When Checking Into a Hotel Room, Make Sure to Clean These Things Yourself
Allow me to introduce myself. Hello, My name is Mad Max and I'm a germaphobe. A pre-pandemic germaphobe. I always have to wash new clothes before wearing them because, how many people tried it on before I bought it?? When I get on an airplane or train, I wipe down the armrests, trays and window shades. Ever since I can remember I've had a hard time eating at potlucks because I just don't trust what's going on in a person's kitchen. All I can think of is that picture that makes the rounds on Facebook every once in awhile. You know the one, there's a quote that says "The reason I don't eat everybody's cooking. The reason I'm not a fan of potlucks." And the picture shows a woman cooking in the kitchen. Her cat is on the counter with it's long, bushy tail in a pan of cooked ground hamburger.
I also have a problem with hotel rooms and Air B&B's. The minute I get into my room, I put on rubber gloves and clean every surface with sanitizing wipes. I was actually inspired to to this while watching an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Bravo one evening. Now former housewife, actress Lisa Rinna had traveled to the east coast to appear on QVC. After she checked into her room, she put on gloves and started wiping all the surfaces and the remote control with sanitizing wipes. After wiping the remote down she then put in into a sandwich bag. And I started doing it too-immediately-on my next trip.
I know that hotels have cleaning staffs, but there are still things they can miss. According to Lifehacker, you should always wipe down the dirtiest things in every hotel room before doing anything else.
The germiest things in the room include:
- The television remote
- Nightstands
- Door handles
- Light switches
- The toilet handle
- The phone
- The fridge handle
That's a start, but take your time and look for anything that might be a high-touch item for you: the knobs on your dresser or the handle of the hair dryer might also need a quick wipe.
Yes, I do clean everything on the list, every time. In addition to the sanitizing wipes and sandwich bags, I bring my own sheets, blankets and pillow whenever possible. On road trips, I always travel with coolers filled with food and drink in order to save money. So I'm not only a germaphobe, I guess I'm also a bit of a cheapskate.