Which is better for disinfecting the room?

[Ontario Cruiser]

I am with you Susie, more concerned about bedbugs. I have put our clothes in lots of zippered bags in our suitcase. Don't think any spray can help against them but I haven't heard of any problems on ships.

I would go for the wipes if I were you easier to pack and dispose of.

Noordam Nov 13th Ontario Cruiser

[Typhoon1]

The more useless items you bring on board, the more you can pay the airlines in bag fees.

[suse]

Off Topic... Hay Suse!! Welcome back!!!!!!!!!

 

Joanie

Thank you Cheerleader of All!

[suse]

The more useless items you bring on board, the more you can pay the airlines in bag fees.

Personally, I found this very funny!:)

[castellina]

Have you ever noticed that the cabin stewards who clean the cabins use pretty much the same bucket and cloths to clean several cabins? This is one of the reasons we periodically wipe things down.

[Safetyal]

I prefer to disinfect my body from the inside out. I drink. :D

[SwissMyst]

I took a Microbiology class last year and what you are saying is right on (in this quoted post and the ones above on this page), including reference to the CDC site for accurate info. Product manufacturers are in it to make money and will advertise any way they think will "grab" customers (i.e., invoke fear, create the snake oil to "combat" it and you're home free - and rich). Remember, not all microbes (germs) are bad and you are killing the good with the bad - and the nastiest ones cannot be killed with the advertised products. Those products say right on the label they kill perhaps 99.6% of "germs" - guess what the other 0.4% are!

 

In this class, we had wash our hands with a disinfectant solution (can't remember what) before and after class, and use the "old" Lysol (red color, very smelly - hard to even find in stores anymore) to scrub (not wipe) the lab tables before and after conducting our experiments. We had to wear lab coats the entire time and leave them in the classroom between classes. At the end of the semester, the teacher put the coats in heavy duty plastic bags and took them home to soak them in bleach for an hour before laundering them with hot water. Only then were we allowed to take them home.

 

"Sanitizing" is NOT "disinfecting."

 

Wash your hands (as described on the CDC site) and keep them away from your face. Use the money saved on products that don't do what you really want them to and buy an extra goodie or two on your vacation!

 

Sounds pretty much like the microbiology class I also took decades ago. One of the most fascinating classes ever. One does learn a great deal of respect for "bugs" after taking a class like that.

 

I mourn the rise of pseudo-science today which invariably has a sales marketing hook built into its pitch. This cabin surface sanitation has been a good example showing how fear-mongering has led to increased sales for ineffective products, designed primarily to induce both guilt and virtue in the consumer using or not using them. Scared if they don't use them; inappropriately virtuous, if they do. A marketing twofer.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and specialized knowledge on this important topic. I like your even simpler message: Wash your hands and keep them away from your face.

[janmcn]

If you're that concerned, I hope you never handle money!

[SwissMyst]

If you're that concerned, I hope you never handle money!

 

Just keep those money-handling hands away from your face. This is the whole point here. Bugs are everywhere. It is when one chooses to put those money bugs into your own eyes, nose or mouth that is the critical chain of infection issue here.

 

The big issue as some of us see it is not that you will be contacting bugs 24/7. That is a given and some of the bugs are not your friends, though most of them are. Emphasis needs to be made regarding what you do with the bugs you will invariably pick up.

 

Do you on your own volition then choose to put them into your eyes, nose and/or mouth? Do you even think about where you put your newly buggy hands? And for how long. How long did your debugging protection work for you. What else did you do post debugging that broke your infection control chain?

 

Bugs have to be invited into your body somehow. A sneeze or cough can do it if you are down wind or in a bad air handling setting. But they do not crawl up off the sink counter or the door knob and into your own nose, eyes and mouth. You have to put them there.

 

BTW: My own microbiology course taught there is a slight electrical charge generate when handling metal coins which is bacteriostatic after contact with the moisture in the skin. Is this still the valid thinking from your far more recent microbiology class, bcd2010? There was a class session about the bacteriology of handling money, because this is a very reasonable question to ask.

[bcd2010]

I mourn the rise of pseudo-science today which invariably has a sales marketing hook built into its pitch.

