Alright guys, gals and nonbinary pals, reading week is coming up and it’s coming fast. Everyone is looking to get away from the stress of school and to head somewhere more inviting and eventful. Plane tickets are being purchased, hotels are being booked, and every germaphobe is clutching their pearls in fear of a dreaded foreign hotel room. Well, fear no more! Whether you’re a strict germaphobe, just a generally clean person, or are just trying to stay sane in those more affordable, somewhat questionable hotels, these are some tips to help you feel more comfortable in your room for the duration of your stay.
Photo by Nik Lanús
First things first, before you take off your shoes, before you have a seat, unpack, brush your teeth, whatever you do when you first reach a hotel… check for bed bugs. The quickest and most unpleasant way to ruin a good trip is finding out on the third night that those itchy bumps on your skin are from some unwelcome friends sleeping beside you… and even worse is bringing them home with you… To check a mattress for bed bugs, simply pull back the fitted sheet and mattress cover from one of the top corners of the mattress. Look for any kind of small black dots on the mattress. If there are none, then all is clear! But to be safe, check both top corners.
The next step in making your hotel room a clean and homey sanctuary is to wipe down the most touched areas/objects of the room. Lysol or Clorox wipes are best for this. Don’t use baby wipes, those won’t clean anything. You’ll want to wipe down the areas that might be most nasty, and that you may not trust the cleaning staff to clean thoroughly enough. The door handles, shower handles, light switches, toilet seat, bathroom counter and TV remote are the best ones to remember. Try to use a new wipe for each new category of thing you’re wiping to avoid spreading bathroom germs to the bedroom or vice versa.
Photo by Marten Bjork
The next thing to worry about is food. Don’t ever eat anything from that overpriced minibar the hotel sets up for you, no matter how late at night it is and no matter how tempting, that $5 chocolate bar just isn’t worth it. After you’ve settled into the hotel, find a nearby grocery store and head out for snacks. It’s always good to stock up on chips, sweets, and even breakfast food to keep yourself away from the minibar and maybe even away from expensive brunch destinations. Most hotels have a mini-fridge in the room, so don’t be afraid to buy fruits and veggies as well. And of course, don’t forget to either bring or buy some form of water bottle. That $4 water bottle in the mini-fridge is never worth it.
Once your mini-fridge is stocked up and you’re sure your room is clean, you should almost be ready for your first night in your hotel room. The last step to maximizing your comfort is to bring up the humidity in the room. Hotel rooms tend to have very dry air that can dry out your skin overnight, dehydrate you, and even keep you awake. The best and fastest way to fix this is to turn on the shower to the very hottest it can go, leave the bathroom door open and let it run for 10 to 15 minutes. The steam from the shower will fill the room enough to humidify the air to a comfortable level.
Photo by Andrea Davis
After all of that, all you have left to do is throw on your most comfortable pyjamas, get into your clean and comfy bed with your snacks and watch whatever may be running on hotel TV until you fall asleep. You’ll never have to worry about sleeping in an overly icky and germy hotel room again.