things clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy!

Ms Marilyn-YER KILLIN' ME!!!
Can you just turn the rubber gloves inside out and use them again?

Here ya go, Marilyn.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?screen_name=fussy_traveller&fid=1

Oops... wrong link. Sorry Fussy Traveler

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=134&tid=34438397

Thanks, kkraczek! Now why couldn't I find it?

I searched for "travel with sheets" and got it. Even topped it! Let's see if we get more weirdos in there besides me

Kal - Floating high above us - you crack me up!

Marilyn: when you come to stay, should I break out the rubber gloves along with the Chardonnay?

And after a long debate with myself I just HAVE to say this: I hope rubber gloves is the only thing Kal is turning inside out. For Mrs Kal's sake that is... women's solidarity ya know...

"I like things clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy"

Jane1973--I love it!!!That is perfect!

easytraveler, I'll just slurp it out of the bidet.

eeewwww.... anybody had a doggie dish?

It's getting a little boring without Annabel so let me tell a funny story:
We took my two sons to Disney World when they were about 3 and 6. Being the mother of two sons it was always my pleasure to send my husband into the men's restroom with them while I waited outside. One day while I was waiting, I started to notice that each man who exited the restroom had a grin on his face or was outright laughing. But no sign of my three guys. When my husband finally emerged he looked very aggravated, and my sons were not happy either. It seems that when they entered the bathroom my husband told the boys that they couldn't touch the urinals. Well, my older son who was very proud of how much he had grown said, "Yes I can, daddy, see?" He then took both hands and ran them across the inside of the urinals. My younger son said "Me too daddy", and proceeded to do the same thing at another urinal. My husband was horrified and dragged them over to the sink and scrubbed and scrubbed their hands, to the amusement of all the other men who were in earshot. Nobody got sick, but I thought my hubby was going to have a stroke.

Actually, fresh urine is sterile, unless somebody's got a urinary-tract infection. You could call it the bodily excretion with the lowest "yuck factor".

Sez you, Anonymous. I'm sure there are those who would disagree.

Shall we start a post on "What is your least favorite bodily fluid and why?"

Tears, Marilyn.

It has occurred to me that Annabell must not go bowling.


Perfect, mrwunrfl~

Awww, mrwunrfl, what a beautiful answer.

LOL Scarlett!

Anonymous is correct.
So long as this thread is already dedicated to the grimier side of human existence, I'll point out that thorough desert survival knowledge includes simple methods of extracting the water from urine to stave off dehydration.

Annabel,

I am not going to make a comment on your germ concerns, but if you think rinsing with hot water is going to kill anything you better think again.

Even if water is BOILING, you need to expose a contaminated surface for at least 5 minutes to kill the least virulent germs.

I don't mean to add to the paranoia...

Oh, no! Melissa!

And I was just going to rinse out my bidet with hot water - twice

Marilyn, when you come, you're going to have to float around the house like Kal. LOL!

She sits on a towel in her robe and flip flops and rinses everything out with hot water, flushes three times with the lid down and what difference does it make, she is still in the asylum where they only have internet access once a week~

All this talk about funk, and then there's a thread on defunked parks.

To be funked or defunked, that.. is the discusting question, that we're discusseding.

It's a mad, mad, mad and somewhat infectious world.

Never mind all of these worries about bedspreads or toilet seats. The most important thing you can do to prevent infectious diseases is to wash your hands frequently. A tried and true method.

willtravel, do you have to take the rubber gloves off before washing your hands?

Yikes. Maybe I just didn't get enough sleep last night, but why all the petty nastiness here lately?

Gee, I don't do any of the things that dizkris or annabel do, and think some of them excessive or (like Melissa pointed out) ineffective, but I don't see the need to speculate on their personal lives or make fun of them.

I don't have a problem with anyone disagreeing, but some of you are starting to sound like bullies.

OK, now I guess you can start attacking me! Gee, she doesn't have any sense of humor...wow, I bet she didn't have any coffee this morning...

