diazkris

My husband thinks I am a freak when it comes to staying in hotels (even nice ones)- I never take a bath-even in a jacuzzi tub, always wear flip flops in the shower, slippers in the room, remove the comforter as soon as we get in, ask for an extra flat sheet to put on top of the blanket. Are other travelers like this or am I just a germ freak?

mrwunrfl

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

Hope this helps!

Marilyn

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?

levon

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

LilyLace

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!

Annabel

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!

rkkwan

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.

nytraveler

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!

Marilyn

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?

annesherrod

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.

kikahead

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.

Marilyn

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!

Tess

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...

Annabel

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!

Anonymous

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.

jor

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

Heartburn3

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.

Annabel

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.

AAFrequentFlyer

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.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

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.