This Unassuming Toiletry Item May Get Your Bag Searched By TSA

There comes a time during your packing process when you do a run-through of all your toiletry items. Facewash? Check. Shampoo? Check. Unnecessary charcoal face mask? Check! While there are five popular carry-on items that you should leave at home, there's one unassuming item that you should pack in your carry-on rather than your checked bag, if you want to potentially avoid being searched by the TSA.

Oral hygiene when traveling is important. You want to preserve your smile, all while keeping your teeth and gums healthy on the road, plus you just never know who you'll meet, or what you'll eat. Extra garlic on the pizza? Yes, please! While everyone prefers a different style of toothbrush, whether it be soft or firm bristles, tourists should avoid packing an electric toothbrush in their checked bag, just as they should avoid brushing their teeth with tap water in Mexico.

Even the savviest traveler has made a packing faux pas or two in their travels. Maybe you forgot to take that bottle of water out of your carry-on before security, or perhaps you mistakenly over-packed liquids well over the limit and now you're forced to pick which of your expensive face creams to ditch. Packing your carry-on the TSA way in order to get through security efficiently can be done, even with your electric toothbrush in tow.

Now you may be wondering to yourself, "what is the big deal about placing my electric toothbrush in my checked bag?" It's definitely not an unsafe item to transport, so why all the fuss when they locate it in my checked bag? Well, it's what's on the inside of that electric toothbrush that counts: the lithium-ion battery.

You may have wondered why the check-in counter asks if you have any power banks, chargers, or battery-powered devices in your bag before they check it in. Lithium-ion batteries that charge everyday items such as remotes, phones, and everything in between can cause significant damage to the plane if stored in the cargo hold area, which may potentially lead to a catastrophic event, since nobody is available below to extinguish a fire if it were to occur.

Lithium-ion batteries tend to overheat quickly, which can cause them to catch fire if a short circuit occurs. Ever wonder why your phone gets very warm to the touch when you use it too much? That's the battery inside getting hot, or perhaps even becoming faulty. In the event of thermal runaway occurring down in the cargo hold, due to the intense pressurization that the plane experiences when in flight, this can cause a battery's electrolytes to ignite.

At the end of the day, packing a manual toothbrush for traveling might be a more practical option if don't want to deal with the stresses of packing additional items that have lithium-ion batteries, however if you can't part with your trusty Oral-B brush, here's how you pack it securely. According to the TSA's official website, any item containing a lithium-ion battery should be packed within your carry-on luggage. This includes other personal items containing batteries as well, such as phones, laptops, and cameras.

The FAA states on their official website that items can be placed within your checked bag, so long as they are completely turned off and protected from any accidental activation. A tip would be to completely remove the battery if possible, and transport that inside your carry-on luggage with you to give you peace of mind. That goes for any spare batteries you may be bringing with you. Those must also be transported inside your carry-on, so that if a fire does occur, staff can extinguish it safely and quickly.