You Might Want to Think Twice About Using That Hotel Room Kettle… 🤢🙈

Hotels often provide kettles in the rooms, along with tea bags or instant coffee, so that you can prepare a hot drink. And we admit, we occassionally treat ourselves to the weak coffee or tea-flavoured water, but we've never used it the way some people supposedly do.

Unfortunately, many people who stay in hotels seem to have misunderstood what kettles are supposed to be used for... Yes, we didn't think about it before and we probably would have preferred not to know 🥲 but luckily there is the Internet, where some of the people in question even expose themselves (#travelhack) and enlightened us 😐

Using the kettle to wash your clothes?!

Dirty underwear/socks but you don't have a washing machine? No problem, because that's what the kettle is for! (apparently) 😩

In fact, the practice has been discussed on X and in the The Independent for some time. It seems to be common practice to heat dirty laundry in a kettle - almost like a quick boil wash. Please, don't do this 🤢

How unhygienic is the hotel kettle, really?

It might not be as bad as it all sounds - at least not for your own health. Because the water in the kettle is heated so much (to 212 degrees Fahrenheit) that virtually all pathogens die. It doesn't kill the disgusting mental image of someone boiling their underwear in the kettle, though.

In addition, if the hotel is hygienic, the kettles should also be cleaned and descaled regularly. It's best to take a look at the kettle before using it and decide for yourself how clean it looks. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also boil water for three to five minutes - this will definitely kill all bacteria, fungi and viruses. 🚫🦠