5 Gross Things Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms

Whether traveling for business or pleasure a hotel room should be a haven for resting a weary head and not a den of dirty surprises. Having worked in resorts and now a business traveler, over the years I have spent quite a bit of time on the road and have determined 5 gross things commonly found in hotel rooms.

Gross Thing #5 Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms: Stained Bedspreads
Bedspreads and comforters are magnets for food, blood and other human and pet body fluid stains yet, they are rarely washed by housekeeping. Patterned bedspreads and comforters can easily camouflage stains. At least once a year, television news programs air stories about dirty hotel rooms and use black lights to show body fluid stains. Before crawling into bed, peel back that top layer and hope the rest of the bed linens are clean.

Gross Thing #4 Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms: Junk Under the Bed
Some travelers have the philosophy of not looking under the bed in fear of finding something disgusting. Taking a peak may reveal harmless dust bunnies, candy wrappers, and sometimes even money. Unlucky travelers will find gross leftovers from previous guests including used condoms, rotting apple cores, or bloody bandages.

Gross Thing #3 Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms: Lipstick Kisses
Before using that drinking glass or opening a bottle of water provided by the hotel, check for lipstick smudges. When possible, use the plastic cups wrapped in plastic or bring your own water. Sometimes a hotel's housekeeping staff either overlooks or carelessly cleans the glasses. If a hotel is charging for bottled water, the previous guest may have opened the bottle, drank the water, replenished it with tap water, and returned it to its original spot for the next guest so they are not charged.

Gross Thing #2 Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms: Food in the Microwave
A place nice enough to have a microwave should have outstanding housekeeping staff but this isn't always the case. Beware when opening the microwave door to reheat last night's leftovers because the previous guest's leftovers may be in there and may be a little fuzzy and green. Or, remnants of a spaghetti dinner may be splattered and baked onto the microwave's walls and dish.

Gross Thing #! Commonly Found in Hotel Rooms:Personal Body Hair and Toenail Clippings
Guests can gauge how lax housekeeping is when finding toenail clippings left from the previous guest embedded in the hotel room's carpeting. Shame on you if you're one who clips toe and fingernails in the middle of the room without properly disposing them! That's why trashcans are provided. It's also gross seeing personal body hairs clinging to bathtub walls or hiding in the bathroom's corner.

Of these five possible gross things, toenail clippings and personal body hairs are by far the most disgusting to find in a hotel room.