PSA: Bring Your Office Coffee Mug Home to Clean Regularly
It might be convenient to keep your favorite coffee mug in your office break room, but cleaning it there actually does more harm than good. This is why you should bring your mug home and clean it thoroughly as often as possible.
According to Charles Gerb, Ph.D., professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, about 90% of office mugs contain dangerous germs, and 20% of them are fecal bacteria. And Gerba believes that the office cleaning methods are to blame. People tend to wash coffee mugs with public sponges and dishwashing brushes that are loaded with bacteria. So the process of cleaning them in the office kitchen or break room actually makes things worse. It doesn’t help that the coffee pot in the break room is already a hot spot for germs .
If you really want your favorite coffee mug not to become a bacteria delivery service, Gerba recommends taking your mug home with you and washing it in the dishwasher as often as possible. The high temperatures of washing and drying with heating are enough to keep your mug bacteria-free. If you can’t take it home, at least wash it with hot soapy water and dry it with a paper towel daily.
Eliminate Germs In Your Home | Men’s Health via Business Insider