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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Ria Newman

'I'm a flight attendant - this is how to keep your clothes fresh when travelling'

A flight attendant has explained how to keep your clothes fresh on a flight.

Whether you're heading to a Champagne spray party in Marbella, the opening of a film festival in southern France or a holiday in the Canary Islands with your family, it's nice to look and smell fresh.

This is easier said than done when you've got to cram as many of your clothes as possible into as small a bag as possible, before stuffing that beneath the seat in front of you for the duration of a flight.

If you're a bit tired of trouping down to the hotel breakfast buffet looking like you don't know your way around an iron, then you're in luck.

Staff member at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Esther Sturrus shares her clever travel tips on TikTok, and has some advice to keep clothes looking as good as possible.

The KLM flight attendant recommends steaming clothes with a shower (Jam Press/@esthersturrus)
Esther also suggests putting sheets between clothes (Jam Press/@esthersturrus)

Posing in her blue uniform, the attendant starts with tip number one: “Need to press your clothes without an iron? The steam from your shower makes de-wrinkling quick and easy.”

In the video she takes a pair of work trousers and places them on the towel rack of her hotel bathroom, letting the shower steam work its magic, allowing the wrinkles to drop right out of the garments.

Next, the flight attendant advises: “Putting a dryer sheet between each layer of clothing keeps them fresh.”

She packs her suitcase, adding dryer sheets between the clothes, and in doing so sucks up any smells that may be trapped to the clothes, while also making them softer to the touch.

According to washing machine maker Whirlpool, "one of the key benefits of dryer sheets is that the ingredients in them help to combat, neutralize and fight the effects of built-up static in most fabrics."

That means they can stop your clothes from becoming warped and overly wrinkled when hidden away at the bottom of your bag.

If you are particularly intent on arriving at your destination looking freshly preened and ready to go, then packing an easily accessibly white t-shirt in your carry on bag, along with some revitalising moisturiser, is one way to go.

It can be difficult keeping clothes fresh when travelling (Getty Images)

Esther goes on to advise adding a colourful belt around suitcases to easily identify your luggage, with the professional traveller opting for a bold rainbow look.

According to Tommy Cimato, one thing you definitely don't want to wear on a plane is a pair of shorts. He argues doing so is dirty and must be avoided at all costs.

While it may seem like a good idea to don a pair of knee-lengths or perhaps something a little more daring so you're ready to embrace the warm weather as soon as you land, there's another side to consider.

According to the cabin crew member putting on a pair of shorts before boarding a flight guarantees you little more than a one-way ticket to baceteria-ville. The flight attendant compared leaning you head on the window with wearing shorts.

He explained: "Do not fall asleep or lean your head on the window. You are not the only one that has done that and you don't know how many people or children have wiped their hands or other things all over the window.

"It's the same thing as the window, you never know how clean it's going to be, so if you have pants, you're going to have less germs."

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