Influencer Who Went Viral for Washing Underwear in Hotel Coffee Makers Has Something to Say

It started as a travel “hack.” Then it turned into a debate about hygiene, hotel rooms and how far people will go for viral views.

In November 2025, influencer Tara Woodcox posted a video on TikTok telling travelers what to do if they ran out of clean underwear. Her solution was simple, if shocking: use the hotel coffee maker. “Put your underwear where you would put the coffee grounds,” she said in the video. “You close it, you press brew and it puts scorching hot water through it”.

The clip spread quickly. Some viewers were horrified. Others thought it had to be a joke. Within days, the comment sections filled with arguments, warnings and vows to never touch a hotel coffee pot again.

The Hack That Sparked Outrage

In the original video, Woodcox explained the full method. After running the brew cycle, she suggested using the hotel hair dryer to dry the underwear. “You got yourself a cleaner pair of underwear to wear,” she said, adding that she learned the idea from a friend who was a flight attendant.

The reaction was swift. One commenter wrote, “So every hotel will now be adding a ‘do not use appliances for anything other than their designed purpose.’” Another said, “I will never use a hotel room coffee maker again!” Many called the idea “revolting” and questioned how anyone could consider it acceptable.

At the same time, the video played into a long-running rumor. In 2023, Bon Appétit wrote about an flight attendant “lore” claiming that hotel coffee pots are sometimes used to rinse pantyhose or underwear. The article noted that it may be an urban legend, but the idea alone was enough to make some travelers rethink brewing coffee in their rooms.

The Long-Standing Rumor About Hotel Coffee Makers

This was not the first time Woodcox mentioned the coffee maker story. In a video she posted on April 2023, she said she avoids hotel coffee machines because she had been told that guests use them to disinfect underwear with hot wate. In that earlier video, she questioned whether the concern was real or “absolutely crazy.”

So when the 2025 “hack” resurfaced, some viewers pointed out that she had posted about it before. They argued that the video had appeared once in 2023 and again in 2025. For critics, that history made the situation feel less like a misunderstanding and more like a pattern.

Meanwhile, travel writers have long warned about hotel appliance cleanliness in general. The Bon Appétit piece explained that housekeeping standards vary by chain and that coffee maker hygiene is not always clearly addressed. Whether the underwear story is fact or fiction, the rumor itself has shaped how some travelers think about in-room machines.

What the Influencer Says Now

After backlash intensified, Woodcox posted a follow-up video clarifying her position. She said she had never actually washed underwear in a coffee maker. “I’ve never actually done that — but this is really funny, you guys,” she told followers, explaining that the idea came from a flight attendant friend years ago. She described the original post as more of a cautionary story about why she personally avoids hotel coffee machines.

Still, the clarification did not quiet the conversation. Thousands of comments continued to pour in, with some viewers debating the ethics of even suggesting the hack and others questioning whether the original video was meant as a joke. Critics pointed out that she had mentioned the coffee maker rumor in earlier content as well, which added fuel to the discussion.

In the end, the episode shows how quickly a piece of travel advice can turn into a viral controversy. A rumor about hotel hygiene became a widely shared hack, then a public clarification. Whether viewers found it funny or unsettling, many walked away with the same reaction: they may think twice before using a hotel coffee maker again.