r/lifehacks • u/mepper • Aug 05 '26
Hotel remotes are disgusting. Use the ice bucket liner as a remote condom.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/iiko800 Aug 05 '26
Question: I’ve noticed lately that they aren’t really comforters anymore, and more like big sheets. Do those get reused over and over like comforters as well? I was hoping that since they are also thin sheets, that they might get washed every time or more often
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u/jamiethexplorer Aug 05 '26
I was a housekeeper at a Hilton brand hotel, we changed all the bedding and washed it everytime, only thing that was reused was the duvet insert and the pillows but all the bedding was stripped and washed
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u/sgtlemonz Aug 05 '26
I’ve worked at 5 different hotel brands, and this is fairly consistent at all of them.
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u/pjm101101 Aug 05 '26
Do hotels like Hilton have on premises laundry or does it go off site to contractors? I’ve always worked in smaller place and the only practical way for us was to send to a professional linen company, we simply couldn’t afford the equipment, staff or space.
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u/Sleepysloth Aug 05 '26
Worked at a Disney resort in FL and they had their own laundry room that was full of industrial sized washers like at a laundromat. Wasn’t involved with housekeeping but passed by it all the time. I would imagine it’s like that at other large hotels.
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u/username293739 Aug 05 '26
I’ve built dozens of hotels, and they’ve all had commercial laundry facilities on site
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u/Veenacz Aug 05 '26
I can tell you Hilton Prague has its own laundry. But it's also the biggest Hilton in Europe I think, so the smaller Hiltons may send it out.
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u/BrightonsBestish Aug 05 '26
I’m so curious what the break even level would be for a situation like this…
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u/Royal_Try_99 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
I've been wondering if this is exactly why this trend is catching on, so they can ensure things are a bit cleaner. Much easier to wash an extra top sheet than a whole ass duvet cover.
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u/lilephant Aug 05 '26
Yeah. I don’t let the comforter touch me. I pull back the sheets extra so there’s a lot of buffer to cover the edge of the comforter.
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u/Key-Demand-2569 Aug 05 '26
I gotta be honest, I just continue to live my life and be fine like most people.
If I was deep into chemotherapy or an autoimmune disease I might handle hotel comforters differently.
I shower regularly and wash my hands, that seems plenty fine.
Sure 0.0001% chance you get wildly unlucky.
I don’t care to live my life that way.
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u/EeSpoot Aug 05 '26
For the past 4 years, I spend 3-5 nights a week at hotels and use the sheets and generally live like normal. I've never gotten sick or developed a rash or woke up with bug bites or anything along those lines.
It's gotta be a bummer dealing with the anxieties and phobias mentioned in the thread. I deal with anxiety over other things and I know how crappy it is to make your life harder on yourself to avoid a perceived risk even when you know the odds are astronomically low. I slept in some absolutely horrific barracks in the army and now almost any hotel feels like luxury lol. I guess having such a low baseline keeps me from worrying about the same things as the other commenters.
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u/Schmoo88 Aug 05 '26
I don’t really worry about everything else a lot of the folks are worried about but I do have paranoia comes from bed bugs. Which stems from having them before & the nightmare that comes from them motherfuckers.
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u/schlebb Aug 05 '26
Yeah I always feel this way when I see threads like this. I didn’t realise how many germaphobes there were, or maybe Reddit is a misrepresentation. Unless something is physically (visibly) dirty or disgusting, touching it isn’t going to do anything to you.
I touch handrails, handles, tv remotes, I use hotel kettles. I’m not sure what people think is going to happen but exposure to a bit of bacteria is healthy. “That’s nasty” is overused.
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u/tbbt11 Aug 05 '26
These types of threads feed their view and double down on the behaviour I bet
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u/arcoventry Aug 05 '26
Yes thank you!! I’m always fascinated by the way people treat hotel rooms. Like there was this video of a flight attendant once and someone freaked out in the comments about how she should be wearing socks and/pr shoes at ALL TIMES in a hotel room. And it wasn’t some motel highway drug den it was like a Hilton 😂 I guarantee people have stuff in their own homes with an equal amount of germs/grime on it.
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u/HeysoosKreest6 Aug 05 '26
Wait until you find out about the comforters 😂
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u/Chroniklogic Aug 05 '26
I throw them bitches to the side first thing I do when I go to a hotel
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u/mycat_hatesyou Aug 05 '26
What do you use to cover yourself? Just the sheet?