Karen,
That was exactly my point yesterday when I said that a few people on this forum were being just plain mean. Scarlett in particular, I'm surprised--this doesn't sound like you. Don't tell me that all that Florida sun is changing you!

karens, I am sorry you see it as petty nastiness, a friend and I were saying how finally there is some humour back on the boards.
Try to see it as just a goofy thread and nothing personal..and I will join you in that second/third cup of coffee

LOL, Tess,
Funny that you should mention Florida..usually one is fussed at for sounding like a New Yorker..

I must agree with Scarlett - this thread has been making me chuckle all weekend. I don't think anybody is being nasty, although some of Annabel's posts are a bit icky to read.

I apologize if some of my posts came across as "mean".

As with Scarlett, I was attempting to inject some humor in what - you must admit - is a pretty extraordinary situation.

We are surrounded by germs of all kinds and to be freaked out by some but not by others is, well, pretty unusual.

Have a great day, germy or not!

WHAT? Petty nastiness and misunderstandings on the Fodor's board?

Next thing you know there will be gambling at Rick's.

Would a clean-freak have a problem going to GERMany?

Marilyn, You're such a classy dame I bet you keep one pinky out while slurping away in the bidet.

This has to be the funniest thread in a long time! It just doesn't stop! My motto is is always "Go for it, this isn't a practice life" but having read all these wonderful posts, I can see now that I could go either way!!!!!!

Thanks for the humor......check in at Baltimore tommorrow night - I'll be thinking of ass germs!!!! LOL

Kal, I'm so classy I keep TWO pinkys out!

"...My motto is is always "Go for it, this isn't a practice life"...I can see now that I could go either way!!!!!!"

Reply: is that you, Ann Heche, hiding behind Lily's logon name?


"...I'll be thinking of ass germs!!!!"

Reply: now connect this thread with the "why is the air on airplanes making me sick" thread. Good thing we can't actually see what's in the air we breathe.

Sorry Ted! LOL! It's just me Lily, when I say go both ways I meant being a germ freak or not. I am happily married to a wonderful guy that I don't mind sharing germs with!!!

Goodness, how utterly weird! Jeeeez, all weekend!!! Find something to do!

TedTurner: Now that you have brought up the subject of the air on airplanes, maybe we should also connect this with the "inflight odors" thread on the Other Topics forum. One of these days, when someone starts a "disasters when traveling with your pet" thread, I have a pretty good story about what one of mine did on a plane a few years ago.

Diazkris and Annabel,

I think that this topic has been beaten to death, but here is my take anyway.

If you are squeamish and don't like the thought of someone else's body fluids or other "stuff" in hotels etc. and you work at "protecting" yourself from it - that all fine and good, I have no problem with that.
But please be aware of some basic facts about bacteria.
There are so many different types of bacteria on this planet that microbiologists have not even begun to identify all of them. And here's the good news - most of them are not pathogenic - that is - they do NOT cause disease in humans. So even if they are present on a bedspread, they are harmless.
And another thing, the bacteria that ARE pathogenic thrive in conditions specific to the human body - moist, warm (body temp = 98F), and access to living cells. In the absence of same, eg - a cold hard dry surface, they will quickly die. And that's why most bacterial diseases are spread human to human, and not bedspread to human, or bathtub to human.
Bacteria are of course single cell organisms and living. Viruses are not bacteria, and as a matter of fact are in the "grey area" between "living" and "not living" (a RNA or DNA core with a protein coat), and their epidemiological vectors vary from those of bacteria.
Fungus is quite another life form, they have evolved techniques to survive extreme conditions (spores etc.) and are probably the microorganisms that cause rashes in hot tubs (also cause athlete's foot).
So although it is safe to take wide-ranging all-embracing (no pun intended) precautions, it is wiser to take the appropriate ones for specific circumstances. Hotels in the US and most western countries are not teeming with dangerous diseases, so relax a little !!

I come to forums to read about things and hope to learn a few things, which I'm sure I would.

Thanks to this post I'm made aware of how dirty hotel rooms can be. I think I'll bring some anti-bacterial lotions and a Lysol cleaner with me when I travel. Better to be safe than sorry. I'm sure nothing in the hotel bathroom would kill you but you might just contract some diseases.

diazkris asked for opinions. Annabel shared what she does. I don't see why strangers need to ridicule other people's habits and why she brought out such viciousness in stranger. We all do what we do.

