3 days ago
Revealed: Why you should ALWAYS put your luggage in the hotel bath tub - and it's not to clean it
After arriving your destination, it's easy to want to quickly put your suitcase on the hotel bed or sofa, unpack and begin your holiday.
However, a travel expert has revealed that travellers should avoid that at all costs and is instead urging tourists to put their case in the bathroom.
Travel writer Lydia Mansel has said soft furnishings, like beds and chairs in hotel rooms, could be harbouring pesky bed bugs.
To protect your belongings, Lydia recommends putting luggage either in the bathroom, the entryway, or somewhere away from the bed and carpet.
She told Travel + Leisure: 'This way, my belongings are far enough away from any furniture where bed bugs usually reside—and I significantly lower my chances of bringing them home.'
However, she has experienced instances where the hotel cleaner may have moved her luggage out of the bathroom.
She advises leaving a note for them to ensure the cases stay put because luggage racks can also be carriers for bed bugs too.
Others agree with Lydia's advice, including Daniel Clarke, director of holiday home rental platform Parklink.
He describes how it is easy to sanitise a bath and has had great success with the hack.
'The bath can easily be washed down first and is likely to be one of the cleanest surfaces in the room due to its frequency of cleaning,' Daniel says.
'The bathtub not only proves itself to be an efficient use of space if you have a small room, but I have found no unwanted bugs or insects have stowed away in my bags since storing my luggage there.'
While the British Association of Dermatologists advises, 'Keeping your suitcase on a raised suitcase stand (rather than the floor) in hotels' to help reduce the risk of bed bugs transferring to your belongings.
'It is important to understand that bedbugs can be found in the cleanest of homes and hotels, they simply need a food source,' they add.
Daniel carries antibacterial wipes with him, too, since finding ants and bed bugs on his belongings on separate trips.
He uses them to sanitise any hard surfaces he wishes to store his items beforehand.
It comes after it was recently revealed hotel rooms may have surprising levels of bacteria and viruses lurking in overlooked places.
Beyond the usual suspects, like sinks and toilets, common 'touchpoints' such as remotes and light switches are also crawling with germs, studies say.
University of Houston research found hotel rooms had up to 10 times more bacteria – including fecal strains – than are allowed in hospitals.
One reason? Hotel staff often spend just 30 minutes cleaning each room, and some decorative items may be skipped entirely, according to Enza Laterrenia, head of housekeeping at Canne Bianche Lifestyle Hotel in Italy.
