This is why I so much prefer a French Press to any kind of automatic coffee maker. It’s just a glass beaker- super easy to wash, no hidden anything. The only downside is that it’s pretty easy to break the beaker if you’re not careful. Plus I think it makes the best coffee.
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It does make me cringe. But what’s worse is that I know hotels set “standards” for how many minutes housekeeping staff is allowed per hotel room or suite. The losers here are the housekeepers. They’ll get disciplined or fired for not having enough time, so they feel they must cut corners. Even if one room is particularly dirty, they don’t get extra time.
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As for items such as sugar, I simply go to Big Lots and buy a box with 50 packs of sugar, another box of 50 packets of Splenda, and so on, for less than $2 per box. For liquid soap I buy a good brand and keep on refilling the bottle so it always looks brand new. For bars of soap, I can buy at Marshall’s or TJMaxx 6 bars of Dove for less than one dollar each. For shampoo and conditioner, I buy several bottles of a good brand such as Pantene and keep on topping them off. Even at Walgreen’s I have found top of the line large bottles of conditioner and shampoo (with the pump dispenser that is particularly nice) for less than $2 when the selection of a particular line is being replaced/discontinued. I also offer a tray of miniature shampoo, soap, etc, for those who prefer it (the tiny toiletries are from other hotels where friends of relatives have stayed in the past).
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Have a cohost that has extremely high standards, and pay them to do a final walkthrough. It could be another host in your neighborhood, or a neighbor, or the clean freak you know from work. Obviously they would need to do some walkthroughs with you, and you should make sure that you have a written inspection list (which cleaner also gets). Expectations should be in writing.
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I’ve kept up with maintenance on mine, and it’s easier to maintain than the fancy Krups filter pot with thermal carafe I had before, with a lot less waste. I have a reusable cup I use with coffee from our roaster to make coffee for myself, but using Costco pods has eliminated a time consuming cleaning chore and other coffeemakers of various types were worse.
The trick is to run a partial tank of coffeepot cleaner through it about once a week, so the oils, coffee particles, minerals (no problem for me, our water is soft), and residue get dissolved and can’t provide a place for bacteria.
I partially disassemble the little hose and run a tiny garage sale brush through that (I rarely throw away any tool that might be useful in a few years, especially if it was cheap).
Then I run 2 tanks of water through. Actual work time, including the flushing after, is usually about 20 minutes.
I have one of those UV flashlights. I bought it because mouse “trails” show up with it (mice dribble-piddle a lot) and I wanted to know where to place traps in my basement.
But I actually found it most useful when I drop something and it rolls under my desk. Small objects are often more visible than with normal light. A lot of dust is really apparent, too.
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Thank you, I agree that there’s little danger, and time between only helps.
Ditto here. In my country tea is more commonly drunk than coffee so I don’t bother with all coffee paraphernalia but just a French press. And in two years I am still on the first press I bought. Coffee is just ground coffee from the local supermarket. I also provide English Breakfast and Earl Grey tea which gets used more often. And so the only appliance that needs cleaning is the electric kettle which is easily cleaned by just boiling water with a couple of lemons sliced.
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