Even the most practiced, expert packers sometimes encounter suitcase snafus. Zippers split and inconveniently release miscellaneous articles of clothing into the mysterious baggage underworld of your destination airport. You may know exactly how to pack a suitcase as efficiently as possible, but that doesn’t mean that the TSA respects your immaculate system during a random inspection, and sometimes your bag comes back looking like it encountered severe turbulence along the route, even if your flight was smooth. Or, the worst, you find toiletries that go rogue in the pressurized airplane environment, creating explosions of shampoo, body lotion, and sunscreen all over the vacation outfits you spent hours devising ahead of time. Fortunately, for that issue, Dollar Tree stocks a few things that can help keep your toiletries magically spill-free: latex balloons.
Dollar Tree has a number of items that transform into travel essentials with a simple hack. So, during your next pre-trip run for other inexpensive gems such as shower caps, laundry bags, or exfoliating mitts, add a package of latex balloons to your Dollar Tree basket. For this hack, you can protect your toiletries from spills by cutting off the end of a simple balloon and stretching it over the top of your bottles. This whimsical find is a tried-and-true method that organizing experts, lifestyle TikTok influencers, and helpful Redditors all stand by in order to keep the liquids that you can’t go without from unexpectedly mingling with your clothing while traveling.
Read more: Avoid The Hassle Of Checking Luggage With Samantha Brown’s Space-Saving Hacks
Why the Dollar Tree latex balloon trick works and how to do it
Colorful balloons on a yellow background – Ibrahim Toprakci/Getty Images
Consider what happens to your plastic water bottles or sealed bags of snacks on a flight. Even if you’re convinced you’ve screwed on the caps of your toiletry bottles with every ounce of strength available, air expands when air pressure drops, which can be enough to pop the tops of your bottles right off. Even if you’ve loosely sealed them in a plastic bag, they can still be forced open by the changing pressure in an airplane environment. You can do yourself a favor by squeezing as much of the excess air out of bottles and bags before sealing them, but as an added measure of protection, a simple balloon has you covered. Literally.
If you’ve packed one carry-on for a week-long vacation, your mini-bottles of liquid can fit entirely inside a deflated balloon, helping to hold the top in place. This also confines the liquids inside the balloon, should they still manage to pop open. For full-size bottles that you might pack in your checked luggage, the hack still works like a charm — just make sure there’s a tight seal so the balloon doesn’t fall off. This way, the top stays better in place during a change in pressure, and the balloon can expand to contain the liquid if it still goes rogue during the journey, leaving your clothing unadulterated and your sanity intact.
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Read the original article on Islands.