Mom Causes Uproar With Her ‘Brilliant’ Hotel Hack For Dirty Clothes
PeopleImages | Shutterstock A mom named Tara Woodcox took to TikTok to share her travel hack for anyone who may have run out of clean underthings while staying at a hotel. It involved using the room's coffee maker, and let's just say it didn't go over well with viewers.
Packing for a vacation takes practice, but even the most seasoned traveler knows that, depending on how long you're going to be away from home, and any unforeseen incidents that arise, you sometimes run out of the necessities. That includes clean underpants. Considering most hotels don't really have an accessible washer/dryer for guests, people sometimes have to get a bit creative if they want to rewear something.
A mom caused an uproar with her 'brilliant' hotel hack for dirty clothes.
"I'm about to show you guys one of the coolest tricks ever," Woodcox began in her TikTok video. "So you're traveling, and you didn't pack enough underwear, and you're just like, 'Oh my gosh, what am I gonna wear tomorrow?'"
Woodcox explained that every hotel room usually has a coffee maker like a Keurig or even just a coffee pot. She instructed desperate travelers to put their dirty underwear "where you would normally put the coffee grounds." Oh yes, she did. You know where this is going, right?
Run a cycle like you are making a pot of coffee, and the scorching hot water is supposed to clean the underwear. Then, Woodcox instructed people to go into the bathroom and use the hair dryer to, well, dry them.
"You blow-dry those bad boys, and you've got yourself a cleaner pair of underwear to wear," Woodcox stated. "I did not realise how many people already knew this. I learned it years ago from a friend that was a flight attendant, and it's brilliant."
In the comments section, people were absolutely horrified, to say the least. Many pointed out that the idea of running their dirty underwear through an appliance used to make coffee was diabolical. Then, of course, there's the fact that those coffee pots aren't the guest's personal property.
Apparently, flight attendants have been using the coffee pot method for years.
According to Bon Appétit, this really is a flight attendant hack. One anonymous crew member admitted they'd heard horror stories from co-workers about hotel coffee makers being used to wash pantyhose and underwear.
"I ponder the eternal question: to brew or not to brew the hotel room coffee," the flight attendant wrote. "This is something most flight attendants have strong feelings about, and many senior mamas like to tell horror stories about in-room coffee pots being used to rinse pantyhose, among other things."
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While the flight attendant claimed it was probably just an urban legend, there were mixed reactions from other flight attendants on the internet. In response to someone posting a question on Quora, one user wrote that, during their decade as a flight attendant, they'd heard of this method.
"It’s much easier to either pack some clean underwear or, in the case that you run out, just wash them in the bathroom sink and let them dry over the heater or by a window," they wrote.
While Woodcox framed it as resourceful, few viewers saw it that way. It's definitely a reminder that no matter what, you should probably make sure to pack extra underwear on a trip. And definitely don't make coffee in your hotel room.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