Amen

 

I like your even simpler message: Wash your hands and keep them away from your face.

 

When I was in kindergarden (admittedly a LONG time ago), one of the things on the report cards was "Keeps hands away from face." I was puzzled over that, eventually figuring out it meant: doesn't suck his/her thumb or pick his/her nose. Now I have a whole new appreciation of why to follow this advice.

 

If you're that concerned, I hope you never handle money!

 

:) Not only germs on the money but studies have shown that 80% of bills have traces of illegal drugs (e.g., cocaine is spread via ATMS, counting and sorting machines).

 

BTW: My own microbiology course taught there is a slight electrical charge generate when handling metal coins which is bacteriostatic after contact with the moisture in the skin. Is this still the valid thinking from your far more recent microbiology class, bcd2010? There was a class session about the bacteriology of handling money, because this is a very reasonable question to ask.

 

I'm stretching my mind to remember - it sounds familiar so probably so. In one experiment, we each swabbed an item from wherever we wanted - kitchen sinks, shower curtains, mouth of water bottles, money, pens/pencils, classroom desks - guess what? Germs everywhere! (And you don't even want to know what you are tracking around on the bottom of your shoes, purses, camera bags, laptop cases, etc...)

 

Broken record - wash your hands and don't let them near your face.

[SwissMyst]

I'm stretching my mind to remember - it sounds familiar so probably so. In one experiment, we each swabbed an item from wherever we wanted - kitchen sinks, shower curtains, mouth of water bottles, money, pens/pencils, classroom desks - guess what? Germs everywhere! (And you don't even want to know what you are tracking around on the bottom of your shoes, purses, camera bags, laptop cases, etc...)

 

Broken record - wash your hands and don't let them near your face.

 

And now for the good news. The best immune system defenses the body has are (1) sleep and (2) temperature elevation.

 

Dozing on a lounger on deck in the warm salt air sounds like the best medicine anyone can take. (sun precautions noted).

 

Add to the growing list of cruising guidelines for everyone's best comfort:

 

1. Don't force your balcony door to remain open, day or night ruining the temperature control for all other cabins on your ventilation circuit.

 

2. Don't flush what does not belong down your toilet causing back-ups elsewhere on your plumbing lines.

 

3. Wash your hands often and keep them away from your face.

[punknhead]

As someone with hypogammaglobulinemia (body makes little to no antibodies) I have to wipe down surfaces whenever I travel. I like those antibacterial wipes in the individual packages (about 2.50 for 40 for the drugstore brand) when no soap and water are available and before meals (also good as a stain remover on clothing).

 

For hotel rooms, planes and cabins, any type of surface wipe that contains isopropyl alcohol is a good option. I will pack them in a ziplock bag to save space.

 

Anyone know about the reality of the 5x room clean?

 

Punkie

[donaldsc]

I wonder if any of the germophobes on this or similar posts have ever tested the surfaces in their room at several times after they have wiped down their entire room? I would be willing to bet that a short time after they have cleansed the room, the bacterial level on the surfaces is almost as high as when they started.

 

DON

[Tripper10]

I wonder if any of the germophobes on this or similar posts have ever tested the surfaces in their room at several times after they have wiped down their entire room? I would be willing to bet that a short time after they have cleansed the room, the bacterial level on the surfaces is almost as high as when they started.

 

DON

 

 

Well, I guess you don't use Hydrofluoric acid like all of us !!!

[GeriatricNurse]

Lysol spray or Mr. Clean disinfecting cloths? Thanks.

 

 

A 35 pull soft-sided canister of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, Citrus Scent! It is light in weight & takes up very little room in the carry-on luggage! As soon as I enter my stateroom, I immediately use the tear off sections of cloth from the self-dispensing canister to thoroughly wipe all drawer handles and bathroom shower/sink plumbing fixtures!:)

[esimon]

seriously -- stay home -- life is full of germs -- the rooms are very clean as is the rest of the ship -- use your head - wash your hands and quite worrying -- really???:rolleyes::eek:

[GeriatricNurse]

seriously -- stay home -- life is full of germs -- the rooms are very clean as is the rest of the ship -- use your head - wash your hands and quite worrying -- really???:rolleyes::eek:

 

 

Are you having a bad day?

