Motel bedspreads = germs and more!
Apr 28th, 2001, 07:57 PM
#1
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Motel bedspreads = germs and more!
Does anyone else put the bedspread in the closet or some other out of reach area so that I don't come in contact with it? If you think about it, the sheets, etc are chaged before you arrive, but who knows if the bedspread was pulled up to some guy's chin the night before and was a receptacle for saliva. Or was sat on by a naked body either before or after a shower. Or was under a gal whose partner was too excited to pull the covers off the bed. Am I paranoid? I'm an ordinary person not particularly concerned with germs at home, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Any comments?
Apr 29th, 2001, 03:20 AM
#4
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You're going to get a lot of guff about this, Chelsie, but you aren't wrong about the dirtiness of hotel bedspreads. A CBS investigator (60 Min? Evening news?) did a study of surfaces in several hotels, from gold-level luxury to Motel 6. He found some pretty 'orrible things on spreads and blankets, and the expensive chains were no better (sometimes worse than the ma-and-pa places).
I usually get too cold in over-airconditioned places to take the bedspread off, but I usually leave it folded so it's only about half-way across the bed and then use the extra blanket in the drawer/closet. I tell myself -- and this is pure rationalization because there's not much you really can do about this -- that the extra blanket is not used as often and there's a limit to how long beasties can survive.
But tell me, if you don't use the spread, aren't you kidding yourself, similarly, about the blanket? And/or how do you keep warm? (Turning off the airco is not an option in some of these places.)
I usually get too cold in over-airconditioned places to take the bedspread off, but I usually leave it folded so it's only about half-way across the bed and then use the extra blanket in the drawer/closet. I tell myself -- and this is pure rationalization because there's not much you really can do about this -- that the extra blanket is not used as often and there's a limit to how long beasties can survive.
But tell me, if you don't use the spread, aren't you kidding yourself, similarly, about the blanket? And/or how do you keep warm? (Turning off the airco is not an option in some of these places.)
Apr 29th, 2001, 06:25 AM
#5
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Chelsie,
I'm with you. I heave that thing into the closet as soon as I get into the hotel room. Partly 'cause of the germs, and partly 'cause it's usually made of some horrible 100% polyester material. But let's face it -- sitting on the
bedspread isn't really too different than sitting on an upholstered sofa or chair from some other part of the hotel room. Just don't want that bedspread near my face when I'm sleeping!
By the way, no matter what kind of note I leave to the housecleaners, or how deeply I've stashed the bedspread in the closet, it always shows up on my bed the next day. Oh well.
I'm with you. I heave that thing into the closet as soon as I get into the hotel room. Partly 'cause of the germs, and partly 'cause it's usually made of some horrible 100% polyester material. But let's face it -- sitting on the
bedspread isn't really too different than sitting on an upholstered sofa or chair from some other part of the hotel room. Just don't want that bedspread near my face when I'm sleeping!
By the way, no matter what kind of note I leave to the housecleaners, or how deeply I've stashed the bedspread in the closet, it always shows up on my bed the next day. Oh well.
Apr 29th, 2001, 05:05 PM
#8
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Well I have BAD news for you Chelsie.
Your life will become extremely limited after you read this. After all, if you feel so strongly about beds in hotels, what about:
airline seats...imagine what kind of filth builds up there...think they're ever thoroughly sterilized? Think of the gases, sloghed skin, bacteria laden food particles and dirt that build up on the material.
Taxi cab seats, theater seats...same thing as above
Handles on doors to go into restaurants, cabs, hotels, museums, theaters, etc etc. Try getting in without ever touching a handle.
Faucets in bathrooms...which people touch right after they use the facilities.
Want to hear about what's in the air you're forced to breathe in a plane...especially overseas? Do you realize how much of the air is recirculated and how little is 'fresh', meaning that all the garbage which is coughed/sneezed/hacked/flicked into the air has a chance to go right in your mouth? Recent studies reveal a truly disgusting picture. Amazing more of us don't get sick.
What's the REAL point here?
There are tons of things you'll be exposed to which are annoying which you can't change. Stop sweating the small stuff and get on with living and enjoying life.
If you continue obsessing you'll end up on antidepressant meds or in a mental health unit somewhere. And you'll drive evryone around you crazy.
