kerouac

And don't forget that if a dog sticks his tongue in your mouth, his mouth is cleaner than yours.

Holly_uncasdewar

Yeah, but at least we know where a dog's tongue has been.

SeaUrchin

just put your kitchen sponge in the micowave for a minute and the bacteria will be....cooked.

GSteed

Restaurant in Wisconsin. My wife poked me, a waitress at another table was re-setting the table...and she was breathing on the silverware and then polishing it! Wife signalled a manager and pointed at the waitress. The manager went over and signalled the waitresss to follow him. Another waitress appeared and cleared that table. We shrugged our shoulders and went on with the meal.

Bloom

Worse than that is when a server talks (and spits) over your food before setting it before you. UGH.

Bloom

CathyM

"Even the water in the toilet is much cleaner than your kitchen sponge, or the top three inches of the drain"

On the news this morning they reported on a study that the bateria levels were lower in the toilet than in the ice served in restaurants.

So, I guess we'll need to bring our own plastic cups, coffee makers and no longer order ice when we go out!

charnees

There was only one time in our European travels that I felt like I was wallowing in filth. The first time we went to Paris, (1982) we could only find a room in a hotel near the Moulin Rouge whose name I have mercifully forgotten. (There was fashion showing and a car show, I think, and everything was "foooly boooked".)

The stairs were so dark that even with the 30-sec. light on you could hardly see. The bedspread was about the thickness of a man's shirt, very faded, with dark stains and -- get this!! -- Knife Cuts!! (not rips, but nice cleanly cut knife cuts.) Was someone murdered there the night before? Why didn't the police take it away as evidence? Why didn't the hotel replace it? etc.

The paint was stained and peeling from the ceiling, there were tiles off of the wall in the bathroom, and while my husband was seated on the john a mouse ran across the floor within inches of his bare feet!! The sheets and pillowcases were grey (not the original color!)

The next morning husband discovers that there is NO electric plug in the room (he had a plug-in razor.) There was one in the stairwell that ran off of that 30-sec. switch. He had to turn the switch, sit down on those dark stairs that probably had not been vacuumed in a decade, and shave until the lights went out, get up, turn the switch again, etc.

We went down to breakfast in the morning after hardly sleeping all night thinking about the dirt and what else be crawling around, and burst out laughing at all the depressed-looking American tourists sitting in the breakfast room. One couple later said, "You think this is bad? You should see where we had to stay the night before!"

Strangely enough, we had wonderful fresh croissants, and excellent cafe au lait there. We did not get sick afterward, either. I have to tell you this really colored our feelings about Paris!

So I don't think some maybe-slightly-unclean amenities in a standard hotel room are going to freak me out.

Charnee

Bloom

We had a similar experience years ago in Amboise at a B & B Rick Steves had recommended in one his books- I think the place was called Mme Thierry. I never trusted his recommendations afterwards.

Bloom

Wotravel

I have never heard about some of the things mentioned here, but I should not be surprised. Being health cautious is important. To what degree, however, it is a personal choice. I have finally bought a water bottle with built-in filter from REI. I am sure there are many similar choices out there. With that, I will not worry about using any cups at any where, or worry about any bottled water was really good or not. I plan to take this with me on my upcoming trip in Egypt. If you are worry about the sheets, you can also take a silk sleeping bag with you. I have not used it, but I can see it is useful in some places, I am sure, you know what I mean.

tedgale

I have just got off a plane from Vancouver.

I arrived there Tuesday -- flights were impossible Monday, as we in central Canada got TEN inches of snow and the Vancouverites got even more rain.

In consequence of all the rain in the mountains, there is a great deal of sedimentation in Vancouver's water supply. "Boil water" advisory in effect.

Newspapers say: "There is really no health risk but persons with compromised immune systems are advised to drink only bottled water."

So: I'm a sceptic and a scoffer about NA health-scares and general Fox TV frenzy. And I've stayed in places like W Africa where the water supply is SO bad one worries constantly about Guinea worm and Bilharzia, etc...

But when I walked into the bathroom, I kept thinking "Did I forget to flush?"

I mean the water is VERY tainted looking. This, in one of the world's most beautiful, most affluent and most liveable cities.

Scarlett: Haven't heard of or from you in ages!! Off to Savannah shortly to spend January in comparative warmth -- and March is: Rome, Tuscany and Paris!

WillTravel

Tedgale, the water in Vancouver usually is not like this! But with so much rain, the water scoops up a lot of dirt on its journey into the reservoirs. I agree there should be a better filtration system or something.

My usual coffee place generally has a water urn where you can get a glass of water. They didn't have it today, and when I asked why, they said the water was too cloudy to do that.

In considering various germ hazards, I have noticed that the dish towel at my workplace has been unwashed since I joined the company. But I never use it.