The one hotel room object travelers swear you should never use

When traveling, it’s impossible to bring every item we might want to use away from home, such as hairdryers, irons or ironing boards. Many hotels provide these amenities, but there is one appliance you should avoid at all costs: the kettle.

Kettle horror stories from hotels

Tales of hotel kettle nightmares have become increasingly common online, with users sharing their experiences in the Life Pro Tips subreddit over the past few years.

According to one Reddit user, whose brother worked at a hotel in Amsterdam, many guests don’t use kettles to make tea or coffee. Instead, they are “frequently used” to cook rice or, bizarrely, to warm up small towels. Worst of all, some people reportedly wash their underwear in the same kettles the rest of us use for hot drinks.

Disturbing kettle discoveries from hotel staff

Another Reddit user said their ex-partner, who worked in housekeeping at a “fancy” hotel, once found “a pair of boxers with feces left in the boiled water,” apparently confirming travelers’ worst fears.

This would be alarming enough even if kettles were thoroughly sanitized. But according to the original poster, hotels generally don’t expect guests to misuse them, so kettles are often only rinsed rather than deep cleaned.

Is there a safe way to use hotel kettles?

For hygiene reasons, travelers who can’t go without their morning tea or coffee may be better off heading to a nearby café. Some Reddit users suggest boiling fresh water several times to disinfect the appliance, while others travel with a small bottle of dish soap to clean kettles before use.

Perhaps the most reliable option, though, is to take matters into your own hands. As one Reddit user joked: “I bring a kettle like a normal British person.”

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