I agree with the suggestion to "relax". Spelling corrections? Please. Sometimes people type fast before they leave, keyboard problems, or just plain oversight.

I'm not Annabel but I think she meant she doesn't sit on airplane toilet seats, which I don't do in any public bathrooms as well. I squat or put cover it with toilet paper.

Anyone see Oprah on 4/13 about germs in ones own home - had microbiology guy culturing sponges, mattresses, etc. He told one woman her toilet would have been a cleaner place to drop a carrot than her sink. Now it is not even safe to stay home!

To "singlegalzzzz" and any other "squatters" here who tinkle over the seat: I certainly hope you clean up after yourself - thoroughly. My #1 pet peeve about traveling are those of you who leave a mess for the next person on that seat. It's one of American women's dirtiest little secrets and desperately needs to be cleaned up.

Regarding the spelling corrections, I have come to regard the spelling police as a tradition on Fodors. When I see something incorrectly spelled, I wait and see who will pounce, and how they will present their corrections (nice, nasty, or neurotic, "I'm just being helpful" or "How stupid can you be? or "This is driving me nuts!") Have any of the spellers seen the movie "Spellbound"? It chronicles the lives of 8 kids who make it to the Natl. Spelling Bee one year and it is very funny.

BRAVO CASSANDRA! Seat-sprinklers beware: if you walk out and leave me a wet seat, I'm going to call LOUD attention to you. If you can't be clean, at least be ashamed. Talk about discusting dizgusting revolting -- if you've ever hovered over a seat and left it a mess, you can't say a WORD about any hotel bedspreads, bathroom floors, or people who don't wash their hands.

I am a mature adult posting and I am mature enough to clean up after myself.

However, not sure if I'm posting to a civil mature crowd - one mention of anything and nasty accusations abound. So, only American women leave dirty toilet seatcovers, huh?

Frankly, I'm sick of the nastiness, vicious meanness, and accusations on here. That's why I posted a reply. That's why I am not going to hang, around much. Not that it matters much.

To Cassandra and cfc, hope you do what you preach.

Peace out.

Why is this thread so irresistible? (god I hope I spelled that right)... Nothing like obsessive compulsive phobias to bring out the opionions. But it's been educational, thanks to posters like Borealis who offered a little microbiology lesson.
However, the best travel advice I've gleaned here is to know the hangups of my travel companions lest they "infect" my good times!

"singlegalzzz," if you do clean up after yourself, great -- you could hang from the light fixtures to t.c.b. for all I care. Wasn't aiming "nastiness" specifically your way, just agreeing with Cassandra, who I don't think was being nasty to you. And no, Americans aren't the only ones who leave toilets dirty... far from it... but they do tend to pretend they care about cleanness and antiseptics and such more than anyone else. Anyone remember the old toilets that had purple UV lights to sanitize public toilet seats?

I just can't help myself!!! The toilet seat problem is very universal, and is also a big pet peeve of mine. I never sit on a public toilet (thanks to my mom's warnings), and although I do not leave sprinkles - I will not clean up after someone else, so bottom line, make sure before you go shouting at someone in public you are sure of the culprit.

By the way, shouldn't this be a separate thread???

Here's a little gem that's came my way on the net recently and I think it deserves a home here:

Subject: Dedicated to any woman who has used a public toilet!!


My mother was a fanatic about public toilets. As a little girl, she'd bring me into the stall, teach me to wad up toilet paper and wipe the seat. Then, she'd carefully lay strips of toilet paper to cover the seat. Finally, she'd instruct, "Never, never sit on a public toilet seat!!"

And she'd demonstrate "The Stance", which consisted of balancing over the toilet in a sitting position without actually letting any of your flesh make contact with the toilet seat. But by this time, I'd have wet down my leg. And we'd go home.

