Putting luggage in the bathtub helps avoid bedbugs, pests, and germs, keeping your belongings clean and safe during travel.
Experts recommend leaving your luggage in the bathtub on every trip.
Traveling can be an exciting adventure, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
One often overlooked aspect of travel is where to place your luggage when you arrive at a hotel.
Surprisingly, many experts recommend putting your luggage in the bathtub.
This simple practice can help you avoid some unpleasant and potentially harmful situations.
Putting luggage in the bathtub to avoid bed bugs
One of the main reasons to place your luggage in the bathtub is to avoid bed bugs.
These tiny pests are a common problem in hotels, regardless of their rating.
Bed bugs can hide in tiny spaces and can easily come home with you in your luggage.
They are hard to spot because they hide when not feeding.
During the day, you might not see them, but at night they come out looking for blood.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, bedbugs often hide in places like the sides of couches and chairs, drawer joints, and even inside electrical outlets.
When bedbugs eat, they often leave blood spots on the sheets.
In bad cases, you might see them crawling along the edges of a mattress.
They have round, flat, reddish-brown bodies. You might also find their shed skins, brown poop, or smell a sweet, musty odor.
However, byy putting your suitcase in the bathtub, you lower the chance of bed bugs getting into your bags and your things.
Bed bugs are less likely to be in the bathroom because they don’t usually hide there.
This way also prevents contamination
Hotel rooms are cleaned regularly, but the cleanliness can vary.
Placing your luggage on the bed or the floor exposes it to potential germs and dirt.
The bathtub, on the other hand, is cleaned more thoroughly and frequently.
By putting your luggage in the bathtub, you minimize the risk of contaminating your clothes and personal items with germs that might be lurking in the hotel room.
Putting suitcase in the bathtub protects your belongings from other animals
Apart from bed bugs, other pests like cockroaches and ants can also be found in hotel rooms.
These pests are usually drawn to food and can chew through bags to get snacks or other edibles.
By putting your luggage in the bathtub, you keep pets away from your things.
The slippery bathtub surface makes it hard for pests to reach your luggage.
When you arrive at your hotel room, take a moment to inspect the bed and furniture for any signs of bed bugs or pests.
Look for tiny dark spots, shed skins, or small bugs.
If everything looks clean, move your luggage to the bathtub as an extra precaution.
If you plan to take a shower, you can always move your luggage to the sink or a chair temporarily and put it back in the bathtub afterward.