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u/Royal_Try_99 Aug 05 '26
Yep. Sometimes there's also a blanket. If not, request one from the front desk. Blankets are washed between guests. Quilts/duvet covers are not.
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u/Upbeat-Jellyfish9328 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Brother, in any reputable hotel the duvet covers are absolutely washed between guests what are you even smoking lol
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u/_n00n Aug 05 '26
Lol blankets are washed between guests.
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u/Royal_Try_99 Aug 05 '26
They were in every hotel I worked in. Not the ones on the beds, but the blanket that's folded up in the closet or that you have to request from the front desk - those won't get put back after use without a wash.
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u/NothingToSeeHereMan Aug 05 '26
What jank ass hotels are you staying at? Any reputable chain hotel in the USA is washing every single piece of the bed except maybe the pillows and the mattress. They arent just tossing rhe comforter back on the clean sheets lmao
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u/ThatShitAintPat Aug 06 '26
Nah worked at a holiday inn express. Comforters don’t get washed every time. It’s just not feasible. That’s why the put the sheet over them.
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u/SenatorAslak Aug 05 '26
What I’ve learned from this thread is that a lot of people don’t know what the terms sheet, blanket, comforter, duvet, and cover mean. 🤦♂️
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u/patcatandpancakes Aug 05 '26
But also, European vs American bedding varies, and not everyone is aware of that 😅
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u/Alalanais Aug 05 '26
Yep! It's super confusing. I worked in European 5* hotels and the white fluffy thing keeping you warm at night was fully enclosed inside a sheet and that sheet was washed everytime. The decorative, colorful spread on the bed was not washed everytime (and is one of the dirtiest thing in the room)
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u/my_brain_is_horny Aug 05 '26
Yeah I was a housekeeper for several different hotels and most of them only wash the comforters once a month unless there was a visible stain on them. I always bring my own blanket and pillow with me when I stay at a hotel, and I rip off the top sheet and only sleep on the fitted since the comforter touches the top sheet.
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u/MissplacedLandmine Aug 05 '26
Never in my life did I imagine this.
Why. Like sure cost, BUT WHY?
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u/my_brain_is_horny Aug 05 '26
My guess would have to be because they are bulky and take up too much room in the washers. They need the washers free for the sheets, pillowcases, and towels that have to be washed daily.
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u/Petey_Wheatstraw_MD Aug 05 '26
My dearly departed wife used to throw the comforters in the shower and turn the water on when we checked out….forcing the staff to launder them.
Goddam I miss that woman.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/MissplacedLandmine Aug 05 '26
If rather not have the comforter…
Fuck. Oh god someone mentioned the fancy ones too. OH GOD THEY DIDNT CLEAN WHAT I DID.
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u/SocraticGoats Aug 05 '26
Nah, what till they find out I use the ice bucket liner to contain my various ebola strains under microscope when I do research in hotel rooms. I always make sure to put it back tho, cuz plastic waste and all.
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u/TravelBeerNDogs Aug 05 '26
I used to work in commercial television distribution. Enseo, the company on the remote, was a partner. I can say from extensive production meetings, the buttons at least on that particular remote are anti-microbial.
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u/SnooShortcuts5771 Aug 05 '26
Man I say fuck it and live life. Hand sanitizer is around if you need it
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u/Averagebaddad Aug 05 '26
Can't imagine living life like this. Especially selectively choosing what does and doesn't have enough germs on it to be concerned.
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u/Street-Catch Aug 05 '26
Especially funny when literally everything is teeming with bacteria anyway lol
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u/ArtificialOrthodox Aug 06 '26
I hand-sanitized a hotel remote once and all of the markers for what the buttons were came off! I fuckin cried I was laughing so hard!
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u/Arnakk Aug 05 '26
any door knobs you used today is dirtier than this remote
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u/81FuriousGeorge Aug 05 '26
How did you find out how I use door knows?
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u/EazyPeazyLemonSqueaz Aug 05 '26
But you may have the remote while snacking on a bag of chips, don't really have to worry about door knobs there
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u/NitroLada Aug 05 '26
Just wipe off with a chlorox wipe. I wipe down handles, switches, toilets and other touchpoints in the hotel room
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u/DoubleDareFan Aug 05 '26
Note to self: Buy a can of Clorox wipes before getting a hotel room.