That was a long time ago. Even now in our more mature years, The Stance is excruciatingly difficult to maintain when one's bladder is especially full. When you have to "go" in a public bathroom, you find a line of women that makes you think there's a half price sale on Mel Gibson's underwear in there. So, you wait and smile politely at all the other ladies also crossing their legs and smiling politely. And you finally get closer. You check for feet under the stall door. Every one is occupied.

Finally, a stall door opens and you dash, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter. You hang your purse on the door hook, yank down your pants and assume The Stance. Relief. More relief.

Then your thighs begin to shake. You'd love to sit down but you certainly hadn't taken the time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold The Stance as your thighs experience a quake that would register an eight on the Richter scale.

To take your mind off it, you reach for the toilet paper. The toilet paper dispenser is empty. Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on-that's in your purse. It would have to do. You crumble it in the puffiest way possible. It is still smaller than your thumbnail. Someone pushes open your stall door because the latch doesn't work and your purse whams you in the head. "Occupied" you scream as you reach out for the door, dropping your tissue in a puddle and falling backward, directly onto the toilet seat.

You get up quickly, but it's to late. Your bare butt has made contact with all the germs and life forms on the toilet seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper, not that there was any, even if you had enough time to. And your mother would be utterly ashamed of you if she knew, because her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because frankly, "You don't know what kind of diseases you could get".

And by this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, sending up a stream of water into a fountain and then it suddenly sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged to China. At that point, you give up.

You're soaked by the splashing water. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a Chicklet wrapper you found in your pocket, then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the sinks with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past a line of women, still waiting, cross-legged and unable to smile politely at this point. One kind soul at the very end of the line points out that you are trailing a piece of toilet paper on your shoe as long as the Mississippi River!! You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and say warmly, "Here. You might need this!"

At this time, you see your spouse, who has entered, used and exited his bathroom and read a copy of War and Peace while waiting for you. "What took you so long?" he asks, annoyed. This is when you kick him sharply in the shin and go home.

This is dedicated to all women everywhere who have ever had to deal with a public toilet. And it finally explains to all you men what takes us so long!!


(Author unknown)

There are many reason to freak! I swear we spent the night on "used"sheets one night in what was supposed to be nice small hotel-husband thought I was wrong (hope so). He pulled blanket back at a chain motel and found blood on the sheet...boy, did the manager fly to change it! Those are the two instances that come to mind that were blatant to me.

It's a good thing bacteria doesn't have as long a life as this thread.

Seriously, ladies, let's start a movement. IF EVERYONE WOULD SIT DOWN, THE SEAT WOULD NEVER BE WET!!! Think about it! (Yes, this is a pet peeve of mine as well, LilyLace, Cassandra, cfc.)

As for spelling, I really do try to control myself. 999 times out of a thousand I do NOT correct other posters. But I think I'm doing someone a favor when they don't know how to spell one of their favorite words, don't you? (Loved Spellbound.)

Borealis: Unfortunately, the old saw "if it dries, it dies" has been proven untrue; baceria (including staph and enterococci) were found to survive for months on fabrics and plastic, the only materials tested.

Maybe the Italians have it right by just putting a hole in the floor for public restrooms.

Put me solidly (no squatting allowed) in the camp of those who would love to throttle the "sprinklers", and my guess, considering some of her posts, is that Annabel is among those who sprinkle and run!

If it's any consolation, Anonymous, enterococci is a streptococcus, but usually nonpathogenic. Anyone's kids ever cultured swabs from your kitchen counters for high school science fairs? You'd be astounded at what grows on that agar from a seemingly clean counter. You really aren't as clean as you think!! Oh, and when was the last time you cleaned the "dirtiest quarter inch" in your kitchen? Truth now...and yet we all survive, and relatively healthily even!!

Very funny, peterboy, as is this whole thread. I would like to hear from someone who works in the hotel industry: what do they do when they travel? I've talked to many people who worked in restaurants who say all sorts of terrible things about what goes on in the kitchens, but they still go out to eat. I wonder about people who work in hotels????

Peterboy - your little gem made me laugh so hard I had tears streaming down my face - thank you for my laugh of the day.

Anonymous - please re-read my explanation of things microbiological, and pay special attention to the difference between pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. Note also that "old saws" may have a germ ( !) of truth to them, but are often too broad and general, so that even one exception proves them to be false.

