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gillumhouse

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Remember the lady who had all the take this out, no scented anything, clean with no chemicals - the 13 points! I thought it was a moot question since I did not hear back from her. Tonight another question - I noticed in the photos in the bathroom what looked like plug-in air fresheners. My in-laws stopped using them over a year ago and I still cannot go in their house.
I replied, thank you for noticing the plug-ins. I had missed them.
She wants a Friday night (one night) and the 2-nights prior I will have guests in that room and I have no guarantee that the guest will not be one of the perfume bathers that it takes a week to remove the reek. As we discussed the last time, there are some guests, that no matter how you may sympathize with their problem, you just cannot accommodate. And this is one of them for me. (The plug-ins are emergency lights)
 
keep repeating ... i am so sorry we cannot accommodate your needs, bubble lady.
(you are probably one of the few people who will listen to her when she calls) yikes!
 
keep repeating ... i am so sorry we cannot accommodate your needs, bubble lady.
(you are probably one of the few people who will listen to her when she calls) yikes!.
She replied Thanks. Have a great summer.
I have enough troubles at the moment - accommodating Bubble Lady on top of everything else would send me to the rubber room and I still have too much backbone for that - at least tonight.
 
I thought you told her to take a hike! I wouldn't even consider taking someone like this! I don't care how badly I needed the $$.
 
I have know a lady online who has multiple chemical sensitivities. On occasion, she's mentioned here or there how it impacts her, but never made a big deal about it.
So last week, in the course of conversation, she actually explained what it is and how it works. She wasn't self-pitying at all, just matter of fact. Her explanation was fascinating, and actually made sense. But, the point I took was that she takes responsibility for her own condition, and basically, she doesn't go anywhere. ANYwhere where she can't control the environment.
Which is what I was thinking when this potential guest first approached you. If a person truly suffered from a condition like this, would they take the chance of trusting a stranger with something not getting overlooked? I find the whole thing - her original questions for you and her follow up - bizarre.
 
I have had a few people with chemical sensitivities - none with a list as extensive as the Bubble Lady - and they have almost always been fine guests once they've established I can meet their needs. One told me that she always checks with the B&Bs first - they are much less likely to use strong pesticides and cleaning chemicals than hotels. Innkeepers know what happens from a cleaning standpoint - hotel managers don't. One woman had a specific reaction to fabric softener - so I just washed a clean set of sheets in hot water for her use (my laundry uses some fabric softener). Another had a strong allergy to pesticides - I don't use those anywhere so she didn't have any problem here. A few have problems with scented oils and potpourri - one woman told me of having to crawl under a bed to unplug an air freshener at one B&B. We only have a room deodorizer in the powder room, easily avoided.
All the MCS guests I've had have been grateful to find suitable accommodations. Autoimmune disorders run in my family, and these are often linked to chemical sensitivities. I'm always glad I don't have to manage my own life to deal with those problems - knock on wood.
 
Had it been a 2-night at least, I probably would have bent over - but one night? And whatever I may do to try to help her, and I truly DO sympathize with her problems, I am not making light of them, I have no control over the previous guests and what they do. I certainly am not going to turn away business for a week to ensure no perfumes are hanging in the room.
Not meaning to sound callous, but I do believe if conditions are this severtr, the solution is to have a travel trailer or camper of some sort for traveling or visiting friends and family. They can then bring their environment with them and ensure that environment is there.
I buy whatever expensive food is needed to satisfy the diet needs of my guests. That is about all I can do. And I do try to be less of a problem by using perfume-free and dye-free detergent and having a feather-free room.
 
My mother has a terrible time at B&B's vs hotels as many DO USE potpourries, candles and fabric softeners. Not sure if it is the other way round.
Although, I was in a hotel recently that had a plug in and it REEKED and I grabbed it and threw it outside the door. It was disgusting, I could taste it, my eyes burned. I think they were trying to cover the smell of SMOKE!!!
 
I question how she travels, given the fact (in your last thread) that she is sensitive to fuel odors - how does she get ANYwhere???? (I think Morticia mentioned that Gomez wondered the same thing.)
 
My mother has a terrible time at B&B's vs hotels as many DO USE potpourries, candles and fabric softeners. Not sure if it is the other way round.
Although, I was in a hotel recently that had a plug in and it REEKED and I grabbed it and threw it outside the door. It was disgusting, I could taste it, my eyes burned. I think they were trying to cover the smell of SMOKE!!!.
I hate the smell of the cleaners used in hotels, but, yes, I find more B&B's use potpourri or plug-in air fresheners and I clog right up. I got rid of all the bathroom air fresheners here. And, please, NO Febreeze. Oy, that's a killer for my asthma.
I have a lot of 'sensitivities' but I travel with my inhaler for when the mold, pet dander, air fresheners, fabric softeners, etc get to me. I'd love to call and ask ahead of time for someone to unplug all of that stuff, rinse the bedding and towels in plain water and open the windows, put the pets behind closed doors but I know that will get me a little 'PITA' tick mark next to my name if anyone would even do that for me. (Yeah, you all might, but you all love me!)
 
We only use plug ins to get rid of the smell of smoke as though most people behave sometimes the heavy smokers transfer the smell even if they don't smoke in the room (does that make any sense?) So I don't want the next people to think people have been smoking or smell it.
 
