Tools and directories

The check, before you sell a travel set

Updated October 2026

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One: what will actually go in it?Two: does every container clear the hazmat ceiling?Three: does it clear the security limit, checked at source?Four: is the closure the pressure-tolerant one?Five: has it been tested under a pressure change, on its side?And describe the set accurately File the answers References

Five questions. One of them is a bench test you can run this afternoon.

One: what will actually go in it?

An ordinary cosmetic, a high-alcohol product, something with an ethanol or other threshold, or something sterile. The last one is a reason not to sell the bottle for that purpose at all.

Two: does every container clear the hazmat ceiling?

No single container over 500 mL by volume or 0.5 kg by mass, and the customer limited to 2 liters or 2 kg in aggregate. Every bottle on this shelf clears it, and a large set starts to interact with the aggregate.

Three: does it clear the security limit, checked at source?

The carry-on liquids figure is a TSA security requirement that changes without a rulemaking. Check it at TSA rather than from a secondary source, and design comfortably under it rather than to it.

Four: is the closure the pressure-tolerant one?

A lined continuous thread cap distributes the sealing force; a flip top or a spout holds the same pressure difference across a much smaller area. 124 of the 176 closures here are continuous thread.

Five: has it been tested under a pressure change, on its side?

Filled to the intended level, capped at a consistent torque, laid down, and exposed to a reduced external pressure. All four conditions, because any three of them passes a test the product will fail.

And describe the set accurately

Which sizes are for the cabin and which for a checked bag, what contents it suits, and that a perfume decant is for a trip rather than for storage. Precision here prevents most of the complaints.

File the answers

Intended contents, both limit checks, closure type and the pressure test result with the date. A change of bottle or closure reopens the last two, and a change of intended contents reopens all five.

References

49 CFR 175.10, Exceptions for passengers, crewmembers, and air operators. Paragraph (a)(1) excepts non-radioactive medicinal and toilet articles for personal use, including aerosols, in carry-on and checked baggage, requiring aerosol release devices to be protected against inadvertent release and limiting each person to 2 kg or 2 L in aggregate with no single container over 0.5 kg or 500 mL. law.cornell.edu

Transportation Security Administration, What Can I Bring? The carry-on liquids limit is a security requirement set and changed by TSA rather than by a hazardous materials rulemaking, so it should be checked at source. tsa.gov

49 CFR 173.150, Exceptions for Class 3 (flammable and combustible liquids), the limited quantity provisions that reach a high-alcohol product such as a perfume decant, with inner packaging limits of 0.5 L, 1.0 L and 5.0 L by packing group and a 30 kg gross cap per package. law.cornell.edu

16 CFR 1700.14(a)(22), Mouthwash, which requires special packaging for mouthwash preparations containing 3 g or more of ethanol in a single package, with a narrow exemption for nonremovable pump dispensers meeting three further conditions. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal regulation and from measured catalog data. The hazardous materials figures here are from 49 CFR 175.10 and are current as cited; the carry-on liquids limit is a TSA security requirement that changes without a rulemaking, so check TSA rather than any secondary source including this one. Airlines may also impose their own conditions.