Jayne1973 - you are a very clever - I am indeed a microbiologist

Boealis, the study that refuted the drying/dying principle was strictly about pathogenic bacteria, and they were tested on fabrics that resemble airline upholstery. One of the reasons for the spread of nosocomial infections is resilience of pathogenic bacteria on unexpected surfaces.

Borealis--since you are now the offical board scientist, can you answer one question?
My sister (who although is not a scientist yet is on her way to grad school to play with telomers and such) says that there is nothing you can catch from a toilet seat and the paper cover is merely psychological. It sounded good to me and since then I never worry about paper, squatting, etc. Is she right? Lets say the toilet was covered in random invisible germs. There is nothing you could pick up that would make you ill or feel discomfort--correct??

While I was on a trip to Guangzhou, China, in the restaurant where we were eating, the "Western" toilets were out of commission. We were asked to use the Chinese ones. Surprise, the bowl is in the floor, with grid marks on each side for where you put your feet. And yes, then you squat. Not great for pants, as you had to pull them up to your knees to prevent them gettting wet. We also had a bit of a discussion (and a laugh) as to which way you were supposed to face (toward the handle or away from the handle? Away is correct.) Certainly solves the problem about whether to sit or not...

As far as germ phobic...I had a neighbor once who was more than a bit over the top (OCD & a bit Agoraphobic as well, I think). Her husband would go grocery shopping, and once he got home, he would have to stand outside the open front door of the apartment, open and unwrap each item purchased, and hand it over the threshold to his wife who would immediately re-wrap it and put it away. They did the same thing with mail. And despite all this, her kids were always sick.

I've traveled around the world, and the only quirk I have is that bedspread thing. My first boyfriend's family owned a motel and he told me all about them long ago.

Just an amazing discussion - thanks to all who contributed.

Re: pathogens surviving on toilet seats, this abstract from the Journal of Applied Microbilogy will fan the flames of Annabel's paranoia:

Survival of Salmonella in bathrooms and toilets in domestic homes following salmonellosis.

Barker J, Bloomfield SF.

Pharmaceutical Sciences Institute, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK
The survival and environmental spread of Salmonella bacteria from domestic toilets was examined in homes, where a family member had recently suffered an attack of salmonellosis. In four out of six households tested, Salmonella bacteria persisted in the biofilm material found under the recess of the toilet bowl rim which was difficult to remove with household toilet cleaners. In two homes Salmonella bacteria became incorporated into the scaly biofilm adhering to the toilet bowl surface below the water line. Salmonella enteritidis persisted in one toilet for 4 weeks after the diarrhoea had stopped, despite the use of cleaning fluids. Salmonellas were not isolated from normally dry areas such as, the toilet seat, the flush handle and door handle. Flushing the toilet resulted in contamination of the toilet seat and the toilet seat lid. In one out of three seedings, Salmonella bacteria were also isolated from an air sample taken immediately after flushing, indicating that airborne spread of the organism could contaminate surfaces in the bathroom. In the seeded toilet Salmonella bacteria were isolated from the biofilm in the toilet bowl below the waterline for up to 50 days after seeding, and also on one occasion from the bowl water. The results suggest that during diarrhoeal illness, there is considerable risk of spread of Salmonella infection to other family members via the environment, including contaminated hands and surfaces in the toilet area.
**************************************
From the same journal, kitchens are dirtier than toilets:

Reduction of faecal coliform, coliform and heterotrophic plate count bacteria in the household kitchen and bathroom by disinfection with hypochlorite cleaners.

Rusin P, Orosz-Coughlin P, Gerba C.

University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, USA.

Fourteen sites evenly divided between the household kitchen and bathroom were monitored on a weekly basis for numbers of faecal coliforms, total coliforms and heterotrophic plate count bacteria. The first 10 weeks comprised the control period, hypochlorite cleaning products were introduced into the household during the second 10 weeks, and a strict cleaning regimen using hypochlorite products was implemented during the last 10 weeks. The kitchen was more heavily contaminated than the bathroom, with the toilet seat being the least contaminated site. The highest concentrations of all three classes of bacteria were found on sites that were moist environments and/or were frequently touched; these included the sponge/dishcloth, the kitchen sink drain area, the bath sink drain area, and the kitchen faucet handle(s). The implementation of a cleaning regimen with common household hypochlorite products resulted in the significant reduction of all three classes of bacteria at these four sites and other household sites.