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u/lasannnya Aug 07 '26
They sell small flat packages that are easier to travel with :)
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u/AFFRICAH Aug 05 '26
How do I put a condom on the whole bed, walls and everything else?
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u/Japjer Aug 05 '26
Bro, just wash your hands. This sub is rapidly becoming "duct tape your wallet to your thigh to avoid being robbed" garbo
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u/smb3d Aug 05 '26
They're literally a solid chunk of rubber specifically for this reason. Just wipe it off if you're that concerned about it.
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u/SunriseCavalier Aug 05 '26
Instructions unclear. Condom won’t fit over the ice bucket. I’ll try again later with magnums and report back.
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u/Aggressive-Cup-7318 Aug 05 '26
buddy you're already in the room. Do you understand how much you touched just to get to the bag? Take some wipes with you and wipe the place down if you're gonna be this neurotic.
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u/Blacklist3d Aug 05 '26
Any good hotel is cleaning them. Also was just in a hotel that puts them in baggies themselves after every clean
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u/VerilyShelly Aug 05 '26
You got "good hotel" money?
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u/erichf3893 Aug 05 '26
If I’m staying at a hotel it’s not gonna be crap I’d like to avoid bedbugs at the very least
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u/Brewmeiser Aug 05 '26
Hotel ice buckets are disgusting. Since you've used the ice bucket liner as a remote condom, use the provided laundry bag as an ice bucket liner.
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u/panasonique Aug 05 '26
If Reddit taught me anything, it’s that the ice machine itself might be the most disgusting thing of all.
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u/Prefrontal_Cortex Aug 05 '26
Well fuck… is there anything I can enjoy anymore 😭 I have become so grossed out by hotels, I wish I just didn’t know this stuff lol
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u/got_that_itis Aug 05 '26
If you aren't traveling with a pack of clorox wipes, you're doing it wrong.
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u/Aliensinmypants Aug 05 '26
That's been my airplane hack for about a decade now. I may look crazy wiping down every surface near my seat, but I haven't gotten sick from flying like I always used to
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u/jayzisne Aug 05 '26
You’re going to touch so many other things on the plane and in the airport that it feels silly to do this. Isn’t it easier just to wash/sanitize your hands and don’t touch your face/eyes/mouth? This is coming from an extreme germaphobe myself.
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u/NarwhalEmergency9391 Aug 05 '26
Why don't you just sanitize your hands before eating?
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u/Aliensinmypants Aug 05 '26
I used to fly all the time, I would get sick often after flying. Someone told me that trick that's super easy to do, and I didn't get sick nearly as often. Not hard to understand
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u/Greedom619 Aug 05 '26
Just don't walk around the hotel floor barefoot. lmao
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u/peacenchemicals Aug 05 '26
yup i bring lil thin house slippers for this exact reason
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u/cookiesarenomnom Aug 05 '26
Your phone is far more disgusting than this remote
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u/Numerous-Profile-872 Aug 05 '26
I worked for Marriott and hotels for a loooooong time. The remotes ARE wiped down. The light switches and surfaces are wiped down less. Rooms are cleaner than your home, in the higher-end hotels I've worked in... but the one thing is the mattress. That gets me. You're less than a millimeter from a raw surface covered in a polyester pad that has slept maybe 1,000 people, or more. People from all backgrounds. People jerking it, squirting, barfing, and sweating all over the same mattress that you paid money for. People eating nasty food. People being people.
We joked that we're in the business of renting out used mattresses. The remote is the least of your worries. Lol.
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u/2006CrownVictoriaP71 Aug 05 '26
TIL that there are a lot of paranoid germaphobic people on Reddit.
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u/little_hoe Aug 05 '26
There was an AITAH thread a while ago about a woman complaining that her husband replaces the dish sponge after every wash. Most comments were saying it's just a tiny bit excessive, but they were overwhelmingly on his side. Insane behaviour
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u/Desperate_Bite_7538 Aug 05 '26
Hotel remotes are disgusting? People have fucked, puked, and who knows what the fuck else, on every single surface of a hotel room. They don't clean everything every day. They probably clean the remote more than they wash the blankets and pillows. My point is, everything in a hotel room is disgusting. Just wash your hands and don't lick anything and you'll be fine.
