Self catering holiday

[Toothsil]

We are supposed to be going on a self catering holiday in a couple of weeks, but my husband is starting to feel worried about staying in a house where other people have possibly left around 5 hours before we check in.

Does anyone know if there are any procedures that have to be followed with regard to cleaning self catering accommodation or anything I can tell him to put his mind at rest? At the moment he's wanting to cancel the holiday unless there's been nobody else in the house the week before us but I don't know how we could find that out.

Speaking from an over cautious person we went on our self catering holiday 2 weeks ago despite me worrying. Most places are getting people to leave at 9am and then checking new people in at 4 so there is a good gap in between. We just wiped down surfaces when we got there, kitchen, bedside tables and bathroom plus light switches and plugs we used. Took no more than half hour and was peace of mind. For the kids we actually took quilt covers and their own pillows which was probably unnecessary but helped. I would say go if you can, we totally needed a break both being keyworkers and although it took a bit more planning we are glad we went.

The firm we used over the summer had very detailed information on their website about the measures they were taking with regard to cleaning (holidaycottages.com). The arrival/departure times were altered to give more cleaning time. To be fair our cottage was immaculate, no concerns about cleanliness at all. Have you not received any assurances from the holiday company/owners about cleaning?

We had a 9 am check out 7 pm check in. That's 10 hours for airing and cleaning. Lots of processes in place but you could add. Take throws, steamer mop?, antiseptic wipes and wash plates and cutlery. But I genuinely think the drive there will be the greater risks. Just go and have a lovely holiday! Where are you going?

I would just open the windows when you arrive and go round the door handles and light switches with a detox wipe or equivalent. I think the chance of picking anything up would be very small indeed. The worst cases of covid back in March all appeared to be due to getting a high viral load which would not be possible if you have a property to yourself and are not coughed or breathed on by someone with covid.

We haven't been told anything at all, we do sort of know the owner because we've been going to the same house for years and we could in theory phone her and ask for further details but I don't want to come across like we're accusing her of not being clean! I can't find any info online about that property, we book it through the owner now. Every website it appears on, it says it's no longer available for booking through that website. I did find one that says the owner of the property has confirmed that extra cleaning measures are in place and that disinfectants etc are used. It is always a very clean house anyway. He's just started really freaking out in the last few days.

You could always go a day late, or even two days late, to allow some quarantine time.

You could ring the owner on the pretext of finding out anything extra you need to bring (holiday places have been removing "inessential" items, like cushions and books/games). Then slide into the cleaning question.

The cottage we stayed in was doing some kind of fogging with a disinfectant for the soft furnishings. Not sure if it’s standard practice though. The government also has guidelines. I’d just clean hard surfaces again when you get there but not worry too much. Really I think most transmission is being close to an infected person. Minuscule chance of contacting from a holiday cottage wheee the people left 5hours before.

Firstly remember it's extremely unlikely that the previous guests had Covid .

But a few things to help you feel safer .

Take some Dettol spray and/ or wipes . When you get there , open all windows . Quick clean around surfaces and things like light fittings . I washed all the cutlery / crockery before using when we went .

Take a couple of throws to put over sofa and put any extra cushions , booklets etc out of the way in a cupboard .

We were told that all bedding and towels were washed at 60' and used what was supplied but you could always take your own with you if you prefer.

If you are very worried arrive a day late so there is extra time lapse from previous guests .

Please don't cancel though . I imagine you could do with a break and I think if you are very anxious Covid wise it's a good idea to do a few low risk activities such as a self
Catering holiday or having a drink in a beer garden . The more you do it , the easier it becomes .

@Toothsil

We are supposed to be going on a self catering holiday in a couple of weeks, but my husband is starting to feel worried about staying in a house where other people have possibly left around 5 hours before we check in.

Does anyone know if there are any procedures that have to be followed with regard to cleaning self catering accommodation or anything I can tell him to put his mind at rest? At the moment he's wanting to cancel the holiday unless there's been nobody else in the house the week before us but I don't know how we could find that out.

I would suggest, with all due respect, that your husband gets a fucking grip

I’m on the anxious/cautious end of the Covid scale and did have these feelings briefly about our holiday cottage last month. I know people were in the week before us as it wasn’t available to book. The company altered the check in/out times to account for additional cleaning and I have to say it was absolutely spotless

I took detail spray and kitchen cleaner and wiped down thoroughly in the kitchen/light switches/ door knobs etc. And gave the soft furnishing a dettol spray. Also washed all kitchen stuff before we used it.

Didn’t bother with own towels/bedding.

Felt really safe and it was wonderful to get away. I hope you have a wonderful time if you go.

