Do you wash dishes in TS before use?

jlwquilter said:

When at Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort this summer I saw the cleaning woman literally take everything out of the pots cabinet and load it into the dishwasher - as I was leaving... I can only assume she would next do that for the dinnerware. I was impressed...

Click to expand...

Yes, they do the dinnerware, glasses & silverware, too. They also clean the inside of refrigerator & freezer, wash the inside/outside of the patio door glass, mop the tile floors, run the vaccum in BDR, and truly clean the bath. They have a team approach working through the entire floor .... each person having tasks which they do in every condo on their floors. The "floor" maid, a direct fulltime employee of the resort, "resets" the supplies and checks the unit. And this resort still does the in unit midweek towel exchange, collects the trash, and "resets" the unit's supplies.

Yes, I do tip the "floor" maid. They are doing a very nice job.

I had never realized that the maid service washed the dishes between occupants. Sheraton Vistana has a tent card in the rooms warning that none of the dishes are sanitized to hotel/restaurant standards (standard dishwashers aren't hot enough). Never really let this bother me.

We do clean surfaces in the kitchen upon arrival - right into the corners and cracks; DS has a food allergy and we worry about contamination. I have inspected the dishes, but never rewashed as they always appeared properly cleaned.

Never did before my stay or after. HEY , I'm on vacation and I ain't cookin'.
I try the mom & pop places and stay away from the chains.

Kal said:

Is the word ANAL capitalized?

Click to expand...

I've read on the Disboards, people who bring their own cleaning supplies and one person will clean the villa, before any suitcases are brought in.

Yes, I wish I didn't need to, but I do... they may be clean but I have to know I've washed them too. We don't cook a lot in a ts, but if we use them I want them clean. Don't usually do pots and pans or everything in the cupboard, but anything I think we might use. It's a pain, but I feel better. Don't go barefoot, always pull back the bedspread... I liked it much better before I started thinking about this stuff. I never realized they didn't change the bedspread with each guest - just assumed everything was cleaned and got along just fine.

Washing The Timeshare Bedspread.

Born2Travel said:

I never realized they didn't change the bedspread with each guest - just assumed everything was cleaned and got along just fine.

Click to expand...

When you're packing up to leave, just put all the sheets and bedspreads in the jacuzzi & fill the tub with water. That will pretty much guarantee that the housekeeping staff will take'm out & wash'm before putting'm on beds again.

BTW, our nice Orlando timeshares put clean bedspreads on when making up the suites for each new party checking in. We noticed the colorful bedspreads showing through the plastic-wrapped packs of fresh linens placed by the doors of suites about to be made up for new arrivals on check-out/check-in day.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Yes, we throw some things into the dishwasher off the get go. We remove the bedspreads. We check the matress pad and matress. Once we found blood on the matress pad so Im glad we look. Some times we have covered the couch with a sheet. Always clean the coffee maker and blender.

If the room smells or has an issue we ask for a different one.

Some timeshares deliver fresh silverware, plastic wrapped. Nice touch. Also Silverleaf now puts the blanket between two sheets and just uses a strip of cloth that matches the drapes and decorative pillows instead of bedspreads. Seems cleaner to me. I wonder about the whirlpool. I can't imagine that the maids run bleach through it. And now we have to worry about bed bugs!

Twinkstarr said:

That's an ongoing discussion on the Disboards! :rofl: Another good one is the how to clean the whirlpool tub prior to use.

Click to expand...

Do you have a link to that discussion?

I haven't read it, but I always bring a bottle of bleach, fill up the tub with hot water, dump in half the bottle, and run the jets for at least 10 minutes. Drain it, fill it again with hot water, run for another 10 minutes or so to rinse, and drain again.

Then and only then will I use the whirlpool.

pjrose said:

Do you have a link to that discussion?

I haven't read it, but I always bring a bottle of bleach, fill up the tub with hot water, dump in half the bottle, and run the jets for at least 10 minutes. Drain it, fill it again with hot water, run for another 10 minutes or so to rinse, and drain again.

Then and only then will I use the whirlpool.

Click to expand...

I'll look for it this weekend, but using bleach or dishwasher soap I think are the methods mentioned the most. I'm a DVC'er and I can only handle the DIS - DVC boards in small doses.

I'm not a tub person, so I don't worry about it.

