Mom was right when she said “never walk barefoot in a hotel room.” It turns out some hotels do a very bad job when it comes to how they clean your room.

A team from ABC News went to 20 well-known hotels in New York, Miami, Houston and Los Angeles to find out just how clean the rooms really are. Armed with a black light, they searched for evidence.

“Inside a $300-a-night room at one of New York’s finest hotels, there was dried semen on the bedspread and urine stains on the bedroom walls.

At another four-star resort, the black light illuminated traces of urine on the walls, the bedspread, chairs, a bathroom vanity stool and on the carpet right where people step into bed.”

From a one-star hotel room priced at $55 a night to a five-star room hotel room renting for $400 a night, the lab results showed traces of urine or semen in every room tested.

6 Tips for a cleaner hotel room experience

So now that you’re totally grossed out, here are some ways you can improve the cleaniness of your hotel room:

1. Remove the hotel bedspread. Tests showed this to be the most germ-laden thing in the whole room.
2. Travel with sanitizing wipes. Wipe things that people touch a lot, such as the phone and TV remote control.
3. Wash your hands.
4. Look for rust-colored stains on sheets and bedspreads. It can be a sign that bedbugs are present.
Make friends with the maid and show her your appreciation daily.
5. And remember Mom’s advice, never walk barefoot in a hotel room.

Update: Travelodge employees a professional bed tester.  He tests hotel room mattresses, pillows, room lighting, and sound proofing. The question is, does he have a black light?

Gus Moore heads up Miami Beach 411 as site administrator, where he has been helping people understand how Miami works for over a decade. See more articles by Gus >