We are going in 2 weeks. Our check in is now 5 pm and check out is 9 am. We had email detailing the extra measures they will be doing. It was suggested we take our own bedding, pillows, towels etc, but we don’t have room in the car for all that, but these will be provided anyway. We will take spray with bleach and wipe down all areas first. We have also been asked to put used bedding in bags at the end of our stay. We had a text from owner, who wanted email address to send over details, but this hasn’t been received despite reminder. We went to this cottage last year, so we are ok going there again, but will check with owner before we go if we need to take anything.

Fucking ridiculous.

My suggestion is to stop researching the cottage and start examining his fears in detail. Find out exactly what he’s worrying about (virus in the air, on surfaces, what?) and then do your research (proper research from reliable sources, not scare-mongering media) on whether that really is a risk and, if so, how to eliminate or minimise it.

Ask the owner what she’s doing, she won’t mind! Lots of people are anxious. Here’s what I’m doing in my holiday let - first I strip beds of bedding and all protectors, wash at 60, zoflora in the rinse. Then the bedding is steam pressed. Then I clean, every surface, everything, and then fog with disinfectant. This is done with all kitchen drawers and doors open to allow maximum contact. Outside doors and windows are left shut for half an hour, then while we’re waiting for our guests all doors and windows are opened to get a good blow through. Oh and towels bath mat tea towels etc are also washed at 60 with zoflora in the final rinse.

Gosh, I’m just back and this literally didn’t cross my mind.
Ask the owner. I’m irritated on your behalf though. Is DH doing anything himself (researching, does he clean at home?) or just wringing his hands. I hope you get a break

Tell your husband to cancel the holiday as statistically he is more likely to die driving to the holiday cottage than catching covid from an unwashed teaspoon.

Thank you to everyone who's replied in a helpful way.

I've just had a long chat with him, he's just really worried about things like if someone has just left the house hours before and starts with symptoms or is asymptomatic, if the duvets and mattresses themselves are not clean etc. He does suffer from depression and I think he's headed back into a spell of that, there have been other signs as well. He gets so that he can't think rationally about things and no amount of talking things through will make him see things any differently. He says if there had been nobody in the week before us or even for 72 hours before then he'd feel differently.

I would say to your husband that it doesn't matter if the previous occupants go down with symptoms after leaving. The worst case is that someone with symptoms was there the week before. However if they are no longer there, the place has been ventilated and given a thorough clean there is less risk than there would be walking round your local supermarket. Holiday cottages are likely to be far cleaner now than they would normally be and if you put the crockery and cutlery through the dishwasher on arrival there will be nothing to worry about. I think your husband is suffering from anxiety which is preventing him making a rational judgement on the risk. The best thing would be for him to go on the holiday, find that he will not get ill and when he returns he will feel that he does not need to restrict his life so much. We have just been away and stayed in a few different uk hotels. The first night I went round the door handles with a detox wipe - after that it became obvious that the hotels had followed stringent cleaning measures down to putting the remote controls in plastic bags and so we just relaxed and enjoyed our holiday. I think the greatest risk of catching corona is being close to someone with it for more than a few minutes indoors. As you are going to a self catering place you would not need to worry at all.

our air bnb in August was leaving 3 days between guests

We are in a holiday cottage at the moment and although I am quite risk averse I didn’t give booking here a second thought. I did choose a more remote location than usual as I didn’t fancy trying to SD in a busy seaside resort. We bought pillow protectors and check in/ out is staggered to allow deep cleaning and airing between guests. The windows were all open to air the property when we arrived and it was spotlessly clean. It feels very safe, much safer than drive here. Go and enjoy your break OP

We are going Thank you all for the advice. I can understand his fears, he had a scare at work regarding covid-19, and that's left him feeling jittery, and just with the talk of cases rising again etc

Glad you're going. You can always ask to see a copy of the Covid-19 Risk Assessment as they should have one. It will detail the known risks and what they are doing to minimise them and to maximise safety for guests and cleaning staff. No place will mind you asking for details about cleaning honestly they won't. Hope it's a great holiday.

OP, I am an anxious person and I am very cautious about covid but we just went on a self-catering holiday and it was wonderful. The things we did that helped:

• Did a food order beforehand with all food items needed for the two weeks and took it with us, put chilled food in freezer bags
• When we got to the accommodation, opened all windows and patio doors immediately
• Put gloves on, used Dettox spray and cloths to go over all high touch surfaces like light switches etc
• Then wiped down tables and all kitchen surfaces and appliances
• Wiped down sofas
• Brought own duvet covers and pillow cases and put on beds

It was an effort but as we went for two weeks it was more than worth it! And felt so liberating to be on holiday. I hope you have a fantastic time

Also the lodge was available at 3pm but we didn't get there till 7pm as apparently it stays in the air for 4 hours but I felt safe by 7pm...