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How to pack liquids in checked bags?

Judy

Judy

TUG Review Crew: ELITE
TUG Member
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Location
Melbourne Beach FL; Steamboat Springs CO
I've always carried my toiletries in my carry-on partly because they'll leak all over my clothes in my checked bag. Zip-lock bags aren't enough protection.

Do any of you already carry liquids in your checked bags? How do you pack them to keep them from exploding or leaking?
 
Maybe try a double bagging system with each ziplock sealed seperately. You could then wrap the double bagging in a plastic trash can liner.
Liz
 
We have carried the likes of sun lotion and shampoos in hold luggage for years without any problems. We double bag them and then put them into Tupperware boxes. Fill the boxes as much as possible with other bits and pieces to maximise use. The boxes serve the dual purpose of containing a leak if there is any, plus preventing the bottles being squashed.
 
A Rick Steves' suggestion is to pack just enough until you can get to a store. Make the shopping an adventure if you are in a foreign country. To paraphase Rick, we are not the only country that needs deodorant, toothpaste, contact lens cleaner, mouthwash, etc.

I've always used the Ziplock/Glad thick freezer bags and double bagged the more fluid items. Even the much smaller bags will work tripled. I have done this with my liquid lipsticks, tubed makeup, and wet face cleaner toweletts (I remove them from their original box - too bulky to pack). So far, I have not had a mishap.
 
tupperware to the rescue

I like the tupperware idea. I just used small tupperware to pack stuff (non liquid) and like the idea of being able to use it at the timeshare for left over storage. I now have four little tupperwares for storage at the timeshare. After all, it is a rare timeshare that has tupperware or other types of storage for leftovers!
 
Nevermind....I was going to say a Food Saver or Seal-a-meal bag but that wouldn't work for getting the stuff home..........DUH.
 
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Jestjoan said:
Nevermind....I was going to say a Food Saver or Seal-a-meal bag but that wouldn't work for getting the stuff home..........DUH.
Click to expand...

It would actually work for us as we tend not to bring remaining sun lotion, shampoo home anyway. My wife generally needs the weight allowance for the stuff she buys when we're on holiday. :(
 
I almost always pack my toiletry kit in my checked bag. I need the room in my carry on for more books to read in-flight :) .

Fill the bottles not quite full and squeeze out a little extra air which seems to help the bottles stay leak free as they contract and expand during the flight. Never had any problem with tubes of stuff like toothpaste.

I only take small travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotions which seems to help. I was amazed when I saw the footage on TV of people tossing their toiletries the other day. They were carrying huge full size bottles of stuff!

I also save those free samples of shampoos, etc. that come in tiny pouches to take on trips.

I put my entire travel kit into a ziplock freezer bag then double bag it into another plastic bag. On the rare occasion I have had a small leak it stayed in the plastic bag and never made it to my clothing or anything inside my suitcase.

If this rule continues I may start doing what others suggested and just buying much of what I need at my destination. If I'm staying in a hotel they almost always provide shampoo, etc. If I'm staying in a timeshare I always stop to buy groceries anyway.
 
How to preven leaking in packing liquid

Hi there

I've done the below for years and never have issues:

I unscrew all the caps to shampoos, conditioner, lotions, etc...

I cut a small square of plastic from a plastic shopping bag.

I place a plastic square over each opening bottles and screw the caps back.

Never have issues. Hope it works for all tuggers as well.

Send me one dollar per person if you are happy w/advice (kidding - just sharing w/ Tuggers makes me happy) !!

Judy
 
Judy, Judy, Judy, great idea. THANKS.
 
We do the same but use squares of plastic food wrap rather than plastic from a grocery bag. We do this even for items we carry on if they might leak.
 
abbekit said:
I only take small travel size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotions which seems to help. I was amazed when I saw the footage on TV of people tossing their toiletries the other day. They were carrying huge full size bottles of stuff!
Click to expand...

Not all items are available in travel sizes, I don't understand why as the manufacturers would make a fortune by selling 1/4 of the volume for half the price :D
Small plastic bottles are however widely available in shops and we now simply decant some of the contents of the large bottles into those. The only potential problem may be if the luggage is hand searched and they find unlabelled bottles.
 
Keitht said:
The only potential problem may be if the luggage is hand searched and they find unlabelled bottles.
Click to expand...

This happened to DH before 8/10. He was called back to his checked luggage to account for mouthwash in an unmarked plastic bottle among other things. He said when he got there, TSA had all his bottles lined up and asked him what they were. This happened only once and he flies at least twice a week.

Even if the bottles are labeled, there is no guarantee that is what is in them. Haven't we all seen the coke and shaving cream cans that are really places to hide valuables? One can even put safety seals on bottles to make them look as if they have not been tampered with. I think I will just celebrate each day as if it is my last and try to be kind to everyone, etc. If it isn't the terrorists, its something else. I'm gonna die someday so why fret? Okay, that's easier said than done.
 
