A recent Wall Street Journal contained an article called “Hotels ‘Go to the Mattresses.’ ” It’s the first indication I’ve seen that hotels are aware of their filthy and unsanitary beds! I quote,
The pressure to make hotel beds better is finally forcing the (hotel) industry to reveal—and start to abandon—its dirtiest little secret: the fact that those colorful bedspreads on hotel-room beds sometimes get washed only a few times a year at most.
The Journal article explains that washing blankets and bedspreads is expensive. The hotels have to buy twice as many sets of these (one’s on the bed while the other is being washed). Laundry detergent, water and electricity is expensive, not to mention the labor needed to use these, plus washing the items causes them to break down faster. Result: you and I sleep on beds that haven’t been properly cleaned in months, and during that time they’ve collected who knows what germs, filth and bodily fluids? As my three-year old daughter often says, “Gross!”
The good news is that upscale hotels have started washing the blankets and bed coverings more often. A few even wash these after each guest. Of course, most lower-priced hotels still don’t wash these more than two or three times a year.
I’ve mentioned this to my husband and to co-workers I’ve travelled with. They think I’m obsessive. But what’s obsessive about wanting a blanket on my bed that’s as clean as the sheets?
Hotels—even budget hotels—have to start washing everything that goes on a bed after each use. Please!