A hotel worker has issued a stark warning to guests, advising them to never use the in-room kettle or coffee machine due to hygiene concerns. Tara Bee, a housekeeper who posts on TikTok as @_sourqueen, claims these appliances are often only rinsed in the bathroom sink and dried with the same cloth used to clean the rest of the room.
Speaking in a recent video, Tara said: 'The first thing that I would never ever use in a hotel room is the coffee pot or any of the glass wear. Usually the housekeeper just rinses these things out into the bathroom sink and dries them off with the same rag that they use to clean the rest of their room with.'
Her comments have reignited an age-old debate about the cleanliness of hotel coffee makers. Urban legends have circulated for years, with some guests allegedly using kettles to wash their underwear and socks. One Reddit user described coffee makers as 'miniature underwear washing machines', though few have come forward to confirm the practice.
Travel expert Caroline Newton wrote on Bon Appetit that the possibility alone is enough to deter her from using hotel coffee pots. She advised: 'My plan: investing in travel-size dish detergent and giving the coffee pot (and mugs and glasses) a good rinse if I absolutely have to drink from the pot—or I’ll just grab coffee somewhere else.'
Another hotel worker, Evangeline, warned that bedspreads are often the dirtiest item in a room, as they may go unwashed for up to a year. She said: 'I would never sit on the bedspread. I would never make myself comfortable on the bedspread. That thing comes off the first minute I walk into the hotel. Those things are not washed often.'
