Internet Not Prepared for Mom’s Cleaning Routine When Staying at Hotels

Feel nervous about staying at a hotel for your next trip, especially amid the ongoing bedbug outbreak in Paris?

Well, trying out one mom’s extensive hotel room cleaning routine might help you feel a bit more reassured during your travels.

A voice in a viral TikTok clip shared on October 9 by Niki’s Side of Cleantok (@operation_niki) says: “I know that thousands of people check in and out of these hotel rooms and the majority of them have the mindset of most of the people in my comments…”

The voice continued: “…which leads me to fully believe that these rooms are not as clean as you think they are.”

The poster of the clip, which has more than 679,000 views at the time of writing, is a mom of three, according to a website shared via TikTok profile.

The footage shows a woman entering what appears to be a hotel room. She is seen cleaning and disinfecting different parts of the room using various products she brought with her.

The woman’s hotel room cleaning ritual is not surprising as studies have shown that concerns about hotel cleanliness were heightened after the COVID-19 outbreak.

An April 2023 study published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management found that “Growing health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic have led guests to focus on various aspects of hotel cleanliness.” The study was based on data from TripAdvisor, the travel review website, taken from 26,519 reviews in 2020 for 2,024 hotels across the U.S.

An April 2021 study published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management noted: “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now and for years to come, guests at hospitality venues will have heightened awareness with regard to formulating their perceptions of cleanliness.”

The study found that the “degree of lighting, use of solid white bedding, and presence of cleaning staff can influence both actual and perceived cleanliness.”

According to the study, “plants/greenery, shiny surfaces, and ambient scents can influence guests’ perceptions of cleanliness.”

The woman in the clip appears to spritz a sanitizing spray that claims to “kill 99.9 percent of bacteria up to 24 hours,” onto some switches and a small screen on a wall. She later opens a packet of disinfecting wipes and is seen wiping a table area as well as a landline phone and a remote control with wipes.

She also cleans the toilet cover and seat, before cleaning the bathroom floor with a wipe placed over a sponge that’s attached to a stick. The woman then sprays a disinfectant mist onto some couches in the room.

A voice in the video says: “I stayed at a hotel room the other day that had blood on the sheets and this was a five-star hotel.” The woman is seen lifting the bed sheet before a stain is shown near the headboard.

Opening a disposable sheet set packet and fitting the sheet over the bed, the voice says: “I brought four products with me, three of which were travel-sized and took up virtually no space in my suitcase.”

The voice says the cleaning routine takes about 20 minutes: “I don’t think that’s much out of my entire week’s stay.” The woman is seen spraying a product onto the floor of what appears to be a shower unit before cleaning it with the sponge stick.

She is later seen spraying a product into a sink before scrubbing it down with a sponge. She cleans the sink counter and the taps with a disinfecting wipe before placing her toiletries on the counter.

“I’m not here to convince you to clean your hotel rooms. My videos are here to educate and share what I like doing for me and my family. The last thing I want to do is contract a disease or carry home bed bugs. Better to be safe than sorry, in my opinion,” the voice says as the clip ends.

Several TikTok users were impressed by the woman’s hotel cleaning routine, saying it was a smart move.

Genxjenn said: “So smart. The way this would make me feel so much more settled, especially in some rooms lol.”

Miekaj03 said: “this is a must in my family.”

User p said: “I’ve worked in hotels trust me you’re a smart woman. House keeping have many rooms to get through between check in and checkout time.”

User @hfcrim said@ I’m obsessed with your videos!”

Some were not as convinced, such as unknown890648, who said: “At this point you doing the cleaners job lmao.”

D d noted: “it’s not a bad idea but id you ever go out in public places and touch/sit anywhere….its no different.”

Newsweek has reached out to the original poster via TikTok and email for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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