Warning it was "unsanitary," then calling it a "life hack" two years later
Absurd video fuels growing distrust over hotel hygiene
A female influencer who introduced a method of washing underwear using a hotel room coffee machine as a "travel life hack" is facing heavy criticism. As the video spread rapidly online, it has even fueled broader distrust over hotel hygiene in general.
On the 25th, Yonhap News TV reported, citing U.S. entertainment outlet People and others, that influencer and fitness coach Tara Woodcox has come under fire over a video she posted on her social media on November 9 last year, in which she presented the method as something you can use when you run out of underwear while traveling.
In the video, she claimed that if you put your underwear where the coffee grounds filter goes in the in-room coffee machine and press the brew button, the hot water passing through the underwear will have a washing effect. Woodcox then added, "If you just dry it in the dryer, you can wear clean underwear," saying, "I didn't realize so many people already knew about this method."
The video received only a little over 3,600 likes, but it quickly spread as the number of views surpassed several hundred thousand. However, the comments section was flooded with criticism such as, "How could you even think of washing underwear in a coffee machine?" and "Now I'm going to feel uneasy every time I drink hotel coffee."
The controversy grew further as her past videos were brought back into the spotlight. Online users dug up a video she posted in 2023, in which she explicitly said, "Ever since I heard people wash their underwear in hotel coffee machines, I never use them." Because she herself had warned that the method was unsanitary, only to introduce it two years later as a "life hack," she has been accused of flip-flopping.
As the backlash intensified, Woodcox uploaded a clarification video on social media on the 23rd. Smiling, she said, "To be honest, I've never actually done that. I was just sharing something I heard from a friend," adding, "I didn’t expect the reaction to be this big." She went on to say, "I don’t use hotel coffee machines anyway because I don’t think they’re properly cleaned."
Meanwhile, this incident has also reignited long-standing controversy over hygiene issues in hotel rooms. In the past, posts on overseas online communities and social media touting "travel tips" about boiling socks or underwear in electric kettles in hotel rooms spread and drew criticism, and reviews claiming that some guests did laundry in bathtubs or sinks and failed to clean them properly afterward also caused a stir. Distrust over the cleanliness of in-room items such as bed sheets, cups, and remote controls has been raised continuously. Hotel industry officials say, "In-room items are washed and replaced according to established procedures after use," but confess, "It is realistically difficult to control every single case of abnormal or unreasonable use."
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