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I don’t know about you, but when it comes to drinking coffee at my desk, the one thing I’m unable to do is let my finished and now dirty cup stand overnight.
I cannot stand to see my cup rimmed with foam and coffee stains – I usually leave it for half an hour max, before I’m compelled to get up and rinse it, even if I’m not going to have a refill.
My (lovely) colleagues, on the other hand, wholeheartedly embrace the leave-my-dirty-cup-on-my-desk-for-as-long-as-I-can philosophy.
And you’re not going to believe it, but for them and the rest of the messy people of this world (yes, I’m judging you and I’m not even sorry), it turns out dirty coffee mugs aren’t actually a big deal at all.
It pains me a great deal to write this, but according to an article on NYmag.com, it’s actually totally okay to leave your cup stewing in the previous day’s coffee stains, because washing and rinsing it out with a sponge is actually LESS sanitary.
READ MORE: SA employees care more about good coffee than their own safety
In the article, doctor and infectious-disease expert Jeffrey Starke notes that the sponge you’re using to wash your cup, is likely to be infested with more germs than your actual cup, provided that you’re the only person who drinks from it.
That’s not to say your dirty cup is without its share of germs – just that the amount you’d find is a lot less than what you’d find in a sponge.
But before you breathe a sigh of relief, another article on Lifehacker says you should rather take your coffee cup home and clean it – because your entire office potentially carries around fecal bacteria.
So there you have it. You might think it’s totes okay to get away with an unwashed mug for days on end, but remember, there could be poo on it.
Read more:
Study suggests well-groomed women earn more than their counterparts
8 tips to change your work life
