The Laundry Item You Should Always Pack On Your Trip To A Beach Hotel

If you've been longing for a trip to one of the best beaches in the Caribbean or even the most iconic in the world, you're not alone. In 2021, Americans headed to the beach more than 400 million times. Many of those trips are vacations, meaning lots of people are staying in beach hotels. It sounds like a dream, opening your window in the morning and looking out at an ocean view. However, with many beach hotels, you're getting an unwanted add-on to your room — the dreaded stink of mold and mildew.

The damp and humid air near the shore can cause these substances to grow in places like bathrooms, drywall, wood furniture, and air conditioning filters. While it might be difficult to change rooms during tourist season and impossible to find other lodging (which may have the same issue), there is a little something from your laundry room that can help. That item is the humble dryer sheet. 

It's small, easy to pack, and it will make your clothing smell great if you keep them in your suitcase. That's not the only thing this little wonder can do to make your beach vacation a bit sweeter. We've got all the info on why dryer sheets are the perfect travel companion for your summer holiday. 

If you enter your hotel room and smell mold and mildew, you can ask them to change the air conditioner filter, but if that isn't possible, a dryer sheet is your friend. Pack a bunch in a Ziploc bag (a great thing to have in your carry-on anyway) or keep them loose in your suitcase to freshen your clothes. When you get in, put one in each room by the window(s), and tuck one into the air conditioning vent or in front of the fan so the air blows over it. Throwing one in the closet or the drawers if you're using them is a good idea as well. 

Dryer sheets have additional uses in your luggage that might surprise you. They're great to roll up inside your sneakers after you've been out hiking or sightseeing all day in the heat to keep them from making the rest of your luggage smell funky. If you carry a plastic or waterproof bag to toss your dirty clothing in after you use it, throw a sheet in there as well so it doesn't make unworn items of clothing smell like you played beach volleyball in them. The same thing goes for that waterproof pouch in the front of your suitcase for wet bathing suits, which can get smelly pretty quickly. Plus, this is one of several ways you can make doing your laundry during a hotel stay even easier.

These little multitaskers have other uses as well that can come in really handy on your beach excursion. The scent of dryer sheets has been reported to repel mosquitoes, which are often hovering around in tropical locations. Having them in the room might help, and you can always throw one in your pocket before you head outdoors. 

If you don't want to track sand back into your hotel room or you just can't stand the feel of it on your feet after the beach, use dryer sheets to help it easily slide off your body. (It doesn't hurt that it can help mask the scent of low tide from your tootsies as well.) And you know that great sundress you've been saving for this trip? You pull it over your head and realize your deodorant got on in and now there's a white mark. Enter the dryer sheet. You can easily wipe off the white marks and head out for that romantic dinner by the sea. 

Yet another great use for dryer sheets is closer to their original purpose. They stop static on your clothing, and they do the same if static is affecting your hair. Flyaways can be smoothed down beautifully with a dryer sheet. That's especially helpful because you don't have to pack liquid hair products that can spill in your suitcase, and that helps make it easier to fit everything you need for your vacation in one carry-on.