Warning Issued Over Hotel Toiletry Dispensers: 'Don't Ever Use These'

Whether traveling for pleasure or for business, it can be challenging to be away from the comforts of home. Thankfully, most hotels offer amenities so guests are as comfortable as possible during their stay. Among the items offered at many places are shampoo, conditioner, lotion and/or body wash. There was a time when all the items were available in miniature bottles, but that led to lots of wasted product and wasn't great for the environment, so plenty of hotels have changed to placing the toiletries in large dispensers. While the dispensers are much better for the planet and cut down on waste, a warning has been issued over some of them.

It comes from a hotel manager's TikTok page, where she posted a video explaining why you should never use the dispensers. The clip is captioned, "Don't ever use these in hotels!! TRUST ME!" and in it, she shows the dispensers in a hotel room where she is staying. She explains, "When you check into your room and you go into your shower and you see these, these are usually full size. We have shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Here's your tip: Don't. Ever. Use these. Why? Because they're not secure."

She then demonstrates how easily the tops come off of the dispensers and says, "The previous guest can put anything they want in there. They can put hair color, bleach, anything in these. Don't ever use these."  

Commenters were pretty disturbed by the video but appreciated the tip. One person wrote, "This is excellent advice, thank you. They can even put hair removal cream in them," and another stated, "I always thought they gave the rooms new ones after check out. Thanks for sharing!"

According to the hotel manager, your best bet is to always bring your own travel-size toiletries but if you don't have any, ask the front desk for a fresh set for dispensers. It should also be noted that many hotels that use the dispensers prevent any tampering by "locking" them in place or by using special kinds of dispensers. In these cases, only the housekeeping staff can access the products inside. Of course, if you use any hotel dispenser, just to be safe, always make sure that previous guests could not have tampered with them.