The bathroom may seem like a room where you can keep just about any product, but surprisingly, there are quite a few items that you should never store in there.
Thanks to the fluctuating temperature and moisture from baths, showers and hot taps, the environment can make your beloved make-up and perfume spoil, and help bacteria multiply all over everything.
These are the 12 items you should avoid storing in your bathroom - at all costs! You'll thank us in the long run...
1. Bar soap
Bars of soap are often messy, whether they're kept on the sink or in a soap dish. Plus, just because soap is soap, it doesn't mean that it won't get contaminated when you pick it up with your dirty hands!
Opt for a liquid soap dispenser, which will cut back on the mess and is also a lot more hygienic to pump out.
2. Medicine
Due to the fluctuating temperatures and the moisture level of your bathroom, your medicine is at a risk of going bad if it's stored in the same place you shower.
The best place to keep meds is at room temperature, such as the in kitchen away from the oven or the bedroom.
3. Jewellery
If you keep your favourite glitzy pieces in the bathroom after taking them off before a shower, then you might as well be blasting them with the water as well.
The humidity of the bathroom can make the metal oxidise faster, leading to tarnished and rusty jewellery. Instead, store them in a dry place at room temperature.
4. Toothbrush
Unless you want to get really particular, this rule only applies if your toilet is less than a couple of metres away from the sink.
Every time you flush the loo with the lid up, all of those nasty particles go whirling up into the air and settle on to your toothbrush, along with other surfaces.
Also, the humidity of the bathroom means it's easier for bacteria to breed, especially on textured surfaces like toothbrushes and loofahs. Bacteria love dark, moist places with lots of holes, so you should also be changing your toothbrush every 3-4 months, and ASAP if you've had a cold.
So, while it may be a pain to store your toothbrush in your bedroom, it's probably better than brushing your teeth with whatever's been in your toilet. Or, a bathroom cabinet is perfectly fine!
5. Make-up
All make-up needs to be stored at room temperature, or it will expire much quicker. If it's cream-based make-up like cream blush or lipstick, it can even melt if you like your showers extra hot.
Store all your cosmetics in the bedroom - you can invest in some acrylic containers to make everything look all organised!
6. Birth control pills
Like medicine, your birth control pills can become unusable because of the humidity and temperature. That's one pill you definitely don't want to stop working!
7. Perfume
By this point, you're probably wondering what you can store in the bathroom besides your shower gel and shampoo! Yes, perfume also needs to be kept away from the evil humidity and high temperature, as it will oxidise faster and ruin the scent.
So, that pricey Chanel No.5 you've been keeping by the bath? Move it on out!
8. Non-waterproof electronics
You're probably very attached to Spotify on your phone, and a shower will never be the same without a sing-a-long. Or, if you're old school, a radio.
However, you should only be enjoying the bathroom's impeccable acoustics if your shower or phone is waterproof. Yep, that humidity can ruin regular devices if they're exposed frequently.
9. Towels and dressing gowns
It seems like the bathroom would be the only place you'd keep your towel and dressing gown, but that humidity will strike anywhere. Your damp towel can quickly breed mould and bacteria, and it often can't dry out properly if its kept in the bathroom.
Use the exhaust fan as much as you can, or crack open a window. If you don't have either of these, then hang your towel up somewhere else in the house.
10. Books
We all love a good read in the bath (it stops us reaching for our phones, which is always a bad idea). However, humidity can damage paper super quickly, so if it's your favourite book, or a more pricey one that you didn't pay 20p for in a car boot sale, keep it out.
11. Nail polish
Nail polish is supposed to last up to two years, but this can be cut short if they're kept in the bathroom. The irregular temperatures will spoil them faster, so keep your colours somewhere else, or even the fridge if you want them to last for ages.
12. Extra razors
The blade you're currently using can stay in the bathroom, as long as it's allowed to dry in between uses.
However, if you keep spares in the bathroom, they're at risk of rusting and dulling because of - you guessed it - humidity. Keep them in the cabinet or another room instead!