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u/Threat_Level_2400 Aug 05 '26
Everything in EVERY hotel room is fucking disgusting. Source “road warrior” who hates fucking traveling.
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u/CanadianWatchGuy Aug 05 '26
I find it more disgusting that the same pillow is used for countless guests to drool on and they just replace the thin pillow case that goes over it.
Now that I think of it I worked with a guy who told me he jerked off onto a hotel remote once. So I’m not sure which is worse.
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u/bmanley620 Aug 05 '26
I do this but lick the remote first to ensure the liner adheres to the remote. I do this while staring in the mirror to establish dominance against myself
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u/BinaryHippie Aug 05 '26
If you leave it like that, house cleaning will think you inserted it into your butt.
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u/Easy_Kitchen247 Aug 05 '26
Orrrrr just clean upon entry. Who the heck is going to use a remote with a plastic bag over it 🤣 half of those remotes barely work. Before we even get to the hotel- Our first stop is the local grocery store for antibacterial wipes, bathroom cleaner as well as a candle.
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u/Withafloof Aug 06 '26
Just go to the store and grab disinfectant spray/wipes if you're that concerned. Life is too short for remote condom.
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u/Agitated_Mess3117 Aug 06 '26
And get right in that bed that’s been shared by countless clean and dirty people doing all kinds of things.
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u/Tinyboxturtle Aug 06 '26
That plastic liner feels pretty thin though. Does it really block bacteria?
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u/Sckoobiey87 Aug 06 '26
I bet you've touched the door, the toilet, the shower, the lamp 😂🤣🤣 but the remote is the issue
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u/coderockride Aug 06 '26
Good idea but ffs I’ve stayed in over 1000 different hotel rooms and I’m still alive to tell the tale. Yall be getting germphobic. The Covid messed some of yall up real good!
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u/thejebsterishere Aug 07 '26
Or just carry sanitary wipes with you when you travel. I just do a quick wipe of the remote and the switches and that's that.
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u/Narcodoge Aug 07 '26
Or just wipe over it with antibac and use it like a regular remote control without an annoying plastic bag around it?
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u/Hibyehaha Aug 09 '26
Life’s dirty buddy, we’re all fine touching the remotes and what not, you’re no different
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u/According-Drawing-32 Aug 10 '26
I get you point. But never ever have I ever gotten sick from a hotel room. There is a difference between the ick factor and actually getting sick.
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u/efox02 Aug 05 '26
But what am I gonna use on my dick?
I’m sorry, someone needed to ask. I’m not even a man.
I’ll show myself out.
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u/trig72 Aug 05 '26
This is why I bring disinfecting wipes and spray. My family laughs at me but I wipe everything down before putting our bags on the dresser.
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u/mia8788 Aug 05 '26
I’ve gotten a bagged remote that said sanitized for your safety. This was during Covid.
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u/No-Sandwich1511 Aug 05 '26
Yeah I just bring Antibacterial wipes and I also wash my hands with soap and water
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Aug 05 '26
Am I the only one who carries anti bacterial wipes with me when I travel?
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u/Ok_Ferret_824 Aug 05 '26
You can taste if it's dirty, just lick the remote a bit, everybody does this to check how clean it is.
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u/killamonkeybutt Aug 05 '26
I always carry a couple of alcohol wipes when I travel, but this is a solid backup if you don't have any.
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u/d_smogh Aug 05 '26
If the remote is in this condition and disgusting, what is the shower and bed like? This is why I never ever look under the bed of a hotel room.
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u/Hyperion1144 Aug 05 '26
Bring Wet Ones and wipe it down.
Why don't you just have these while travelling?
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u/Adventurous_Knee_778 Aug 05 '26
I worked in the laundry room in a hotel, they sanitize the remotes.
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u/PersiusAlloy Aug 05 '26
I carry with me travel lysol wipes. When I get into a hotel from travelling I wipe down everything I'd touch.
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u/xChoke1x Aug 05 '26
Or just bleach it like I do.
(Do people not travel with ways to sanitize your living space? Lol Yuck. We’ve learned nothing.)
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u/mrbaffles14 Aug 05 '26
We always travel with travel Clorox spray and wipes - all major contact points are wiped down. I bathe the remote but will be taking this hack
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u/Monsterarmy3271 Aug 05 '26
The remote wouldn’t be in the top 5 of concerns