August 14, 2025, 4:36 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Our author recently traveled in the U.S. There, she noticed that many hotels lacked toilet brushes. And in other travel destinations, brushes are often missing next to the toilet as well. There are reasons for this.
Warning, gross. Even though I don’t plan to go into much detail here. I recently spent a month traveling along the East Coast of the U.S., and I noticed one thing: Many hotels didn’t have toilet brushes in the bathrooms. When this was suggested as a gross topic in the editorial office, we realized that this is not only the case in the U.S. but in many travel destinations. But why?
Toilet Rituals Vary Worldwide
Anyone who has traveled in South and Southeast Asia may be familiar with toilet habits that differ from those at home. There, the toilet brush is missing, sometimes the toilet paper, and occasionally the entire bowl. Instead, you’re provided with hoses, buckets, and holes in the ground, which are used for cleaning and squatting over.
Since my first trip to Nepal, I’ve been prepared for these habits. However, the fact that a Western country like the U.S. almost universally forgoes toilet brushes in hotels surprised me enough to look it up—or in modern terms: Google it.
Why Some Hotels Skip Toilet Brushes
I found several reasons. One that kept coming up is hygiene. Used toilet brushes are naturally not very hygienic and are often considered unnecessary bacteria spreaders in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In short: gross. A hotel employee on Reddit writes that toilet brushes are “totally unhygienic and always dirty,” and even soaking them in bleach and water often doesn’t help.
In the vast realm of toilet topics, there seems to be a consensus that toilet brushes are often not necessary in the U.S. For one, because toilets are often filled to the brim with water, and for another, because many toilets have a stronger flush than is common in Germany. Therefore, the U.S. toilet apparently cleans itself. Without wanting to spill any secrets, I’ll just say this: Yes, if wasting water through multiple flushes isn’t a concern, that can be a solution.
Besides the special toilet system, the U.S. primarily relies on hotel staff. In short: The cleaning staff is supposed to ensure that the toilets are thoroughly cleaned more or less daily. If, like me, you find this highly unpleasant and have more than a little sympathy for the cleaning staff, you might wonder what other solutions exist (besides, of course, leaving a huge tip).
Various Reddit commentators simply recommend paper, before or after. Depending on the country, this can become a problem, as some toilet and sewage systems are not designed for paper (more on this at TRAVELBOOK). Ideally, however, there is a handheld showerhead that can be repurposed. The shower is also offered as an emergency solution, as long as it’s close enough.
So there are solutions. Which one is the least unpleasant is up to each person to decide.