OK, TedTurner, but if the skin on your buttocks comes in contact with salmonella (because you didn't put TP on the seat), how do you get ill from it, assuming you wash your hands after you finish your business?

1) I'm not suggesting that sitting on toilet seats is a major cause of infections in the USA. I was merely pointing out that the notion that bugs (including STD's) can't survive on toilet seats is not entirely true (from a scientific standpoint).
2) How would the organism get from one's rear to one's hand to one's mouth? Hmmm. Think of Al Bundy or Oscar Madison or...well...no need to be graphic.

I am "grossed out" and can't believe I read this entire thread. Too much information!

What a bunch of hypochondriacs. Have you people seen " As Good As It Gets". The guy is a freak as are all you who worry about this. AAFrequentflyer is the only voice of reason on this thread. Germ freaks cause more harm by constant cleaning since it destroys normal bacterial flora that helps prevent the spread of disease and infection.

Has anyone looked at the Fodors Homepage lately?? Read the Tipster article about hotel bedspreads.

For those of you that are ignorant on the spreading of germs, I think instead of flaming me, you should educate yourself. Everything I posted is true, so if you sit on a public toilet seat, or not flush it before using among the other things posted...well that is your business.

Regarding airplane toiltes..(because I was flamed on that too)
I would like to know how you DO sit on a toilet seat? If you never got lessons.. first you flush it then you lift up the seat and you squat over the bowl and pee. It's not a very difficult thing to do. I do not leave the seat down because I know there are many of people who do sit, this way you are not sitting on my pee. Then you flush. Not a hard thing to do!

Are you trying to potty train us now?

My experience has been that people who don't sit on the seat usually wet it and don't clean it off. Yeesch!

I much prefer the posts that discuss restaurants, great food, shopping, culture, and wonderful things to see and visit. I now need a vomit bag after reading this. I am out-a-here! Too much information!

ttt

My momma always made me take a shower instead of a bath. She said 1 minute in a bath and I'm washing in dirty water.

Topping... just because

faina, are you popgear?

Not that I know of... why?

Because popgear has been topping old threads on the Europe board.

Yeah, I saw a couple.

No, I work alone.

The *crap* you can read after a 4am feeding of a sick cat...yeah, I'm nuts--and I remove the bedspread too. Ewww...and I try never to sprinkle when I tinkle

Funniest post goes to Peterboy

Faina, you have a knack for finding the obscure old posts--I love it!

One of the major players in this thread posted recently about visiting a spa! After rereading this, I can't imagine her at a spa! She must have gotten help.

-Bill

Now I finally understand why the ladies are always harping on us guys to put the toilet seat down for them.

THEY sure don't want to be touching them.

On a show like 20/20 or 60 Mins...sorry, I can't remember which one, they reported how filthy hotel rooms are. With people in and out, with so many people with issues...slobs...a hotel room can be a harbor for germs even with cleaning, the germs are present!! And, face it, most maids have many room...want the job done...and are in and out! I'm exactly like you after seeing the show! I don't use the tub! We did in Punta Cana because it was huge and romantic!!! But, otherwise I haven't. I wear flip flops in the shower!! And, I always have, my parents taught us this early in life when traveling. Who wants foot fungus? The last shower I had in a hotel smelled like piss. I think it was on the shower curtin hem. Eah!! And, that same trip, I was on a workshop with six other women. I told them I wanted to go to K-Mart next to the hotel for flip flops for the shower because I forgot mine, and they all but one purchased a pair to wear in the shower! No, you aren't a freak, just reasonable. I'm not a germ phobic...just don't like the hotel thing.

Oops. Curtain!!

"I don't use the tub! We did in Punta Cana because it was huge and romantic!!! But, otherwise I haven't."

