A former hotel manager has revealed the disgusting reason why you should never use an ice bucket in your hotel room.
In a post on TikTok under the username @melly_creations, where she has amassed more than 76,000 followers, Melissa Hanks warned anyone booking a hotel room not to use an ice bucket under any circumstances.
She introduced the video by saying that she was giving advice to viewers as she herself had previously worked as a hotel manager.
The vlogger was responding to a question from another user, who said: “I’ve heard a lot of stories about the things housewives find in ice cubes. Any stories?”
Melissa said: ‘Some of the things I found in the ice buckets were food, people using them as bins, they were using them as ashtrays even though smoking is not allowed in hotel rooms.’
A former hotel manager has revealed the disgusting reason why you should never use an ice bucket in your hotel room
‘For some reason, there was lingerie in one of them and, of course, someone using an ice bucket as a vomit container.’
“When that happens, you should definitely throw the ice cube in the trash (to avoid spreading germs).”
Responding in the comments section, users wrote: ‘This is why we should use the plastic bag to line the bucket.’
‘I once found a sex toy in one.’
“But it’s gotten weird, those plastic bags smell so bad of plastic that it makes you nauseous.”
“When I travel abroad, I notice that ice machines are a very common feature in North American hotels. Even a warm country like Australia doesn’t have ice machines.”
This follows other advice she had given to hotel guests, including a warning to check for bedbugs.
She explains: ‘Don’t put anything on the bed until you’ve checked it in because if you have anything, they’ll take it and pack it with your luggage and your clothes and then distribute it with you back home, which is not what you want.
‘Check the mattress, pillows and behind the skirting board, especially if it has a fabric one.
This follows other advice she had given to hotel guests, including a warning to check for bedbugs.
“If there is a severe infestation, once you remove the comforter you will see them on the sheets, especially if they are light colored.”
Melissa reveals that the crack around the mattress’s pipes is where bed bugs “like to hang out, so take it out and use your phone’s flashlight.”
She continues: “You can also lift up the mattress and check the other side. If the bed has a box spring, check that too.”
If you’re in a hotel and find bed bugs, Melissa advises asking to be moved to “another room on the opposite end of the building” and “just because there are some in one room doesn’t mean there will be some in all rooms.”