Boarded #8 just a bit ago, from SEA. Have a bedroom booked to myself.
First, I *don't* intend this as a complaint thread. The room is comfortable, the train left on time, the sleeper attendant is excellent, and I'm looking forward to dinner shortly.
There's been a lot of discussion in here about how clean (or not) sleeper rooms are. And, my last bedroom trip was.. not good. The sink was filthy, and a lot of other areas of the room generally grimy. So, I wanted to be prepared for this trip. I'm not, by any means, a germophobe, but if I'm going to be spending the better part of three days in a room, I'd like it to be at least comfortably clean.
My room is the renovated style (if I understand it correctly). While the AC controls and reading lights next to the sofa are the older modules, the upholstery is the new vinyl, the sink and countertop are newer, the carpet and curtains appear to have been refreshed.
Because I flew, carry on only to Seattle to start my trip, I was a little limited in what I could bring. So I bought a small (8 oz) trigger spray bottle, and two 3 oz (TSA approved) bottles filled with this: Amazon.com
If you're not familiar, this is an old school, very strong, very concentrated cleaner and disinfectant. It's something I've used for work gear that gets gross, as well as things like martial arts equipment.
As soon as I boarded, I mixed up my spray bottle, grabbed a few washcloths, and went to town on the room.
The vinyl seats, and headrest, seemed very clean. The white rag stayed white once i was done cleaning.
The exterior of the bathroom module, likewise, seemed pretty clean. There were some spots, like in crevices around the switches, and a bit of lower door around the wastebasket, that were definitely holding grime, but by and large this was clean.
The interior of the bathroom was, likewise, also clean. (After wiping it down, I misted everything again and let it stand for more disinfection).
The rail under the window - the perforated metal trim for the heat vent - was gross. The rag came back brown, and I dirtied more than one rag getting it clean.
The pull out table itself was pretty clean - but the surrounding part, for instance around where it folds, was not. The cup holder recesses also lost a ton of grime to the lysol.
The door - all of it - was gross. I wiped down the interior of the door, especially around the handle and the metal facing above and below, 3 full times with lots of cleaner and mechanical action before it started coming back clean.
Again - I don't mean to sound like a germophobe or complainer. This was more an exercise in curiosity. I thought it might give some insight into how the rooms (or at least this one) are cleaned.
They seem to put attention to the obvious spots - the bathroom and seat - but not hit any of the finer detail areas like door handles, light switches, and the rail at the bottom of the window.
First, I *don't* intend this as a complaint thread. The room is comfortable, the train left on time, the sleeper attendant is excellent, and I'm looking forward to dinner shortly.
There's been a lot of discussion in here about how clean (or not) sleeper rooms are. And, my last bedroom trip was.. not good. The sink was filthy, and a lot of other areas of the room generally grimy. So, I wanted to be prepared for this trip. I'm not, by any means, a germophobe, but if I'm going to be spending the better part of three days in a room, I'd like it to be at least comfortably clean.
My room is the renovated style (if I understand it correctly). While the AC controls and reading lights next to the sofa are the older modules, the upholstery is the new vinyl, the sink and countertop are newer, the carpet and curtains appear to have been refreshed.
Because I flew, carry on only to Seattle to start my trip, I was a little limited in what I could bring. So I bought a small (8 oz) trigger spray bottle, and two 3 oz (TSA approved) bottles filled with this: Amazon.com
If you're not familiar, this is an old school, very strong, very concentrated cleaner and disinfectant. It's something I've used for work gear that gets gross, as well as things like martial arts equipment.
As soon as I boarded, I mixed up my spray bottle, grabbed a few washcloths, and went to town on the room.
The vinyl seats, and headrest, seemed very clean. The white rag stayed white once i was done cleaning.
The exterior of the bathroom module, likewise, seemed pretty clean. There were some spots, like in crevices around the switches, and a bit of lower door around the wastebasket, that were definitely holding grime, but by and large this was clean.
The interior of the bathroom was, likewise, also clean. (After wiping it down, I misted everything again and let it stand for more disinfection).
The rail under the window - the perforated metal trim for the heat vent - was gross. The rag came back brown, and I dirtied more than one rag getting it clean.
The pull out table itself was pretty clean - but the surrounding part, for instance around where it folds, was not. The cup holder recesses also lost a ton of grime to the lysol.
The door - all of it - was gross. I wiped down the interior of the door, especially around the handle and the metal facing above and below, 3 full times with lots of cleaner and mechanical action before it started coming back clean.
Again - I don't mean to sound like a germophobe or complainer. This was more an exercise in curiosity. I thought it might give some insight into how the rooms (or at least this one) are cleaned.
They seem to put attention to the obvious spots - the bathroom and seat - but not hit any of the finer detail areas like door handles, light switches, and the rail at the bottom of the window.
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