Your life will become extremely limited after you read this. After all, if you feel so strongly about beds in hotels, what about:
airline seats...imagine what kind of filth builds up there...think they're ever thoroughly sterilized? Think of the gases, sloghed skin, bacteria laden food particles and dirt that build up on the material.
Taxi cab seats, theater seats...same thing as above
Handles on doors to go into restaurants, cabs, hotels, museums, theaters, etc etc. Try getting in without ever touching a handle.
Faucets in bathrooms...which people touch right after they use the facilities.
Want to hear about what's in the air you're forced to breathe in a plane...especially overseas? Do you realize how much of the air is recirculated and how little is 'fresh', meaning that all the garbage which is coughed/sneezed/hacked/flicked into the air has a chance to go right in your mouth? Recent studies reveal a truly disgusting picture. Amazing more of us don't get sick.
What's the REAL point here?
There are tons of things you'll be exposed to which are annoying which you can't change. Stop sweating the small stuff and get on with living and enjoying life.
If you continue obsessing you'll end up on antidepressant meds or in a mental health unit somewhere. And you'll drive evryone around you crazy.
Apr 29th, 2001, 05:46 PM
#9
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Another narsty corner heard from. "Dr. Welby," I suspect, is closely related to all those other posters using phrases to create a pseudonym -- all of whom are masters of put-down. All criticize the questioner and have nothing more to contribute than belittling the post and the poster -- even better if it's a woman. The phrasing in a number of them is so similar that... could it be? .... have we ever seen them together in the same place??.....
Anyway, it really isn't worth arguing the "merits" of his case too extensively, but bedspreads are both more "intimate" and less likely to be cleaned than a number of other things people have mentioned. The public health hotel inspection department in New York is beginning to consider this very issue, as it happens, largely because of the TV program someone mentioned.
No, I don't put it in the closet, but I've long made a point of making sure the sheet came between me and it. The odor of cigarette smoke and cigarette burns were my first clue that maybe I should think twice about the fact that bedspreads are never washed or changed.
Anyway, it really isn't worth arguing the "merits" of his case too extensively, but bedspreads are both more "intimate" and less likely to be cleaned than a number of other things people have mentioned. The public health hotel inspection department in New York is beginning to consider this very issue, as it happens, largely because of the TV program someone mentioned.
No, I don't put it in the closet, but I've long made a point of making sure the sheet came between me and it. The odor of cigarette smoke and cigarette burns were my first clue that maybe I should think twice about the fact that bedspreads are never washed or changed.
Apr 29th, 2001, 06:59 PM
#10
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When you as a stranger first enter a strange hotel room what on earth do you do? Do you strip naked and fling yourself onto the bed, the chair, the television? For God's sake, have a little common sense.
No, I would not eat my room service meal directly off the bedspread, nor would I lick the lavatory in the bath. Give me a break.
Most normal people take normal recautions against such things. It will not keep me from traveling, though. I have come across a soiled bedspread, which I have asked to be replaced and it was.
Use some common sense and powers of observation. We've all had our own experiences of roach motels and we certainly wouldn't go back but I don't think anyone has died from hotel filth.
If you are that worried about it, stay home or at the very least don't travel with my group. We execute whiners.
No, I would not eat my room service meal directly off the bedspread, nor would I lick the lavatory in the bath. Give me a break.
Most normal people take normal recautions against such things. It will not keep me from traveling, though. I have come across a soiled bedspread, which I have asked to be replaced and it was.
Use some common sense and powers of observation. We've all had our own experiences of roach motels and we certainly wouldn't go back but I don't think anyone has died from hotel filth.
If you are that worried about it, stay home or at the very least don't travel with my group. We execute whiners.
Apr 29th, 2001, 07:07 PM
#11
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Put it in the closet? No, but I do throw it on the floor in the corner. I'm not paranoid, but I do recall that when the investigators in the Mike Tyson rape trial examined the bedspread from the hotel room where the alleged rape occurred. They were looking for Tyson's "DNA"...and they found specimens from at least 8 different men.
Sounds like urban legend but it's true.
j.
Sounds like urban legend but it's true.
j.
