I do NOT like sharing toilets.....

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pianocat

pianocat

Lead Service Attendant
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
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426
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Newburgh, IN
I did fine for this last long trip in a roomette, and years past - but I'm thinking in future I want a Bedroom with its own toilet/shower. The SCA is so good about cleaning the toilets but, this is the only aspect of taking LD trains that I really Do Not Like. Still not sure I'd cx if not given a BD, but Roomette makes me feel like despite taking precautions, there are still a crapload of germs I'd rather not encounter. Still like the idea of a Roomette, and losing myself in that space...but I think I could that just as easily in a Bedroom. Any opinions?
 
I could tell you the old story about the young boy with the rich father who spent his whole childhood cloistered up, protected from germs and all that, only to die from excitement on his first day of being a free adult.

But what I will tell you, honestly, is the following:

I don't enjoy being sick. Therefore I don't like germs. But if I spent my time worrying about all the things that, without absurd precaution, I can't really control, I'd die from internal bleeding from my ulcers and hemroids. So I simply ignore it and go about my merry way, because there really isn't that much I can do about it. I can pretend to take worthless and useless precautions. I can, for instance, avoid handling cash, one of the dirtiest things there is. But the truth of the matter is, germs are everywhere, and your precautions are only affecting the tiniest percent.

That being said, there is the flip side. If you think that being in a bedroom makes you safer from your fears, then take one. Peace of mind is priceless.
 
I love a bedroom when I have the points for it. I don't like paying high bucket for a bedroom.

I don't worry about germs though. That is just not a concern of mine. I wash my hands after using the restroom. Bring some Clorox wipes if you are concerned.
 
As a germophobe, I carry wipes, and about 3sx backups for every trip to the loo. But might be nicer to have my own BR without having to share.
 
For the record, I've seen some " less than clean" toilets left when I entered. That's what offends me the most, especially the ones who refuse to flush. That, I will never get.
 
If being a "germaphobe" makes me strange, hey...get used to it and don't judge. It's not from left field...there is reason to be cautious. If that's not best for you, goody. But not all of us throw abandon to the wind where germs are concerned. I hope you never get an ecoli issue from sharing a public toilet. It's a WHOLE lot more common than you might imagine, to varying degrees. No thanks.
 
pianocat said:
For the record, I've seen some " less than clean" toilets left when I entered. That's what offends me the most, especially the ones who refuse to flush. That, I will never get.
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Just a warning. This also happens with the toilets in bedrooms, if you board the train in the middle of its journey.
 
I'd plan to CLEAN that toilet, myself when first boarding, trust me. I don't trust any cleanliness attempts, at all.
 
I do not like sharing toilets either. I am not looking forward to the new viewliners without toilets in roomettes. I get bedrooms on superliner.
 
Smart girl, Penny! We have much in common:) including our wish for cleanliness. Fact is, I wouldn't expect even a BD would be free of germs....as another reason why I'd be applying germicide upon arrival. Thanks, Penny!
 
pianocat said:
I did fine for this last long trip in a roomette, and years past - but I'm thinking in future I want a Bedroom with its own toilet/shower. The SCA is so good about cleaning the toilets but, this is the only aspect of taking LD trains that I really Do Not Like. Still not sure I'd cx if not given a BD, but Roomette makes me feel like despite taking precautions, there are still a crapload of germs I'd rather not encounter. Still like the idea of a Roomette, and losing myself in that space...but I think I could that just as easily in a Bedroom. Any opinions?
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Under normal circumstances I try not to worry about germs too much. Not because they're not potentially serious but simply because actually avoiding them takes an absurd amount of effort. In the case of a real epidemic choosing a bedroom over a roomette isn't going to protect you regardless. Best to ratchet down the concern to something a bit more manageable. Or maybe cost is no issue for you. In which case I say go ahead and get a bedroom every single time. Maybe that will leave more roomettes available for folks like me. I suppose Amtrak could start applying disinfectants to their carpeted rooms in order to try and clean them, but then you're introducing potentially harsh carcinogens. Better to just get rid of the carpet and design rooms that are easier to clean with natural cleaning agents.
 
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I thought you were having the time of your life in roomettes? :)

In all seriousness I apologize if my post was construed as negative. I personally don't worry about germs. I make up for it by being anxious about connections. :)

I will always book a bedroom when I can afford it.
 
