Fitness and travel influencer Tara Woodcox has said she never actually washed underwear in a hotel coffee machine, responding to days of online backlash after a video showed her suggesting the “hack” as a travel tip. The clip, first posted in 2025 and recently recirculated across social media, drew criticism from viewers who called it ultra-unhygienic and inconsiderate.
Addressing the controversy in an Instagram video on 23 February, Woodcox said the suggestion was not meant to be taken literally. “I’ve never actually done that — but this is really funny, you guys,” she said as quoted by People Magazine.
She added that the original post was intended more as a warning than advice. “It is pretty entertaining the amount of emails we’re getting about this right now,” she said. “It was more of something that I posted to be like why not to use the coffee pot.”
Woodcox also said she personally avoids hotel coffee makers because she believes they are not cleaned thoroughly, adding she has “never been into” pod machines for that reason.
VIRAL CLIP SPARKED DISGUST
In the resurfaced video, Woodcox described a situation in which a traveller runs out of clean underwear and suggested using the in-room coffee maker to flush hot water through the garment before drying it with a hairdryer. She called it “one of the coolest tricks ever” and said she learnt it from a flight attendant friend.
As the video spread, online posts began claiming that a hotel chain had filed a $1 million lawsuit against Woodcox over the coffee-maker stunt. However, there is no confirmed legal filing or official statement supporting those claims.
For many viewers, however, the suggestion was less clever than absurd. Comments poured in across platforms expressing concern about hygiene and respect for shared hotel equipment. “Not brilliant. Let’s bring back having consideration for others,” one user wrote.
Another said, “So they have never heard of the sink, the bathtub, or the washing machine that most hotels have available? Ultra disgusting and base behaviour. Nothing like setting up a cholera outbreak.”
The debate intensified when users shared an older 2023 video in which Woodcox said she would “never” use a hotel coffee maker after hearing that people sometimes washed underwear in them.
