Is Your Comforter Your Worst Enemy?
I admit to being a neat freak. Sometimes. It's strange. I like to have certain things in certain places. However, other things I am not as worried about. For instance, I am not really germophobic. Don't get me wrong, I wash my hands after I use the bathroom and I don't *usually* touch the doorknob afterwards, but otherwise, I am lax. I sometimes use the 3 second rule.
I recently talked about how I pretty much live in a hotel most of the time. This girl, with her comment about comforters on my post, reminded me about an article I read in Conde Nast a few years ago about the dirtiest places in a hotel. You may think it's the toilet, but you would be wrong.
They tested one 5 star hotel, one mid line hotel and one low end hotel. You would be surprised; the 5 star hotel was not necessarily cleaner than the low end hotel. Here are some of the worst offenders (germ wise).
The ice bucket.
The remote control.
The phone.
The door knob.
The alarm clock.
The desk chair.
The comforter.
These items were covered in E. Coli (fecal borne) and other bacteria which causes yeast infections. While I can see why the desk chair may have fecal material on it (even though I don't like to picture it), I never really considered the comforter before reading this article. It makes sense though. How many hands, faces and butts have touched that comforter in between washes?
I suggest wet wiping the obvious ones - phone, remote, clock and door handle and taking the comforter off the bed all together or at least folding it down so it doesn't touch your face while you sleep. If the chair is fabric, put a towel down. I wouldn't even use the ice bucket. And above all, wash your hands.
Okay, now that I have grossed you out, let me add this. They say that even after these findings, the average hotel room is CLEANER than most people's houses and definitely more sanitary than flying, since you are confined in a limited amount of air space with so many people.
Just some food for thought.
Are you a neat freak? Are you a germaphobe? How often do you clean your bathroom? Do you ever stay in hotels? Do you wipe anything down or do you just use it?
I recently talked about how I pretty much live in a hotel most of the time. This girl, with her comment about comforters on my post, reminded me about an article I read in Conde Nast a few years ago about the dirtiest places in a hotel. You may think it's the toilet, but you would be wrong.
They tested one 5 star hotel, one mid line hotel and one low end hotel. You would be surprised; the 5 star hotel was not necessarily cleaner than the low end hotel. Here are some of the worst offenders (germ wise).
The ice bucket.
The remote control.
The phone.
The door knob.
The alarm clock.
The desk chair.
The comforter.
These items were covered in E. Coli (fecal borne) and other bacteria which causes yeast infections. While I can see why the desk chair may have fecal material on it (even though I don't like to picture it), I never really considered the comforter before reading this article. It makes sense though. How many hands, faces and butts have touched that comforter in between washes?
I suggest wet wiping the obvious ones - phone, remote, clock and door handle and taking the comforter off the bed all together or at least folding it down so it doesn't touch your face while you sleep. If the chair is fabric, put a towel down. I wouldn't even use the ice bucket. And above all, wash your hands.
Okay, now that I have grossed you out, let me add this. They say that even after these findings, the average hotel room is CLEANER than most people's houses and definitely more sanitary than flying, since you are confined in a limited amount of air space with so many people.
Just some food for thought.
Are you a neat freak? Are you a germaphobe? How often do you clean your bathroom? Do you ever stay in hotels? Do you wipe anything down or do you just use it?