MrsKiss, I'm sure that the tub in Punta Cana was the one tub in all the hotels in the world that was absolutely antiseptic.

Too funny Marilyn! And what a funny thread. Guess I am the odd one. I go into a hotel room and never think about all the germs etc. Good heavens, a TV show I saw showed that one of the filthiest things we touch several times a week are grocery store carts. The handles and the inside of the carts where we place our food are often filthy. Especially in areas where the homeless etc. steal the carts. Then the grocery chains pay a company to go around and collect them. And they are brought back to the grocery store "as is". Now that is somthing to gag over. And anybody that uses public transportation certainly knows how filthy that can be. And public restrooms. And some restaurant kitchens. My, it is a scary world out there isn't it? It is a wonder any of us are alive. Cheers!

I'm w/you, LoveItaly, germs are everywhere - not just in the places 60 Minutes and/or Dateline choose to profile. I heard that while most people wash their hands after using a public restroom, there are huge amounts of germs/bacteria on the handle of the door that we all open after washing on the way out!!

Every couple of years during sweeps, the local tv station will send a health inspector into someone's home and grade it like a restaurant. Most people don't do as great as they think. Meat stored above produce (contamination risk) things uncovered. And then the black light tests. Lots of germs in our homes. But, then again, they're 'our' germs and not a strangers.

If you feel better living in a bubble, go for it.

I'm Ms. Clean, and I appreciate those who are- but what about the overflow habits left by some of these OCD people, which the rest of us have to contend with in public spaces.

For example, we have a library patron who takes at least 20 paper towels and uses them and then drops them throughout the facility. She goes to the farthest rest room and waits to be a singular, but I have caught her red-handed this summer.

She would leave a trail of them near everything she had to touch. Believe me, if you work in a public space, this kind of personal litter is not that unusable. And then on the other side you have the complete slobs. That you don't want to know!

Anyone working in a library, hospital, school, restaurant etc. will protect themselves in all kinds of ways, but you couldn't do your job if you went to these extremes.

Snowrooster, this is why I have gotten into the habit of using a paper towel to open ladies' room doors on my way out. I always try to throw the towel in the garbage can after the door is open. And I always wash my hands after I've been on the subway if I had to touch anything.

I also try to bring flip flops with me for hotel rooms, but I'm starting to loosen up on that. Back in my hosteling days, when I had to travel extra light, I couldn't fit flip flops in my backpack, but I always powdered my feet after showering and I never got a foot fungus.

My sister-in-law and her daughter are germ-phobic. My little niece very carefully hovers over the toilet in the mall washroom, scrubs her hands, opens the door with her t-shirt, and then goes out into the food court and eats all that crappy food! She also has no qualms about handling money which has been through a million hands. My sister-in-law won't take a book out of the library because 'who knows who had it last' but thinks nothing of trying on clothes at the mall for hours on end. Everybody has their inconsistencies. I never worry about hotel rooms or public toilets or things like that but I can't bring myself to take a mint or jelly bean on the way out of a restaurant unless it's separately wrapped. I can't help but think that the guy who had his fingers in there just before me didn't wash his hands after peeing.
The thing that gets me is this -- we (in North America) have by far the longest lifespan we've ever had and for the most part of it we're healthy and yet we worry about germs and illness more than any other generation before us.

"we (in North America) have by far the longest lifespan we've ever had and for the most part of it we're healthy and yet we worry about germs and illness more than any other generation before us." - this is because Americans are sterilized from birth by the manufacturing companies who convince them to use all kinds of anti-bacterial crap they sell.

How many of us know being in the sun is the natural way to fight the germs off? No, the manufacturers convince you to spend big bucks on sunblocks which don't even ward off some types of skin cancer.

Faina,
It's true what you say about all that anti-bacterial stuff. I can't understand why people use anti-bacterial soap -- soap is naturally anti-bacterial. That's why it doesn't get all green and fuzzy in your soapdish. We need stronger and stronger antibiotics because we're using them so frequently and unnecessarily.

