Hostel hygiene

One stereotype about hostels is that they are dirty, and let’s be honest - that assumption exists for a reason. Hostel travel usually does mean compromising on a bit of comfort. If you’re staying in the same room with 10 other people who are mostly young travellers, in a bed that costs under 10€ per night, you might guess that the standard of hygiene varies.

Here are our tips on how to navigate this:

Check hostel reviews

To avoid nasty surprises, make first sure to check the hostel reviews and look specifically for mentions on cleanliness. You can even filter reviews with relevant terms like “clean”, “dirty”, “nasty” to see what pops up (or doesn’t). Some booking websites even allocate a separate score for cleanliness. Take into account that people have very different perspectives on what is clean, so at times individual reviews are not to be taken as the full truth. However, if 10 reviews mention the place being dirty, that might be a clue...

Acceptance

A second aspect in hygiene we’d like to highlight is simply your own mindset. A hostel might be really clean and neat, or it might be so-so: you will likely experience a range between those. While you can’t change the state of the hostel, you can change is your mindset. Even if you might be big on hygiene at home, you will have a significantly better experience if you manage to let go of your standards a bit and not overthink this. You are sharing your living space with others and therefore don’t have control over everything. It’s valuable to learn to let it go at times.

What to pack?

There is a certain number of things you can pack to make sure you have a more pleasant experience regardless of how clean/dirty the hostel is:

  • Fliflops

  • Hand sanitiser

  • Your own hygiene products

  • Your own towel

  • Detergent wipes

On bedbugs

These nasty little creatures that love hostels deserve their own section.

First of all, bedbugs might not tell anything about the overall level of hygiene in a hostel. Bedbugs travel with people, and hostels are full of travellers, so getting bedbugs is not the fault of a hostel (usually). However, it is the decision of the hostel how to treat the situation - are there bedbugs in your hostel and they are not doing anything to control it (emptying dorms affected, spraying rooms, etc.)? Might be a good time to check your stuff and go.

Bedbudgs are quite easy to spot: you should start noticing bites on your body, especially on uncovered areas, but you can also inspect your bed and gear and spot them, particularly in the seams of your sheets, mattress, or bag.

If you find any, inform the hostel staff and do not leave any of your stuff on or under the bed (generally also as a preventive measure: keep your belongings far from your bed) and follow the hostel’s instructions. Bedbugs die in very high or very low temperatures, so you can

  • Pop your stuff in a long wash cycle over 50C (122F) temperature and make sure to shake and scrape your bag thoroughly

  • If you don’t have access to high-temperature washes but are somewhere warm, get a big, black trash bag, throw all your belongings in it including your backpack, and leave it in the sun for a few hours

  • In a very cold place, you can throw everything outside in negative temperatures

  • Otherwise, you can find specific pesticides for bedbugs in pharmacies and spray everything before washing

We have both had several bedbug experiences in different types of hostels and different parts of the world, and we know this is... disturbing. However, while uncomfortable, bedbugs are not dangerous and you will get rid of them. Do what you can to avoid getting bedbugs, but don’t let them ruin your trip!