Hotel Infection Safety suggestions
Were not experts, just occasional travelers. So these are top of our head ideas about things you could think about....
Recent research shows the coronovirus lives on copper for 4 hours, on cardboard for 1 day, and on plastic for 3 days. Coronoviruses could be efficiently inactivated on surfaces within one minute if they're cleaned with solutions
containing 62% to 71% ethanol alcohol, 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite.
So surface disinfectants — like Lysol, bleach — might be better for surfaces than hand sanitizer.
Basic precautions (15 min)
- Bring a roll of paper towels, a bottle of lysol or other disinfectant, and some latex gloves with you.
- With gloves, starting outside the door, spray then wipe down all the door knobs, light switches, tv remotes, and counter tops
- Do sink and shower fixtures, counter tops, towel racks, ice bucket, coffee pot and toilet
- Spray the chairs and wipe down or replace any cups
- Consider skipping the common areas and getting your food from a take-out or delivery service
Additional things to consider
- Bring your own towel or spray down theirs
- Bring your own cups and bottled water
- Bring your own pens and paper and throw out theirs
Sanitizing the bed
A few people have always carried their own sheets, pillows and blanket with them to hotels and motels.
If you do that, consider purchasing a slip on vinyl waterproof "Mattress Protector from wallmart ($7)
You can put that over their bedding or remove theirs and put yours on top. It also provides some protection from bedbugs.
If you don't want to do that, andi unless your staying in a hign end hotel, here's some other ideas...
- If your hotel has a laundry, strip the bedding as soon as you enter and place it in their dryer
- Some studies show that a temperature of 140 deg F will kill the virus.
- So run the dryer on high for 30 min or longer, while your cleaning the rest of the room.
- You could try including the mattress protector from the previous motel but their pretty cheap so buy several.