Hotel Design: Getting Rid of the Ick Factor
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.25.07
Ron Barrett, New York Times
We talk about healthy houses all the time, getting rid of carpets and drapes that harbour all kinds of little critters, dealing with air quality and using natural materials. The hotel chains are catching on, and are beginning to offer hypoallergenic hotel rooms. They have wood floors, wood slat blinds, dust mite liners on beds and pillows. According to the New York Times:
This much cleanliness might seem a bit neurotic. But it’s not enough anymore for hotels seeking health-conscious patrons to serve organic cuisine and offer all-natural bath products. As more hotels try to set themselves apart, a new amenity is emerging: the hypoallergenic hotel room.
The concept isn’t aimed just at the allergic, but also at guests who are concerned with what might be called the ick factor. “The whole thing is geared toward ‘What about the guy before me?’
Evidently both occupancy rates and rack rates are higher. As one who never touches the bedspread in a hotel room I can see why. ::New York Times
To an extent more cleanliness is good, but there is increasing evidence that overclean environments confuse our immune systems. Having no pathogens to fight, they start picking on healthy tissues. This may be behind rising rates of asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis, allergies, etc.
After all, humans and all other organisms evolved in pathogen-rich environments, and developed sophisticated disease-fighting systems that aren't necessarily at home in clean rooms.
Didja ever notice that the kid in school with all the allergies lived in the immaculate house? Which cause to which effect?
An article in a January issue of New Scientist profiles this emerging theory. Do a web search using the keyword "overclean".
Having just spent four nights in a hotel, I don't believe it's possible to overthink this kind of cleanliness.
Upon entering my non-smoking room, it became clear that this designation meant I was not to smoke in it; no one was guaranteeing a stogie-fest hadn't recently taken place in the room. (In fact, the room smelled more like it had previously been inhabited by a gathering of Lucky Strike enthusiasts, but I digress.)
Mind you, I don't consider myself the fussiest of people. But if standards can be adjusted and thus things made cleaner - and safer - in the average hotel room, I'm all for it.
I don't want to have my exposure to germs reduced! I have believed for years that dirt is good for you!
And, to just scare everyone a little more ... overcleaning can lead to an increase risk of Type I Diabetes.
Purell and overcleaning are making us open and overconfident. We are compromising our immune systems, and creating supergerms. And most people don't realize that purell won't stop viruses, especially flu. I remember talking about the bird flu "I use purell every half hour. I'll be fine."
Oh, and as a person who has allergies to EVERYTHING, I can assure you that I did not grow up in an overclean environment.