Hotel room TV remote controls
 

I just read about how filthy and disgusting hotel room TV remote controls are.

Some people said they put them in a plastic baggie and never have to touch them.

Can you ask the hotel for a new clean remote? I don't want one from the next room that is just as dirty. God only knows where people hands and fingers have been before they change channels. I don't even want to think about that now.

Do you really think the hotel has a bunch of new remotes stashed away somewhere, like extra towels? One remote comes with each TV. Where are they going to get you a "clean" one from?

You probably shouldn't touch the bedspread, the toilet seat, the tub surface, the telephone, etc. either. When you bury your face in a hotel towel, do you think about the disgusting person who put it in unmentionable nether places the day before? C'mon, life is too short.

Dear Felix Unger,

Buy a can of Lysol at the drugstore and spray the remote, the phone, the ice bucket, etc.

My biggest problem with remotes is they come from the factory with cheap batteries that are never changed. New batteries work wonders, or you could try turning the battery around inside the unit.

Right about the bedspread and telephone, but the toilet seat, bathtub and towel are washed every day.

Bedspreads, telephones and remotes can go months or longer before being cleaned. Not that one should be paranoid about it, either, but wiping down a remote or telephone before use is reasonable.

My biggest complaint regarding remotes is that LodgeNet sucks! :mad:

My wife is deaf so closed captioning is a must at a hotel. I've noticed that some hotels have the CC option as a button on the remote and some don't.
They should ALL have a CC button on the remote. That just makes sense to me.
Of course, this could just be me because I don't want to get up and go through the tv's buttons: Mode > Caption > Caption 1 ...

I think Lysol wipes and other brands address the hygiene concerns; somebody may even have them in travel packs. I still run across quite a few remotes that don't have the buttons intuitively placed. I think it'd be nice if the 4-button circular pattern (channel up and down on top/bottom, volume on the sides) became an industry standard, as did the practice of putting the power button in the upper right. But too many set manufacturers still do buttons on a grid, with the less-used ones right next to the ones people end up hunting for.

I didn't want to reply to this but I have now. Housekeeping staff in higher end properties are known for their attention to detail. Remote controls are almost always cleaned and as for telephones, they are usually wiped down everyday. Some use a kind of spray, perhaps air freshner, on the telephone so that when you pick it up it smells fresh and inviting...

I've never had to worry about stupid things like this.

A well functioning immune system is the best protection against this kind of dirt, I find. One that's not weakened by lack of exposure is generally better.

There are germs everywhere. I don't know why people here freak out so much about hotel remotes or airline blankets. :rolleyes:

If you want to be germ-free, you can emulate Bill Murray's character in What About Bob.

You're right about THAT. :)

Why stop with TV remotes? Why not consider that the elevator buttons you press have been touched by filthy and disgusting people. So have bathroom doors, heck most doors if you think about it, books, magazines, etc.

You're right. I generally wash my hands when I get home ;)

Amen, brother. I would appreciate the mini-bar more if it were stocked with batteries and lightbulbs, free of charge.

Only once a day? ;)

I too thought this thread would be about dead batteries. Whenever I get a hotel room with weak/dead remote batteries, I always call the front desk and ask them to replace the batteries. And they've always been quick to change the batteries! :D