No, I don't wash all the dishes. If they are not spotless I will wash what ever I want to use before using. Take off all bedspreads, fold and place in closet. I am a shower person, so never use the tubs. I have never had a problem.

Donna

Yes. But then, my timeshare has a little issue with ants. And I wash whatever I've used before I leave.

I prefer to wash it first

Always, much to the chagrin of the rest of the family. The issue for me is there is simply no way to know, by sight, if a glass/plate/fork/spoon etc is clean or dirty. Maybe the whole cupboard has just been carefully washed, dried & stored ready to go. But maybe that fork/spoon fell on the floor and, well, it looks OK so pile it in. Or the dishwasher gets emptied by the rushed maid that just cleaned the bathroom while the dishwasher was on &, whoops, didn't have a chance to wash their hands before handling the dishes...

You get the picture. Of course you are taking the same risks or worse with every restaurant meal but when I CAN control it for the 30-60 seconds it takes to ensure a glass or a fork is actually clean is worth it to me.

If you don't you are most likely going to be just fine but why take the small risk if you don't have to?

AwayWeGo said:

When you're packing up to leave, just put all the sheets and bedspreads in the jacuzzi & fill the tub with water. That will pretty much guarantee that the housekeeping staff will take'm out & wash'm before putting'm on beds again.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Click to expand...

- we usually pull all the bedding off and make sure they have to change it but haven't soaked it yet... I have read of folks who've found the beds weren't changed - just remade (yuk!!!)

I usually put the dishes and silverware we'll be using in the dishwasher when we check in. I never did this until someone on TUG said they did. Now I have to.

Kel said:

I usually put the dishes and silverware we'll be using in the dishwasher when we check in. I never did this until someone on TUG said they did. Now I have to.

Click to expand...

I agree, after reading this thread, my bubble is burst. It's starting to sound more like a workation.

OMG...everyone is putting ideas in my head!!! I have only washed dishes in one place in the Caribbean where the kitchen cabinets smelled like any spray. I was more afraid of the pesticide than any dirty dishes I WILL start checking bed sheets now, and also looking for bed bugs since they are so prevalent now.

Maybe I'll just stay home and hire a maid and cook for the week :whoopie:

The first thing we do upon arrival, is wipe surfaces such as door knobs, converters, phones, with disinfectant wipes.
We handwash any dishes we will immediately use, and load the dishwasher with all of the dishes and utensils we plan on using during our stay. You don't know where the hands that have previously touched the dishes have been.
And now, with bedbugs increasing to epidemic proportions, we have to carefully check the unit before unloading anything. There are so many recommended procedures to avoid taking them home.
Going on vacation is becoming exhausting.

alwysonvac said:

yes we run everything through the dishwasher

Click to expand...

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No.
Never occurred to me. Still won't.

I take a look at a few dishes, glasses and pans when we first get there - if those are clean then nothing gets washed but if they're dirty then the dishwasher gets loaded up. We don't look at all at the bed because if I started doing that, then my crazies would take over and I'd have to strip it and re-make it! One of the many things I love about Marriott is that they use crisp white duvet covers in all their properties that are changed out between guests - no need to remove a spread.

The whirlpool tubs are a totally different story. IF we use them it's not until I've run it through twice, like pj, first with a cleaner and then a rinse. We have one at home and it's a pain in the neck to keep clean - even here I run it through a clean/rinse if it hasn't been used for a week.

I always make sure all the suitcases are totally emptied and zippered shut before we put them up in the closets - with most of our trips being to Hilton Head or Florida, my biggest fear is that I'll be bringing home unwelcome crawly critters. I buy Gladware or other cheap containers and use them to keep food safe, fresh in the humidity and they're great for leftovers too! I also take trash bags with me for dirty clothes - we use them as hampers and then tightly double-bag any food or dirty clothes before putting them in the suitcases to come home.

I wash all of the dishes, silverware, and pans 100% of the time. I also use Clorox or Lysol Disinfecting Wipes to clean the bathrooms.

How about bedbugs?

I spot check and might wash something that looks dirty.

What I have been doing is taking a flashlight and checking around the bedrooms especially the Bed for Bedbugs!

billymach4,

We also check for bedbugs. Our daughter was bitten by bedbugs at a New York Marriott hotel. Luckily the bedbugs didn't hitch a ride in her luggage so she didn't bring any home with her.

Joyce