5 Unspoken Hotel Hygiene Rules Housekeepers Absolutely Can't Stand You Breaking

Most people don't fully comprehend the physical and mental toll of being a housekeeper. According to a 2025 study in The Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the major issues that hotel housekeepers reported feeling were stress, anxiety, and musculoskeletal disorders. To make matters even worse, they have to deal with hotel guests who don't follow the unspoken rules of hygiene.

In a chat with USA Today, Annemarie Strassel, director of communications for UniteHere, a union that represents more than 100,000 hotel workers in the United States and Canada, said that housekeepers were 50% more likely to be injured than any other hotel worker. "Housekeepers can get debilitating injuries, suffer pain and even require surgical intervention," Stressel explained. "Think of those luxury pillow-top beds that many hotels now have. A housekeeper may be lifting 100 pounds just to make the bed." She also pointed out that housekeepers had to put additional strain on their knees as they knelt to scrub the bathroom tiles. Additionally, Jacob Tomsky, a veteran hotel worker and author, said that housekeepers were also at risk of catching illnesses while cleaning bodily fluids in a bathroom. 

On Reddit, many housekeepers have similarly confirmed that housekeeping is a physically exhausting job that also happens to be extremely stressful, because they are expected to tidy a room in a limited time period. Others have shared that their job stresses are worsened by long working hours and safety concerns. Plenty of bad things happen to your body when you work too much, and work stress is even worse for your body than you think – like the kind of stress caused by negligent or downright unhygienic guests.

One of the biggest pet peeves housekeepers on Reddit have with guests is that they leave their trash scattered all over the room instead of throwing it in the trash can. Many housekeepers have had the displeasure of finding used condoms casually thrown on the floor. 

In a chat with Indian Express, Dr. Prashant Jain, Associate Director of Urology at PSRI Hospital, explained why used condoms should be disposed of properly, saying, "If someone comes into direct contact with them, there is a risk of infection." While Dr. Jain stressed that the odds of catching a serious infection from a brief contact were low, there was still a possibility of contracting diseases that spread through bodily fluids. Suffice to say, both housekeepers and experts would both prefer that the used condom be first knotted at the top to prevent spillage and then wrapped in tissue paper to further minimize the risk of contact. 

Unfortunately, that's not the only unhygienic item that housekeepers have discovered, as one housekeeper on Reddit shared that they had once come in contact with a used needle that someone had disposed of in the hotel room trash can. They also recalled how they had to undergo HIV testing due to the incident and stew in anxiety until their results came back negative. According to Better Health Victoria, coming in contact with a used needle also poses the risk of contracting hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV). GoodRX recommends disposing of used needles in an FDA-approved container to prevent the risk of spreading infections.

On Reddit, many housekeepers have said that one of their biggest pet peeves is having to clean up human excrement, including urine, feces, blood, and vomit. To make matters worse, many have said they have discovered these excrements in unexpected places. Aside from being gross, cleaning up other people's excrement can also pose a serious threat to the cleaner's health. Blood can be a hazard because it can contain bloodborne pathogens like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). 

It's worth noting that the risk of developing HIV through occupational exposure is low. In contrast, it is possible to get hepatitis B by coming in contact with dried-up blood that's present on items like tweezers. Even hepatitis C might similarly be contracted through contact with dried-up blood. However, the risk of catching HBV and HCV can be greatly minimized by wearing proper biohazard protection and following protocol during cleanups. 

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, there is also a risk of catching an illness from cleaning up feces and vomit because it can contain gastroenteritis viruses. The airborne virus particles from these excrements can notably live on surfaces like toilets, handrails, carpets, and telephones for anywhere from 12 to 60 days. Additionally, fecal matter may contain harmful pathogens like E.coli, Salmonella, norovirus, and other parasites. In some cases, a cleaner could get sick from simply inhaling the airborne particles from moving the waste around.

Many housekeepers on Reddit have cringed while thinking about the number of times they have had to clean up toenail clippings from around the room. Similar to many other housekeeper pet peeves, this bad hygiene habit isn't just gross; it's also not good for health. Chatting with Health Digest, Dr. Jason Singh, Chief Medical Officer of One Oak Medical Group, explained why nail clippings could pose a health risk, saying, "The discarded nail clippings themselves become biohazards, since they can harbor fungal spores that survive for months and transfer to others who come into contact with them." 

The obvious solution to this unhygienic problem is to just put your nail clippings in the trash can. However, you can also go the extra mile and wrap the toenail clippings in tissue paper to further reduce the risk of contact. Of course, nail clippings aren't the only thing a hotel guest has left behind that have made housekeepers cringe, as several other Redditors have recalled how they have had to clean up all kinds of hair from all over the room. 

Another Reddit thread made it crystal clear that the issue extended beyond just a gross feeling, as cleaning up hair required a lot of work. Sometimes, housekeepers have to first vacuum the space and then go in with a wet cloth to grab the smaller bits of hair that weren't sucked in. Even worse, there was no solution for wet hair other than just grabbing it with a paper towel. One housekeeper said they would much prefer it if people rinsed their stray hair down the drain before leaving.

On Reddit, many housekeepers have admitted that they get icked out when they have to dispose of a used bar of soap. Needless to say, their reservations are completely valid. In a chat with Everyday Health, Dr. Kelly Reynolds, a professor in public health and environmental science at the University of Arizona, confirmed that bar soaps did contain plenty of germs. According to Reynolds, you could find everything from E. coli, Salmonella, and Shigella bacteria to norovirus, rotavirus, and staph on the surface of a bar soap. 

However, it's worth noting that a 1988 study in Epidemiology and Infection found that the bacteria on soap is unlikely to transfer with handwashing, let alone brief handling. Even with the risk of infection aside, it's understandable why somebody wouldn't want to come in contact with something with all that bacteria. Ultimately, housekeepers would prefer that the guests toss their used bars of soap in the trash. Unfortunately, that's not the only unhygienic practice they have to deal with. 

One housekeeper on Reddit shared that a guest who stayed in one of their rooms left without draining their bathwater and left them to reach into the water to pull the plug to drain it. Obviously, bath water isn't the most hygienic thing you can put your hand into. Speaking with Everyday Health, Dr. Charles Gerba, an environmental biology professor at the University of Arizona, said that bath water could contain fecal matter that naturally rests on people's bodies. "In bathwater we found about 100,000 fecal bacteria per cup of water," he added.

It is not uncommon for hotel guests to think they are being kind by leaving leftover food in the fridge for the hotel staff to take home. To some extent, they are right. On one Reddit thread, someone shared that they had seen housekeepers beaming from ear to ear when they got to take home sealed grocery items that someone had left behind. 

However, some hotels do not allow their staff to take home food guests have left behind, possibly due to safety concerns. So, the housekeeping staff sometimes have no option but to bin the food anyway. One Redditor's post makes it obvious why this rule had been put into place, as they revealed that there had been instances of housekeeping staff getting poisoned from eating leftovers from guests. They claimed that one time an ambulance had to be called to their hotel because a hotel staff member ate muffins left behind by a guest, which later turned out to be cannabis muffins.

On a similar note, some people aren't quite as considerate and leave behind unsealed grocery items and half-eaten leftovers from restaurants. Unsurprisingly, housekeeping staff tend to feel iffy about using unsealed food grocery items since they aren't sure how long ago they were opened. Sometimes, the leftover food may even develop mold. With all this in mind, it's safe to say that housekeepers would prefer that people only leave behind sealed grocery items. To be extra considerate, guests can even steer clear of leaving behind all the foods you should never eat past their expiry date.