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Thursday, March 6, 2014

If you Stay in Hotels, You MUST Watch !!

If you Stay in Hotels
This is a MUST Watch !!
Expose of Blatant Disregard
for Hygiene Practices
in the Hotel Industry 
As a physician and pathologist, I have a pretty strong stomach. But even I was overcome with a wave of nausea when I watched a hidden camera expose of hotel hygiene practices by investigative reporters. In brief, for the report I saw, teams of journalists placed hidden cameras in hotel rooms in a range of randomly-chosen hotels in the Atlanta, Georgia area (the study, and similar observations, have also been carried out in other locations). Hotels ranged from the mid-priced business hotels to the top of the line luxury establishments (5 star). A blatant disregard for hygienic practices that could lead to serious infection was observed in numerous hotels when housekeeping staff cleaned (or didn't clean, as the case may be) the drinking glasses in the hotel room.




Housekeeping staff was caught on film either rinsing the drinking glasses (in preparation for a new guest) with water only, or washing them with industrial cleaner labeled "do not drink." In other cases, dirty bath towels - from the previous guest - were used to dry the glasses after their perfunctory rinse in tap water. Another film clip showed a woman wearing latex gloves cleaning the guest toilet and then proceeding to rinse the drinking glasses, without removing or changing the gloves.
We all know that some of the principal routes for spread of infections include contact with infected persons or contact with articles of bedding or clothing that have been contaminated by an infected source. Numerous infections are spread by respiratory secretions, like those that may contaminate a drinking glass. Other serious diseases are spread by the fecal-oral route, in which contaminated fecal matter (think about the toilet-cleaning gloves or drying the glasses with bath towels) comes in contact with something (for example, a glass) that enters the mouth.
While not all viruses and bacteria are hardy enough to live for extended periods of time on contaminated surfaces such as glass, many of them - including those that can cause serious or even deadly infections - are. A limited list of common infections that could be spread by these incorrect hygiene practices includes: Cold viruses (common cold) Influenza (flu) Rotavirus Norovirus Diphtheria E. coli Hepatitis A Staphylococcus (staph infection) Streptococcus (for example, skin infections, sore throat, strep throat, cellulitis, impetigo, scarlet fever) Hemophilus influenzae (H. flu, Hib)
 
It's important to keep in mind that this is a limited list of infections that might reasonably be found in the U.S. population. Consider the infections that may be brought in by foreign, including third-world travelers, and the scenario is even scarier; and we haven't even mentioned bedbugs!


How Clean Is Your Hotel Room?
While on vacation, cleaning expert, Melissa Maker, stopped into a hotel in Miami and made a quick video to show us the areas she checks to determine whether or not a hotel room is 'reasonably' clean. 




 Comments:


* Excellent!! I would advise to never place your clothes, suit case, travel bags etc. on the bed even if the bed has been well made and clean. Place all your used clothing, pajamas etc. in a plastic bag and seal it well before repacking and launder it as soon as you get home directly from the bag. 


Inspect all suit cases and travel bags and wipe them down well. This will avoid any kind of bugs or anything else that may have sneaked into your clothing, pajamas, etc.
 
Don't blame housekeepers blame the hotel owners they give you 7 hours to clean 14 to 16 rooms. They don't have enough time to do it right and until someone has the sense to give less room so the room attendant has more time things like this will keep happening.  
Try cleaning 14 rooms in a short time with pressure from management, plus these ladies are afraid to lose their jobs.


* I am probably OCD, But I use Lysol wipes on every light switch, door handle, phone, remote, etc in a hotel room.
I also bring my own pillow and washcloths. They wash the pillowcase, but how often do they change the pillow? And how many people have drooled, or worse on it. And I don't want to use a washcloth on my face that's washed someone butt.  lol 






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