Dirty portable cribs at the hotels

I would bring Lysol/Clorox Wipes with me and clean the hotel crib well before using.

I was at one hotel recently that wouldn't have actually helped as the crib was so stained and smelly. I asked for a new one but it was worse so i asked them to take it away and clean it better. Not much better when it returned. Sometimes we have flown in late at night and don't have time to get it cleaned properly.

I wasn't clear on your concern; it now sounds more like you're concerned about the mattress...? If so, just bring something to cover the mattress - crib sheets, plastic sheeting to go underneath, etc. If you bring a plastic layer, you'd only need 1-2 sheets. Lightweight and flat. Perhaps a blanket, too - she could use a familiar blanket on her trip, anyway ;-)

not the mattress. the side of the portable crib was extremely dirty and stained.

ok people obviously you haven't run into the same problem i have. the hotel that was the problem one wasn't a really cheap hotel just average. But we have stayed at higher end hotels and you kind of wonder how clean the pack and play portable cribs are. Some don't have stains but it doesn't mean they are clean. I thought about the lysol wipes as well but I have read that the children start chewing on the sides of the crib and can get mouth sores. I just want to know how other people keep their kids safe and healthy using these "rental" cribs. Usually you are provided with a clean sheet. We brought one with us on our last cruise and my daughter decided to have a blow out and we had to throw the sheet out as we had no way to clean it before we left the hotel that morning. Doesn't anyone else have the same concerns I do?

There's no easy answer. Because I have observed housekeeping put the 'all clean' designation on a crib that had been used by me, so it looked clean, but it wasn't, I always: 1. Clean it with a disinfecting wipe - or twenty. 2. Give it some time to dry because that gives the stuff time to work. 3. Wipe it with a damp washcloth. 4. Order more sheets and towels, because you'll really be in good shape if you have extra layers on hand, and you may use up all the towels removing oatmeal (we'll call it that) from the slats. 5. I don't feel at all guilty about making white towels awful when I do the work the staff should have done, and, unlike at the gym, I don't believe it's my job to wipe it down after, unless we had 'oatmeal'. 6. I ignore the whole crib thing, for the tip.
7. Once I made management come up and see my work. I was refunded the crib charge. Some people bring their own vinegar/hydrogen peroxide solution, but I wouldn't do so because with my luck I'd have bleached everything.

Shelly on a cruise we had the full twin mattress taken off the bunk and put on floor for child. no worries about dirty rails since we didn't need to worry about child falling out of bed( it was only 8 inches to floor)..By the time my 3 were 2 yrs olds none of them were in cribs anyways,, they could all crawl out of them.. so we did same thing, mattress on floor at home. I agree those hotel porta cribs can be dirty,, we never used hotel ones,, but brought our own when kids were 6-18 months old.

Thank you ladies for your kind replies. I was starting to wonder if anyone else had the same problems I was having. I usually wiped the woods ones down with a wet cloth but the fabric pack n plays were an issue. I used the baby wipes but it never felt clean enough to me. I would like to bring our own but you can't really when you are flying. Do you worry about bed bugs when you have the mattresses on the floor? I know in the Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) they had an outbreak of bed bugs and my in laws got bitten badly. Sorry we are always checking the mattresses now when we check in.

Just a couple of thoughts from another mom: We DID fly with our pack and play. Took it several places. It's just another piece of luggage, and it might be worth it to you to pay for a checked bag + required schlepping to have your nice clean bed with you! We rarely used hotel cribs. My concern was not cleanliness as much as safety. Sometimes the equipment is very old and doesn't seem safe. Other sleeping solutions for toddlers: Pack along an inflatable swim raft. You can blow it up, cover with sheets and blanket and voila! Mini bed. Place it against the wall and add pillows along the side so kiddo doesn't roll away in the night. Just deflate and pack it up to move to a new location. We have converted a large chair or couch into a bed many times. Use another chair or the wall to keep child from falling off.
Ask at the hotel for other solutions. They often have small beds, fold out chairs, futons or other options for kids that we don't have in N. American standard hotels. You could also ask for a rollaway or trundle bed, which will have more predictable fittings and bedding. Sometimes they don't charge for these if your child is very small. (No such luck these days with giant teenagers in tow!)

It used to be pretty common for families to put babies in drawers. No, not closed up! They'd pull out the drawer and line it with a towel or sheet. Of course, that doesn't work for a 2 yr old. I'd think the drawer would be easier to clean than a pack-n-play crib. Full disclaimer-I don't know how that lines up with current baby sleep guidelines.

Thanks Angela for your great suggestions.

http://craziestgadgets.com/2010/07/28/gocrib-inflatable-crib/ Something to consider...