Lia Uy-Tioco’s Tips for Hygienic Dorm Living

1. Going to the banyo: Have a plastic basket with all your shower and teeth stuff so you just bring one thing to the bathroom. Make sure it is a basket so the water can drip out. It's also best to wear tsinelas in the shower. Since it's a shared shower, there are no foot rugs and you don't want to have to bring one. Also, this lessens your chances of catching athlete’s foot or something gross. Undress in your room, put on a robe, and go into the bathroom with just your shower basket and towel. There usually is no dry space to leave your stuff. If there is a line, you have to wait your turn. After showering, make sure you rinse your stuff before putting back in basket.


Keep your bath basked in a space in your room where it can dry easily and away from your electronics and schoolbooks. Dress-up in your room and make sure you have a space to hang your towel to dry. After the first week you'll figure out what time is good to go into the shower so you don't have a half a dozen students waiting for you to get out of the shower.

2. Food in room. You can usually have a microwave in your room or even a hot pot. Some even allow you to bring a small ref. This is good so if you’re the type to have breakfast or coffee while dressing in the morning, you can do it. I suggest you keep all food in air-tight tupperware like containers to avoid mice and other pests. Keep food all together in a corner of your room. Don't put your drinks or anything that may drip near your books or computer.


If you are throwing food into your trashcan, empty immediately so your room doesn't smell.

3. Common kitchen. If you are putting anything in the ref, LABEL WELL and put in Tupperware. People have different definitions of cleanliness, so there might be opened cans and food on plates with no covers in the ref. You'll just have to deal with that and make sure nothing spills on your food. Same goes when you are using the shared cookware. Not everyone cleans well, so might want to have your own pans and plates that you keep in your room. Like the banyo, you should put these in a movable plastic crate that you can carry back and forth from your room to the kitchen.