Apr 29th, 2001, 08:08 PM
#12
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Strangely enough, that is the ONLY fetish I seem to have - motel bedspreads! Airline seats, bathroom faucets, even money - not a bother! I've been pretty much all over the world - from New Zealand to Russia (talk about dirty, visit Russia!) But like a previous poster said, that bedspread is a little more intimate. Almost like sharing a stranger's undies. I imagine the sheet and blanket present with the same problems, but I seem to be able to overlook that. Maybe it's because most bedspreads don't LOOK all that crisp! And NO, I'm not staying at the economy chains. Mostly middle of the road ones - Hampton, etc.
Apr 30th, 2001, 01:16 AM
#14
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Chelsie: Girl, I am speechless! I have anti-bacterial everything and friends who say "be careful, don't use too much of that, it becomes non effective"...I still keep sprayin'.
Rebecca must be my twin, cause I thought the "hair check thing" was really doing something...
What is worse is that we LEAVE in a matter of hours...where am I gonna' find a HUGE lysol spray can that will fit in my purse????
Lawd-have-mecry!
Rebecca must be my twin, cause I thought the "hair check thing" was really doing something...
What is worse is that we LEAVE in a matter of hours...where am I gonna' find a HUGE lysol spray can that will fit in my purse????
Lawd-have-mecry!
Apr 30th, 2001, 04:08 AM
#16
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Hello All, Oaktown Traveler: very funny stuff, just wish they had Lysol with just a bit less medicinal smell! Chelsie: I really think if I thought about all the perils that can befall a person, I would never leave the house. I just banish those unruly thoughts to the closet with the bedspread. Judy 
Apr 30th, 2001, 04:28 AM
#17
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Good god almighty! Everything I've ever been told about Americans being hygiene freaks is true. I mean, to be fair, I'm always glad of it when visiting the US because your public toilets are wonderfully clean in comparison to those in Europe (especially the UK).But for crying out loud, you people are fretting about something over which you have NO control!
Apr 30th, 2001, 08:26 AM
#19
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I always toss the comforter, as they are never cleaned. I don't really want to come into contact with some other guy's "remains". If it's so cold that I have to use the spread, I simply make sure the sheet is turned down over it, so I don't come into contact.
Also, I would never step barefoot in a hotel or gym shower. I used to, and then spent several months having warts fried off my feet. Not a fun experience. I now wear flip-flops in every shower except my own, so I don't contract, and I don't spread. Any podiatrist will tell you the same.
Also, I would never step barefoot in a hotel or gym shower. I used to, and then spent several months having warts fried off my feet. Not a fun experience. I now wear flip-flops in every shower except my own, so I don't contract, and I don't spread. Any podiatrist will tell you the same.
Apr 30th, 2001, 10:10 AM
#20
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I also used to take showers fully nude but no more! These days with disease spreading like Madonna's legs, I take precautions wherever I go.
First: in the shower, I wear thigh-high golloshes to protect my feet and knees. I only use my own shampoo and soap made from free-ranging goat milk. I don't use the hotel towels (you don't know where they've been)
Next: In bed, the comforter in the room is folded and placed the closet next to the ironing board. But not before I wear my hypo-allergenic, powder-free, latex examining gloves to keep from touching the synthetic fibers of the blanket (it can harbor all sorts of germies)
Third: I never let any part of my body touch the floor which means I always wear sandals in the room.
Last: Before I go to bed, I take off my filtration mask (see Michael Jackson style) and wash my face with my pre-packed Evian spring water. I use only a scour pad and some dial soap but it does wonders for the skin. A little chafing here and there but at least I'm clean.
Hope this helps.....
First: in the shower, I wear thigh-high golloshes to protect my feet and knees. I only use my own shampoo and soap made from free-ranging goat milk. I don't use the hotel towels (you don't know where they've been)
Next: In bed, the comforter in the room is folded and placed the closet next to the ironing board. But not before I wear my hypo-allergenic, powder-free, latex examining gloves to keep from touching the synthetic fibers of the blanket (it can harbor all sorts of germies)
Third: I never let any part of my body touch the floor which means I always wear sandals in the room.
Last: Before I go to bed, I take off my filtration mask (see Michael Jackson style) and wash my face with my pre-packed Evian spring water. I use only a scour pad and some dial soap but it does wonders for the skin. A little chafing here and there but at least I'm clean.
Hope this helps.....