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Keitht said:
Not all items are available in travel sizes, I don't understand why as the manufacturers would make a fortune by selling 1/4 of the volume for half the price :D
Small plastic bottles are however widely available in shops and we now simply decant some of the contents of the large bottles into those. The only potential problem may be if the luggage is hand searched and they find unlabelled bottles.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm too frugal to buy the small size bottles, I just refill empty small bottles that I get from free samples or hotel amenities and take those. I save the last quarter of my full size toothpaste tubes for the travel kit. I do usually take a full size bottle of sunscreen (we use tons of that during a week or two in Hawaii) and just pack it separately in a ziplock and tuck into a side pocket of the checked suitcase. From now on I'll probably just buy that at the ABC store after arrival :cool:
 
I have been doing most of the above for years, without any problems. But I also tape bubble wrap around the ziplock bags to cushion the contents from being crushed. Perhaps the tupperware containers are a better idea.
 
What about liquor? There are some things you can only buy abroad, and some are excellent. How would you pack to bring back home? Or is this new reality going to spoil the gourmand's fun? :bawl:
 
Carol C said:
What about liquor? There are some things you can only buy abroad, and some are excellent. How would you pack to bring back home? Or is this new reality going to spoil the gourmand's fun? :bawl:
Click to expand...

Unless it comes in plastic bottles I don't think I would take the chance. Likelihood of survival is little to nil for glass in the hold - particularly after the gentle ministrations of the baggage handlers.
 
Carol C said:
What about liquor? There are some things you can only buy abroad, and some are excellent. How would you pack to bring back home? Or is this new reality going to spoil the gourmand's fun? :bawl:
Click to expand...

We often bring a case of wine home in a box that we check. We have 12 bottle and 6 bottle size boxes with the styrofoam inserts that we bought in the California wine country . We check the box empty when we're going to our destination and bring it back full ;)

Have never had a problem with anything breaking. I'm not sure if you could fit other liquor bottles in these boxes but something shaped somewhat like a wine bottle would probably fit. I've also brought olive oil and gourmet chocolate sauce home in this type of box along with our wine, no problem with breaking or leakage.
 
I have always brought a small cooler with me to bring drinks to the pool or side trips. I put this in my checked bag and then put my toiletries inside it (after putting them in zip lock bags then a plastic grocery bag). Has worked out great.
 
Many toiletry items, especially shampoos, lotions, and sunscreens, come with the convenience of a pop up lid for dispersing the contents for use. That lid was the culprit for us. As someone suggested, just buy small bottles, but it's important that the bottles have screw on lids. Then fill them up with the fluids you need. The screw on tops are much less likely to open up accidentally during transport. The pop up lids are nice but lead to messess. My wife and I have used an assortment of screw top bottles for years with out problems after encountering the shampoo on the clothes in the suitcase. Also for colognes, by the spray top bottles. A little more expensive but more secure.
 
dive-in said:
As someone suggested, just buy small bottles, but it's important that the bottles have screw on lids. Then fill them up with the fluids you need. The screw on tops are much less likely to open up accidentally during transport.
Click to expand...

And also make sure that the bottle themselves haven't sprung any leaks. I recently had hair conditioner all over the plastic baggie (luckily I also put the small bottles of shampoo and conditioner in a baggie as well) because the plastic bottle had somehow sprung a leak.
 
I tried the zip lock bags on our trip home from Orlando before the new security rules. Because of the breakable souveniers, I had to check -in my toilet articles.

Well, TSA not only searched the bag. They unscrewed the bottles, did not tighten them back up, nor seal the bags. What a mess I had when I came home.
 
I use ziplock bags. My shampoo, etc are in screw type lids, not flip top and of course I dont fill them all the way full. I pull all my liquids in garbage bags. On the way home, it seems the bottles are just about empty and I can put my dirty clothes in the garbage bags. If I need to put the shampoo in the garbage bags too. It is better if they leaked on dirty clothes than in my suitcase.
 
abbekit said:
We often bring a case of wine home in a box that we check. We have 12 bottle and 6 bottle size boxes with the styrofoam inserts that we bought in the California wine country . We check the box empty when we're going to our destination and bring it back full ;)

Have never had a problem with anything breaking. I'm not sure if you could fit other liquor bottles in these boxes but something shaped somewhat like a wine bottle would probably fit. I've also brought olive oil and gourmet chocolate sauce home in this type of box along with our wine, no problem with breaking or leakage.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. I remember when my fave Calif winery Sattui only distributed in-house and I'd bring wine back in my carry-on. Never had the $ to buy a case back then. :bawl:

I'm sure California wineries will be adjusting their packing for shipment practices to make sure business doesn't suffer with the new reality. But I'm wondering about places abroad where I've enjoyed bringing back a bottle of special liquor made in-house (ouzo from a special place in Athens, herb after-dinner liquer from Mallorca, etc). I hope I can bring such items back with me in the future! :wave:
 
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