[overthesea]

Why can't we offer alternatives and opinions without the invective and lack of civility?? The OP asked a question that was important to him/her. If it isn't important to you or if you aren't interested in contributing positively, just move on without comment.

 

It is very tiring to see the put downs and piling on, on a board that is designed to exchange information about cruising, for both the novice and seasoned traveler.

 

Read your posts and see if you would like to have someone respond to you that way!

 

Agree completely.

[mlmagic]

Why can't we offer alternatives and opinions without the invective and lack of civility?? The OP asked a question that was important to him/her. If it isn't important to you or if you aren't interested in contributing positively, just move on without comment.

 

It is very tiring to see the put downs and piling on, on a board that is designed to exchange information about cruising, for both the novice and seasoned traveler.

 

Read your posts and see if you would like to have someone respond to you that way!

 

 

WORD!!

 

I so agree...Why do people have to get so snotty at simple ??? Just give your info and be nice...we are all here to just help each other...

[fireofficer5]

Is the bubble boy taking a cruise.

[oma&opa]

It occurred to me that scrubbing out the bathtub just cleaned the surface of the tub, but that the recirculated water from the last person who jacuzzi-ed was probably still in the pipes! YUUCK! So I now fill the tub and let it bubble for a while, then empty it before I use it. Would be great to add some clorox too, but I'm too cautious about having that leak in my suitcase.

[diathoney]

Personally I like to use Clorox wipes and the Lysol, particularly in the bathroom, but also on surfaces that we touch with our hands such as doorknobs, light switches and remotes. I do believe that handwashing is the most important defense against germs and illness.

I agree. We've been on several ships that have been hit hard with Norovirus and been lucky. When my kids were little, they got Noro on a Disney ship. Last cruise (March) my son got it (Carnival), he's a teen now. I appreciate the cabin stewards, but they are over-worked. We always wash our hands as soon as we return to the room. I like to take a little extra care in the cabin so we can relax once we're inside.

[IRL_Joanie]

A question I have been dieing to ask and no disrespect to anyone concerned with their health and disinfecting is meant by this question.

 

My question is this.....

 

What good does it do to disinfect your stateroom, use the hand sanitizers, etc... if your clothes touch any surfaces?

 

As an example; you disinfect your room and all the possible places of contamination.

 

You wash your hands with soap and water and use the hand sanitizers, do not set your purse on any possible contaminated spots (such as the floor in a public bathroom,) do not touch any hand rails etc., but your clothes touch these same areas of the ship, other passengers or whatever, wherever?

 

You touch your clothes after wards..... How is it not possible to become contaminated? Other than to walk about butt naked, you will still be coming in contact with the germs..... You will touch your clothes and your nose, mouth and other orifices... I am confused in trying to figure out how you can eliminate the possibility of how you'd keep from coming into contact with the germs everyone seems to be so afraid of??

 

Just curious.....

 

Joanie

[we2cruze]

IRL Joanie, I almost never put my clothes in my mouth.;)

Seriously, that's one of the reasons for hand washing. Also, I personally am a little freaked out by people who set their purses on public restroom floors. You see it all the time. Yuck!

[IRL_Joanie]

IRL Joanie, I almost never put my clothes in my mouth.;)

Seriously, that's one of the reasons for hand washing. Also, I personally am a little freaked out by people who set their purses on public restroom floors. You see it all the time. Yuck!

But your hands touch your clothes. So I guess what I meant was in this type of scenario:

 

You are walking down a hallway and you brush up against someone or something with your shirt, skirt,shorts, dress, tux, etc. that has most likely been touched by another passenger or crew member. Do you wash your hands after such an encounter? Or do you not even think about that? Do you then avoid touching your clothing until you take them off??

 

I am curious if people even think about transferance of germs via their clothes, expecially when they are now being told to sneeze/cough into their elbow or arms. Keeping in mind that if you sneeze/cough into the clothing......

 

I hope that is more understandable..... That is one of the things that has me so confused.... What good is all the hand washing, avoidance of body orifices if you are going to get the germs on you from unthought of transfers such as the above scenario. And what about your napkins... The list can go on and on...

 

Joanie