Your Suitcase Is 58x Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat – Here’s What to Do

Ever dropped your suitcase onto a hotel bed without a second thought? Yeah… we used to do it too. It wasn’t until we moved to New York a few years ago and saw our super tidy friend dealing with a full-on bed bug infestation (and she’s the most meticulous person we know) that we started to rethink our habits.

A recent study by travel insurance company InsureandGo found that suitcase wheels carried nearly 58 times more bacteria than a public toilet seat. Honestly? That did it for us.

Those wheels have rolled through all sorts of filth, like city muck, public loos and airport floors, and then end up right next to your pillow. Grim.

After visiting hundreds of cities across 50+ countries (and dragging our luggage through everything from Seoul’s spotless metros to puddles in Paris), we’ve seen it all. Over the years, we’ve picked up a few easy habits that help keep the worst of the grime off our luggage and out of our rooms.

We weren’t completely shocked, but we were definitely grossed out.

After seeing those results, we ran a quick poll on our blog: Out of the readers who responded, 41% said they regularly place their suitcase on the bed. If you’re in that group, you’re not alone.

The good news is you don’t need to pack a hazmat suit or wrap your suitcase in cling film. A few quick habits make a big difference. 

Here’s what we do now after years of rolling our luggage through some pretty questionable places.

1. Keep your suitcase off the bed (and the table)

This one’s simple. Just don’t plonk your bag where you sleep or eat. Use the hotel’s luggage rack if they’ve got one, or leave it on the floor while you unpack. It’s not posh, but it’s cleaner.

If there’s no rack and the floor’s looking grim, pop a towel down first. Not glamorous, but better than cuddling up with street germs.

2. Wipe down the wheels and base after every trip

Once you’re home (or even mid-trip if you’ve got time), give the suitcase a once-over with a disinfectant wipe or a damp cloth with a bit of soap. Doesn’t have to be perfect, it just helps get the worst of it off.

We always pack a few wipes just for this. It’s oddly satisfying, and kind of gross, to see how much grime comes off depending on where you’ve been. The wheels after a trip to Singapore look completely different from what you’ll wipe off in Paris.

3. Cover the wheels before you roll it inside

This one’s for the clean freaks, but honestly, if you live in a city that’s not exactly spotless, it’s worth thinking about.

A friend of ours gave us this tip: grab a couple of those free shower caps you get in hotels and pop them over the wheels when you come home. It keeps the worst of the street grime off your carpet or floors.

It might sound a bit much, but then you remember your wheels were probably sitting in a puddle of loo water at the last train station. Suddenly, it doesn’t feel that extreme.

4. Always wash your hands after handling luggage

You’ve touched taxi doors, escalator railings and then your suitcase handle… you get the idea. Just give your hands a good wash when you’ve finished dragging bags around. Especially before eating or touching your face.

Not exactly groundbreaking, but easy to forget when you’re knackered.

5. Watch where you roll

Try not to drag your suitcase through every puddle or questionable spot in a public loo. It’s not always avoidable, but if you can, steer around the mess. The less it picks up, the less you’ll bring into your room or home.

Before you pack for your next trip

We don’t stress about germs when we travel, and you don’t need to either. Your suitcase will always pick up some dirt. The trick is making sure it doesn’t end up in bed with you.

If you only change one habit, make it keeping your suitcase off the bed. Ever since our friend’s bed bug saga in New York, ours has lived on the luggage rack.

Before you set off again:

Here’s to cleaner wheels and hotel beds that stay entirely yours.