How refillable hotel toiletries became a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria

Hotel stays are pretty much a necessity when you travel, whether it be for work or pleasure. And if you’ve ever stayed at a hotel, you’ve most likely used the soap that is provided.

According to a study 86% of hotel guests use the soap in their room. That’s a percentage four times more those who said they used the pool. Unfortunately, hotel soap has a problem whether it’s a bar or refillable bottle.

If the hotel provides a bar of soap, it’s most definitely likely that there will be a significant amount of it leftover when you check out. And you know the next person to use the room will not be getting your leftovers. So, to the trash it’ll go.

Fortunately, there are a number of organizations like Clean the World that are recycling these partially used bars of soap to provide a source of hygiene to communities that otherwise wouldn’t have access to it. While the percentage of hotels that use these services is small, it is growing quickly.

Other hotels have chosen to take another route to be more sustainable, using refillable dispensers instead. These, unfortunately, have a downside that once you read about it, may just have you packing your own toiletries on your next trip.

You don’t want to hear this about hotel soap… but you should

Bathrooms, as most people know who actually clean their own, are a haven for bacterial growth. Even after being hit with some of the harshest chemicals or most advanced techniques that we humans have developed, bacteria will make a comeback relatively quickly, just ask NASA.

Most hotels make sure that when a guest arrives that the room is spick and span and stays that way for the duration of your stay. However, a pilot study by researchers at the University of Arizona found that those refillable dispensers are a delightful home to bacteria, and lots of it.

More than three-quarters of samples taken from refillable dispensers in well-rated hotels had bacterial levels above what the FDA deems acceptable, 1,000 per gram, and almost half had levels well in excess, over 10,000 bacteria per gram, “which is really high,” says Dr. Alex Sunderman. The infectious disease epidemiologist, shared in a video he posted that “this is not a ‘you’re definitely going to get sick’ situation,” but he suggested that you may want to reconsider using the cosmetic products from these refillable dispensers.

The problem comes from the fact that most of the time the dispensers are just topped off and not properly and thoroughly cleaned. This allows colonies of bacteria to take hold and continue growing uninterrupted. In another study researchers intentionally infected reusable containers with bacteria to better understand what was going on.

The results clearly show that single-use containers had much less bacterial contamination, just 10%, compared to reusables, roughly 70%. “So next time you’re in a hotel, you’ll think of these studies as you rinse off. And I’m so sorry,” Dr. Sundermann said in farewell.

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