My mother has a terrible time at B&B's vs hotels as many DO USE potpourries, candles and fabric softeners. Not sure if it is the other way round.
Although, I was in a hotel recently that had a plug in and it REEKED and I grabbed it and threw it outside the door. It was disgusting, I could taste it, my eyes burned. I think they were trying to cover the smell of SMOKE!!!.
I hate the smell of the cleaners used in hotels, but, yes, I find more B&B's use potpourri or plug-in air fresheners and I clog right up. I got rid of all the bathroom air fresheners here. And, please, NO Febreeze. Oy, that's a killer for my asthma.
I have a lot of 'sensitivities' but I travel with my inhaler for when the mold, pet dander, air fresheners, fabric softeners, etc get to me. I'd love to call and ask ahead of time for someone to unplug all of that stuff, rinse the bedding and towels in plain water and open the windows, put the pets behind closed doors but I know that will get me a little 'PITA' tick mark next to my name if anyone would even do that for me. (Yeah, you all might, but you all love me!)
.
Come on down! I do not use air fresheners (I rely on baking bread and pretzels or raosting coffee to do that), I do not use Fabreeze, and my potpouri is probably so old the scent is long gone - I forget to change it out, nor plug-ins. I cannot take te smell of incense and although we do have a few scented candles (DH has to light them because I forget) I do not like them. No dogs or cats. I will have to see if I can get unscented liquid soap next time I need it. Shampoo will probably still be a problem.
I really do try to be cognizent of allergies. But I can only go so far......
 
We only use plug ins to get rid of the smell of smoke as though most people behave sometimes the heavy smokers transfer the smell even if they don't smoke in the room (does that make any sense?) So I don't want the next people to think people have been smoking or smell it..
The smoke smell is imbedded in their clothes, their hair..... It follows them like a thick, dark cloud (cough...cough...)
 
(I am having a hard time replying to threads, I can only seem to post general comments)
In reply to Gillum's smoker comment:
My Dad got in a fight with the cardiologist. He was having knee surgery and had to get the all clear with this cardiologist and when Dad went in the Dr said "You said you don't smoke, and you do!" Dad told him "I don't!" and he argued with Dad and told him he won't help him at all and to leave.
Dad was fighting mad, MOM SMOKES, it infiltrates everything down to your jocks! Dad told him and he wouldn't listen.
Trust me when I say if I am around Mom at all I smell of heavy smoke, and she is not smoking with me in the room, it is all over her person, like you say.
 
did i sound cruel? i didn't mean to.
but hosting someone with the MULTIPLE sensitivities this guest has (see prior thread) would be impossible for me.
i did have one guest who stayed up on the third floor in a rugless room who asked that i not use any chemicals, any scents, any anything. she for some reason asked that we change her bed sheets because they were not soft enough ... anyway, she stayed for a week and was happy.
however, she took a painting class and was using regular paint thinner. paint thinner?! i would have thought that would be impossible. i went into the studio one of the nasty, rainy days to give someone a message and the fumes almost knocked ME out. she was happily painting away. go figure.
 
(I am having a hard time replying to threads, I can only seem to post general comments)
In reply to Gillum's smoker comment:
My Dad got in a fight with the cardiologist. He was having knee surgery and had to get the all clear with this cardiologist and when Dad went in the Dr said "You said you don't smoke, and you do!" Dad told him "I don't!" and he argued with Dad and told him he won't help him at all and to leave.
Dad was fighting mad, MOM SMOKES, it infiltrates everything down to your jocks! Dad told him and he wouldn't listen.
Trust me when I say if I am around Mom at all I smell of heavy smoke, and she is not smoking with me in the room, it is all over her person, like you say..
I would say that I notice the cleanser smell in hotels about as often as I notice potpourri/air fresheners in B&Bs, so I don't come down on one side or the other. I do think that if you ask the innkeeper, s/he will know what they use and have in the rooms vs. the hotel manager who might be clueless.
This thread should be just a gentle reminder to innkeepers: pretty potpourris and fragrant oil thingies may get a lot of marketing but they have no place in a B&B. Old potpourri just gets dusty and musty, so throw it out and don't replace it. Clean doesn't smell.
 
did i sound cruel? i didn't mean to.
but hosting someone with the MULTIPLE sensitivities this guest has (see prior thread) would be impossible for me.
i did have one guest who stayed up on the third floor in a rugless room who asked that i not use any chemicals, any scents, any anything. she for some reason asked that we change her bed sheets because they were not soft enough ... anyway, she stayed for a week and was happy.
however, she took a painting class and was using regular paint thinner. paint thinner?! i would have thought that would be impossible. i went into the studio one of the nasty, rainy days to give someone a message and the fumes almost knocked ME out. she was happily painting away. go figure..
seashanty said:
did i sound cruel? i didn't mean to.
I didn't mean that anybody sounded particularly cruel - having a guest with all those requirements would be impossible for me, too. I wouldn't be willing to guarantee that no one else in residence would not overload on perfume, or that the state wouldn't be painting the lines on the road in front of the Inn ( happened this a.m.) during her stay.
I'm just saying for those people with extra sensitivities like asthma or allergies, B&Bs can provide a safe haven in some cases, IF we do the right things.
 
I love that! Another t-shirt slogan "Clean doesn't smell"
I actually wish the plug-in no tell motel I was in smelled of cleanser vs the plug in stench and smoke.
Three older ladies all have combating perfumes on today. If this "bubble" lady were here she would be in the ER.
 
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