Hotel, Car Rental, Travel Precautions

[easypeasy]

(First, please no comments that you just "wouldn't do it" or "just wouldn't go."  That's been discussed in another thread and we've gotta go, so I'm attempting to make this as safe as possible. 😊 It'll just be dh and our dd1, but I'm organizing the arrangements, checklists, and packing all the things they might need.)
 

So.

If you had to stay in a hotel or rent a car during this time and had to drive for a long distance - what sorts of precautions would you take? What cleaning and other supplies would you bring? 

Only one night at each place. I have my own Checklist started, but am sure I'm missing something obvious. 🙂

The hotels we've reserved all have a kitchenette with a stovetop. They'll be putting all dishes they might use through the dishwasher first. 
 

Should we sign up with AAA? We've never needed/used it before, but I'm wondering if that might be pragmatic for the drive.
 

They'll pack their own pillows.

Edited May 23, 2020 by easypeasy

[MEmama]

I think beyond the obvious things they are already probably doing (disinfecting surfaces, wearing a mask in public, washing up well, and so on), there isn’t too much else to do. I definitely wouldn’t transfer pillows from one place to the next. I think they—and you—will just have to be okay with losing most control of the situation.

Since they probably can’t do laundry on the trip, I would make sure they have fresh clothes for each day, out of an abundance of caution. It sounds like they will take enough food and be able to eat all their meals in. 

My bigger concern—since not going isn’t an option— would be how to ensure the family can quarantine for a minimum of two weeks after their return. If you aren’t able to keep them entirely isolated from you and the rest of the family (No welcome home kisses even), the entire family will have to understand they will be have to go into full isolation mode. So while the two are away you’ll need to make sure you have enough food and provisions for at least two weeks, plus longer in case they do get sick. No one can go in or out of your house during that time.
 

It's a sucky situation. I wish them the best.

[TheReader]

Following along with this, because we also are going to have a "must go" trip next month, and it may be all of us, or it may be just me. Quarantining for 2 weeks after was not something I'd thought of; I'm grateful to see it mentioned. 

The other ideas we have had thus far have mostly been mentioned already. We'll keep disinfectant wipes in the car for any surfaces we have to touch, and hand sanitizer. Also, we've already been doing this, but I've found using my knuckle to touch screens (such as gas station prompts when paying at the pump) works, and then is not transferring those germs to the car when I get back in, and then is easier to wash off after. So, something like that, or use wipes before hand, etc. 

[Halftime Hope]

I've thought this through extensively, as I have a trip coming up.  Some of this is already what I do, since I'm the one "out and about" for the family.

Getting into the car after being out in public:  keep hand sanitizer in both car door pockets, or handy somehow (but not in sunlight).  When you get in the car, do not close the door.  Reach for the sanitizer pump, rub a liberal glob of sanitizer all over the gloves and on the top of the pump.  Be generous with the coating of sanitizer on the gloves.   Pull off gloves by catching hold of both sets of fingertips while your gloves are still on, do not turn inside out.  Depending on the vehicle, figure out where you'll "hang" or "set" the gloves to dry.  By the time they are dried, evaporated off, chances are very high the virus will be killed if you use a liberal coating. Only after hanging up the gloves do you touch anything inside the car.   If you have plenty of gloves and can burn through them, then just doff them like a medical professional would.

Don't carry anything with you in your hands once you're out of the car.   Everything goes in your pockets, leaving your hands free.  You only need your phone (only if a dire need), keys, ID, your CC, a pocket-sized sanitizer and several paper towels for door handles in your pockets when you go into a gas station, restaurant, or store.  (Phone will stay much cleaner if left in the car. That's of value, since a phone rarely fits entirely in a lady's pants pocket.)  When you are ready to get out of the car, put everything that wasn't already in your pockets in them, and then after you've opened your car door with your bare hands, glove and mask up.  Only touch the outside door handle after you're gloved.  Any door handles you touch in the store, you can use the paper towels if you'd prefer.  I tend to forget and touch clothing, edges of pockets, and other things with my gloved hands, so I prefer to keep my gloves as clean as possible.   Glove up for pumping gas, and then sanitize the gloves if you also have to do something else after pumping.  Touch the pump buttons with the tip of your key.  (If needed, you can sanitize your key/key fob, and your CC when you get back into the car.)  

Amazon some toilet seatc overs if you have to use public restrooms.  They come in little travel packs, so that can go in a pocket, too.  Use public restrooms in the convenience store, not in a rest stop, as those are undoubtedly lower volume.  

I've found spray germicide to be immensely useful, and I keep several masks in the car.  If I had to use a public restroom, I'd come out when finished, do the getting into the car routine, take my mask off outside the car, spritz it with germicide, put it in the trunk, and then use another mask the next time. I would not re-use the "restroom" mask that went into the bathroom until another day.  Virus is excreted in bodily fluids and feces, and  toilet plumes are real.  On the trip, I'd do everything I could think of to avoid public bathrooms, including pulling off in a secluded area off the interstate and availing myself of nature's facilities.  Or if you're comfortable, bring bags and a camp potty, but I have not figured out what to do with the (ahem) used bags. 

That spray germicide is useful for hotel rooms, too.  Others have covered their thoughts on hotel rooms, so I won't add any more.  

I hope that helps.  

[katilac]

One thing many people fail to take into consideration is that disinfecting takes time, and that time varies by product. 

I personally think that disinfectant wipes are practically useless, because no one uses them correctly. Lysol's instructions for disinfecting a hard surface say to use enough wipes to thoroughly wet the surface and keep it wet for four minutes, allowing it to air dry. That's not what most people do. I saw a great comment in an article: A quick wipe is just antiviral theater. 

409 and similar spray cleaners say something like: spray until entire surface is wet, leave for 10 minutes, then wipe. Tell them to set a timer, 10 minutes is longer than you think when you're waiting to wipe something down, lol.  

Hand sanitizer is also often used incorrectly, make sure they read the instructions if you send this. 

For the car rental, they always clean in between rentals and all that I've seen have added sanitizing high touch surfaces as well. Because of checkin, cleaning, checkout, and so on, there's generally a good amount of time between the last driver and the new driver. For additional precautions, you could run it through the car wash as soon as you get it, that takes care of the entire outside. Sanitizing high touch surfaces inside (which should already have been done by the company) can be done in a few minutes (spray, wait 30 sections, wipe). Disinfecting will likely be 10-12 minutes: spray, wait 10 minutes, wipe. I do think the times vary somewhat, so you might luck into finding one with a shorter wait time. 

I'd send paper plates, because dishwashers take forever and they might arrive hungry. 

 

 

 

[Halftime Hope]

Someone said that they would need to mask for two weeks when they got home, inside the home.  Honestly, I don't think anyone will be willing to wear a mask for two weeks.  I have worn a mask for 3-4 days after I've been out (double masked and gloved while out) and then, due to poor timing of allergies, had a cough or sore throat for a couple of days.  I cannot tell you how awful it is to wear a mask around the clock for a few days in your own home.

I would wear one for two weekd if I were sick or if husband were sick, but not if someone is not sick. 

I would put them up at a hotel for a week before inflicting that on them. 

 

[PeterPan]

Check the states you’ll be driving through but where we were (four states this week) everything was open and it was easy to get food. You’ll need masks to comply with laws of some states or businesses. Rest areas were open, gas drive thru for restaurants, easy peasy. 

Doubtless they’ll disinfect the car. You may find it goes much better than you expect. But google the locations to be sure.