What actually happens with antibiotics is that the bacteria that are resistant to a particular drug survive and reproduce, while those against which the drug is effective are killed and do not reproduce. Gradually, a drug-resistant strain develops. It's a natural process of evolution, but overuse of antibiotics hastens it. And then we get the recurrence of nasty diseases like tuberculosis -- almost wiped out, but now on the upswing again in a drug-resistant form.

You want to worry about "germs?" This is the sort of thing you should be worried about, not catching something from a hotel bedspread or a public restroom door handle. Worry about the next outbreak of influenza, likely to kill millions. Worry, in today's global village, with so many quick and easy avenues for germs to jet set around the world, about the pathetic state of health care in the third world.

I could advance the theory that we worry about the small things because we can't do much about the big ones and they are so much more terrifying.

Just to lighten things up a bit -

I hooted so much while reading the ladies public toilet post that a colleague here at the office begged me to cut and paste whatever I was reading and E-mail it to him. He enjoyed it so much that he returned the favour by sharing the following joke with me (you can substitute the names with those of the universities of your choice):


3 male business colleagues at an all day meeting happened to be using the urinals in the Mens Room at the same time.

The first gentleman finished, went to the sink, lathered his arms up to the elbows, rubbed and scrubbed for 3 minutes, rinsed in scalding water for 2 and dried himself thoroughly on an acre of paper towels. Noticing the other 2 staring, he said "Harvard, you know - they taught us to be thorough".

The second gentleman ran water quickly over his finger tips only, dried them on a 1 inch scrap of paper towel and said "Yale - they taught us to be environmentalists".

The final gentle man turned away without washing at all saying "Duke - they taught us not to piss on our hands!"

sahara, yiou are proof that it sometimes better to scroll down and cut to the chase......very funny!!!!!!

How do you manage to get an extra sheet?
Do you need to give a reason and is the hotel always understanding? Because I think I may try that as well next time. It's something that has always disturbed me but I never figured out how to solve it. Thanks for the good idea

Great joke, Saharabee! Reminds me of a cartoon (by Kliban, I think) showing a guy coming out of the men's washroom in a restaurant. Above his head, a neon sign is flashing in huge letters "DIDN'T WASH HANDS." Too bad that can't happen in real life.

Everyone has their quirks. I don't remove the comforter as soon as we go into a hotel room, but it is always turned waaayyy down before we go to bed so it doesn't come near my face.

My quirk is hotel shower curtains. The thought of one touching me grosses me out, though I can't for the life of me figure out why. I can take the fastest showers on record just to get away from the shower curtain.

I am trained in food and beverage sanitation and have worked in the hotel industry for many years.
In a hotel room I do NOT - use the glasses rinsing with hot water is just a waste of water, same for rinsing the tub), take a bath (shower only), use a jacuzzi or sit on/use the top bed covering.
I'm not a germ-a-phobic by any means, I know the business!
To get 3 sheets you usually need to stay in a 4 or 5 star/diamond hotel but it doesn't change anything and is a silly procedure.
You are better off in places that leave the sheets on for your length of stay rather than getting new opportunities for leftover stains/germs and such each day.

I'd forgotten about this thread--it's one of the all time funniest! A classic! Thank you Faina, for starting my day with a good belly laugh.

MrsKiss...that tub in Punta Cana that was so romantic?? That was precisely the tub you should've chosen NOT to use!! LOL oh dear....

So Kagie, I assume you don't drink out of glassware anywhere - hotels, restaurants, neighbor's homes. A hotel is no different from anywhere else, better you might say than a restaurant, where five different customers can use the same glass in a single day. Who knows whether/when they were sanitized, right?

Agreed, joan! BTW, I can't help but wonder what it means to be "trained in food and beverage sanitation."

No, the tub to stay out of was at a US hotel in Harrisburg...the one I mentioned smelled like pee! Also, the tub in Mexico this past June. It was an inch full of dirty water when we arrived. Yuck Nasty Phooey. NO way. Punta Cana was spotless...highest rated hotel so I hope it was clean. Looked like it was.

My husband cooked in restaurants, but we both still eat out... What's wrong with us

Library books... public phones... door handles... bus seats... the list goes on. Come on, just use the common sence if you have it! If not, well then, too bad