Guests not washing hands it seems

So it turns out my guests barely wash their hands, or at least they barely use soap.
I have had 33 nights booked in my new listing, mostly couples and the soap pump containers are still over 90% full. I mean barely used, the one in the kitchen is a bit lower the bathroom one has maybe never been used. That is over 60 people and no more the 3-4 ounces of soap used.

I never would have known had I continued to use the individual soaps because they always get opened, I guess that’s all for show.

I am going to go clean the remotes again.

RR

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Maybe they are bringing their own soap?

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60+ people?

I doubt it

RR

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Given the way the silverware in my kitchen drawer looks after guests checkout, I tend to agree.

The liquid hand soap in the bathrooms is a mixed bag. Sometimes it looks like guests don’t use any at all and sometime I wonder how they possibly could’ve used so much.

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This is all new to me, I have always used individual soaps but wanted to try refillable pump soaps and 3-1 body wash/shampoo conditioner. I assumed I would always be refilling. The 3-1 gets used, so at least they use soap in the shower I guess.

RR

I put a new wrapped bar soap, liquid soap and pump hand sanitizer by the sink and a bar of soap in the tub. Sometimes bar is used, and in 2 years the pump liquid soap was empty. But I do wonder as sometimes it seems nothing is used.

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Black Light Time! Oooooh imagine what you’ll find and WHERE!

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A lot of my guests seem to travel with their own soap.

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That is strange. I provide pump hand soap and wrapped bar soap in the bathroom, and pump hand soap and liquid dishwashing soap in the kitchen (even though I have a dishwasher with detergent pods also) and I have to refill the things all the time.

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My housekeeper says that some people put water in the soap dispensers. We can’t figure out why! Maybe your soap was thinned and more has been used than you thought?

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We must have more hygenic guests :slight_smile:

Bathrooms and kitchens both got liquid soap dispensers, €1 a pop from our local Chinese bazaar. Smell nice enough and not obvious budget buys, one guest even complimented them so I gave her an unopened one to take away!

They hold about 330/350ml and we go through a couple a month during peak periods. The shampoo and body wash get well used as we get a lot of folks flying in, many on hand luggage only. If they remove the 100ml restriction on liquids (which is being discussed in Europe) then it’ll save us a few euros!

JF

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Hi RRR, That’s been my experience too. 4 years ago I bought two large containers of liquid soap from Costco to pour into my hand dispenser. I am still on the first container.

FYI - I always spray down all light switches, door knobs and remote controls. I do however refuse to use the blacklight. I think I would be totally grossed out.

OH and for the first time a guest stopped up my toilet. I had to rush home and take the plunge (gross). Now there’s an elegant plunger (as much as one can be) in the bathroom.

These guests also complained that my refrigerator was too high and froze their product. So now I have to add check Refrigerator temperature to my cleaning check list. No rest for the weary. :wink:

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My god, you’ve just reminded me of our absolute nightmare scenario that happened when we got the the first of our two apartments opened up.

First Airbnb guest, lovely guy working at the US base in Rota, staying for five days.

Got a message from him after first night, “have you got a plunger, I think I’ve blocked the loo”.

Told him where it was and checked all was good. Yes he says.

Same story at check out, so we assumed he’d simply used too much paper, or had been eating too much red meat :wink:

Next guest a one nighter from BDC the following day. Couple of strange German women who sold BitCoin for a living.

Inspecting apartment after check out found several floaters :poop:

Tried flushing, no go. Used drain rod, liquid unblocking solutions, slight improvement but still not flushing like it should. Got guests coming the next day and second apartment nowhere near finished. Spoke to builder, he says someone must have flushed a nappy or something down it.

This then became a circular discussion where he says nowt to do with him and suggested we get the Dyno Rod guy out. No way, €400 minimum!

My OH was talking about cancelling next guests, which would have been disastrous to our standings. So, I started to think about it logically. I knew it was a new waste pipe, I’d been there when it was being fitted, and it connected to the main waste which was flowing (and flushing to) fine.

Only thing left is the actual lavvy. Out with the tools time.

When I removed the pan the problem was obvious, the guy who’d fitted it had used a straight connector from pan to waste, when he should have used an offset one. It meant the joint was compressed and only allowed small poos to pass, so to speak.

Quick run to hardware shop, €5 and twenty minutes work later, a perfectly flushing lavvy. I even road tested it myself :slight_smile:

It’s funny when we look back on it now, but at the time it was shaping up to be not the best start to a STR business! Both sets of guests gave us good reviews despite the problem, they probably blamed themselves. Our builder was very quiet after I told him, especially as I’d photographed the evidence, both human and hardware related :slight_smile:
JF

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He owes you a BIG favor!

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Got to be honest, he’d already done us so many (seriously) big favours, that I can’t hold it against him. We’d never have finished this project without him and he is more of a friend now, than just the builder. We joke about it now, at least I do and he laughs, sort of.

JF

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That is so strange. We’ve gone through one and a half bottles of liquid soap in about 6 months (most weekends being booked, but not all) not to mention refilling the shower dispenser with body wash and shampoo etc. Maybe they are using hand sanitizer?

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@nolabelle, like your guests, ours seem to use hand soap at a normal rate. They also use the shampoo and shower gel we provide.

For other hosts whose guests don’t use liquid hand soap, maybe check that the pump works. They can get clogged.

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Just like toilet paper, some people use minimal amounts and some seem to go through absurd amounts. Some people may only pump a bit of soap on their hands when washing them, which is all that’s really necessary, and some will use far more than required. I had an ex-boyfriend who used to lather himself up in the shower like you see on TV ads trying to sell soap or shampoo. He would also squeeze a huge worm of toothpaste on his brush, again like the TV ads. It was ridiculous how much soap, shampoo and toothpaste he went through.

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The story Big Boy by David Sedaris comes to mind.

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If they get used… The pumps work.

RR