And most likely taking wet wipes to all surfaces in the room, too. This last trip, I got a cold - and since I hadn't been sick in probably 14 months, I chalk it up to the sick pax in CUS who were in close proximity to me. By PDX, I was hacking up a whole lot of crap. Fortunately, it stopped then [had an antibiotic with me]..but " new " germs tend to take a bigger hold than the ones that one's used to. Thus, my germaphone nature..... better to be overprotective than to risk getting something super easy to avoid. That's just the way I roll. And even if in a roomette...that space gets a good working over of wet wipes, trust me. So would a BDR. Especially the bathroom.
 
Yes, Amamba, I LOVE roomettes. This concern doesn't detract from that ardour. If i simply put myself in a larger room, then that's not copping out on Roomettes. I'm looking at this from a standpoint of the builtin toilet and shower. Period.
 
pianocat said:
And most likely taking wet wipes to all surfaces in the room, too. This last trip, I got a cold - and since I hadn't been sick in probably 14 months, I chalk it up to the sick pax in CUS who were in close proximity to me. By PDX, I was hacking up a whole lot of crap. Fortunately, it stopped then [had an antibiotic with me]..but " new " germs tend to take a bigger hold than the ones that one's used to. Thus, my germaphone nature..... better to be overprotective than to risk getting something super easy to avoid. That's just the way I roll. And even if in a roomette...that space gets a good working over of wet wipes, trust me. So would a BDR. Especially the bathroom.
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Seems like this should have been included in the first post. Can you explain how choosing a bedroom would have prevented you from catching a cold in your view? If not then what's the point? It's starting to sound more and more like an illogical overreaction.
 
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Good Freakin' Lord....if one acquires a germ from a simple touch of a surface, it's going to happen. I don't blame it on a specific person...but MANY people in CUS were coughing their foul heads off and I was on their train. Do the math. I was healthy getting on. I wasn't by time i got to Portland. I got the "germ" somewhere. A BDR would not have guaranteed either good health or a cold - but fact is , I encounterd a GERM somewhere - there were many flying in the air at CUS....I can only assume that is where I acquired it. Roomette, BD, would not have changed that. Just a not so pleasant issue from travel.... Just like flying might provide the same germ situation.
 
Ok, According to DA...I should have just gotten sick because I was in a public place.... Umm...no, I have no *phobia*. I have a healthy concern. " sound like proof that even if you take your phobia to extremes you'll still get sick anyway." WRONG. I teach 50 students each week in my Piano studio and do NOT get sick. You can't use that argument here. I haven't had this kind of cold in over a year, and that's with dealing with every degree of illness in my Studio on a daily basis. I think it's a matter of ***new*** germs, honestly. Ones that I haven't been exposed to....and they take hold.
 
And if that's the case, don't condemn me for being over-vigilant about germs. Perhaps more people should share my concerns.
 
I take my own air tanks out in public so I don't have to breath the same air as the germ ridden public that insist on crowding my space.
 
You probably already had the cold germs before you started your trip. I believe it takes 2 weeks from time of getting the germs till symptoms appear. Also, antibiotics will not work on a cold. A cold is a viral infection, not a bacterial infection.

I don't worry about germs and am rarely sick. When I get a cold I have no idea who I got it from since the person I got it from may not even had symptoms themselves yet.
 
Doesn't work for everyone, but if I think I have been (or will be) around someone with a cold or flu, I'll start taking Echinacea for about a week, before I get any symptoms. This has been effective for me for many years

(To scare anything from catching me, I used to keep a bottle of the extremely aromatic Buckley's Mixture in my medicine cabinet. Their slogan is "It tastes awful, and it works!" Alas, it's getting harder to find.)
 
I sometimes get sick on vacation, mainly due to going to events with 100's or 1000's of people but y'knkow :) I would tend to think trains would be fairly safe etc, but if you don't like it, get a bedroom :) I'm not really the type to really care about personal privacy in such things, but many people do. I think you should pick the accomodations where you have the highest chance for happyness
 
I am semi-germaphobic. I always use hand sanitizers when I touch anything outside of my home or my family's homes. Shopping carts, door handles, restroom sinks or anything another person touches causes me to think about germs and what to do about them.

I have heard that sinks are the most unsanitary place, and when you think about it, that is logical. I'm rather extreme when using a sink in a public restroom. First I turn on the faucet, grab a paper towel, wash my hand, dry my hands with the paper towel then use it to turn off the faucet. Then...one needs to open the restroom door! Darn. I haven't quite figured out how to get around that yet. :(
 
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