Here’s why you should never (ever, ever, ever) put your luggage on your bed, no matter how clean it looks, according to an airport baggage worker.
Most people don’t think about cleaning their luggage. After all, it’s bound to get dirty as it gets thrown around on conveyor belts, gets dragged across trains and busses, and inevitably has to go with you into a public bathroom.
“It may seem odd to think that a piece of luggage could lead to an infection, but remember that it’s merely a vehicle for spread,” microbiologist Jason Tetro told Condé Nast Traveler.
He said disinfecting your luggage between trips can reduce the risk of catching an infection. Not cleaning them can create an environment for germs to thrive, especially if you’re in a warm and humid atmosphere.
While it can be annoying to add an extra step to your travel routine (we all know that unpacking is never as fun as packing), it’s important to clean your luggage down after every trip.
And a person who handles hundreds of pieces of luggage daily warns travelers why.
Why should you be careful where you put your luggage?
“Look, I hate to be the one to break the news, but your luggage is gross,” Katherine Craig (@katherinecraig04) says in a TikTok.
Her viral video has nearly 200,000 views and hundreds of comments. In it Craig, who’s one of the people responsible for loading your checked luggage into the plane’s undercarriage.
She explains that she has to shower after work every day, not because she’s sweaty, but because she’s “literally covered in bag dirt,” which is her term for the grime and debris people fail to notice on their baggage.
Craig gets up and shows that her once fluorescent yellow vest is now a much more subdued and greyed-out hue because of the bag dirt that gets all over her.
She adds that unless a cargo pit on a plane is “brand spanking new” they are also covered in a layer of “bag” dirt that sticks to both her and other bags immediately.
“Believe them when they tell you, ‘Do not put your suitcase on your bed, on a chair, anyplace where you regularly touch your hands to,'” Craig says definitively.
“Bags are gross, thanks for coming to my TED Talk,” she ends the clip.
How to clean your luggage
There are plenty of tips, from Martha Stewart to Real Simple to The New York Times, about how to clean your luggage. Here are some standout tips:
Start at the beginning: An avid explorer and Condé Nast Traveler writer, Rachel Chang, shared that she’s hyper-aware of the germs on her luggage, so unlike most other people giving luggage cleaning advice, her routine starts at the entryway.
In her entryway, Chang dumps out all of her washable items, throws them in the laundry, and wipes down the rest of her belongings before getting to the big dawg: her suitcase.
Handle the handle: Many people assume that the bottom of a piece of luggage, including the wheels, is the dirtiest part because it’s closer to the ground. But it’s actually the handle, since that’s where you (and other strangers who handle your luggage, like a driver or bellhop) tend to touch. Here a simple disinfectant wipe should do the trick.
Wheels up: You only need to worry about the wheels when they’re visibly dirty. A soapy rag should be enough.
The exterior matters: If you have a hardshell suitcase, you can easily wipe it down with soap and water or an all-purpose cleaner. Soft fabric suitcases are a bit more involved. While you should still wipe it down with soapy water, stains should be treated with baking soda, soap, or rubbing alcohol.
It’s what’s on the inside: Many suitcases have a fabric lining that can take on odors or stains over time. Since you can’t throw it in the wash the next best thing is sprinkling baking soda to absorb odors and spraying a line spray or essential oil drops to bring in a pleasant smell.
Commenters react
“I never understood how people can put their suitcases on their beds. EUGH,” a top comment read.
“Your packages too. Anything shipped UPS, FedEx, and probably Amazon. I’ve loaded and unloaded trucks and worked in small sort and even after a short 3 hour shift you get so dirty,” a person pointed out.
@katherinecraig04 news flash #workingmom #fypシ゚viral #rampagent #aviation #traveltok ♬ original sound – Kat
“I wash my bags down with Clorox wipes. After every trip I washed the inside the outside the wheels the handles,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Craig for comment via email and TikTok direct message.
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