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29 October 2007

Nastyfilter How often do you wash the coffee mug at your desk? As I rinsed and filled my mug this morning, I realized that it's been at least a month that I've been using this mug, without once washing it. There are many rings on the inside, where coffee has been left overnight, and the rim is surrounded with brown droplets and lip marks. The bottom of the aluminum mug is now solid brown. Can you beat that?

post by: pieisexactlythree at: 12:40 | 24 comments

No, but I can say it's super-gross. ;-)

posted by brina 29 October | 12:44

I wash mine everyday. I drink it black with no sugar so there's not much for bacteria/mold/yeast to live on but still.

posted by octothorpe 29 October | 12:46

I haven't had my suit cleaned since I got this job. I wear it every other day. It's been six months.

posted by Hugh Janus 29 October | 12:47

Eww. Luckily little elves wash my coffee mug at night (seriously, if I leave it by the sink someone does, I don't know who).

posted by amro 29 October | 12:47

I have a metal spoon at my office that I haven't washed in.... months. I'm just that lazy.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 29 October | 12:56

I drink my coffee black with no sugar, and if I forget to wash my mug out at the end of the day, I always give it a good soak in hot water before using it again.

(I must say it does look a bit cruddy in this picture.)

posted by essexjan 29 October | 12:57

I wash my tea mug out every day when I've had my last cup for the morning. I forgot once about a week ago, and was kinda skeeved about it the next day.

I'll quit worrying about it now.

posted by BoringPostcards 29 October | 13:04

I work with Crazy Woman. Every mug must be washed daily and certain people have a SPECIAL MUG.

posted by chuckdarwin 29 October | 13:23

The bottom of the mug is Flavor Country. It's a big country.

posted by pieisexactlythree 29 October | 13:23

While we were moving our offices a couple of months ago, I found an insulated mug I had bought at Caribou Coffee a couple of years ago. I used it at work all the time, and I never washed the thing. I had lost track of it at the beginning of the summer, and when I found it, not only was it dirty all over, it had never been emptied from the last time it had coffee put in it. It was brown and moldy inside.

As much as I liked the mug, I chucked it. Yech.

posted by deadcowdan 29 October | 13:30

I firmly believe that washing your office coffee mug only once every two weeks promotes a healthy immune system. I would not do this if I didn't drink it black, however.

A similar theory applies to bagged lunches left in the office fridge overnight because someone brought in pizza.

posted by BitterOldPunk 29 October | 13:42

I work with Crazy Woman. Every mug must be washed daily and certain people have a SPECIAL MUG.

You think that's bad. I work with someone who keeps toothpaste and a toothbrush by his desk and uses them throughout the day because he "can't work efficiently without clean teeth".

posted by TheDonF 29 October | 13:44

Does he use them at his desk, TheDonF, spitting into the bin?

posted by essexjan 29 October | 13:49

Yeah, I'm with BitterOldPunk and Pieisexactlythree - I hardly ever wash my coffee mug; the black coffee remnants give it that authentic cowboy flavor. Or something. I guess if I used milk & sugar I might wash it more but as it is, hell, I just add the new coffee every morning. About once a month or so I get skeeved out and wash it. What about water bottles/glasses? I use the same glass bottle for water every day and never wash that either; when it starts to look really nasty I chuck it and go buy another glass bottled tea or something to use as a water bottle for a few months.

posted by mygothlaundry 29 October | 13:51

You guys are gross. And hugh, do you go nekkid every other day as well?

posted by chewatadistance 29 October | 15:06

I knew a guy who lived in a wood heated cabin with no water, and he licked his plate and utensils clean after meals.

posted by StickyCarpet 29 October | 15:22

I don't have a desk. and I drink my coffee out of a paper cup.

posted by jonmc 29 October | 15:31

I only wash my mug when the residue on the bottom starts to flake off and only then because the bits float on top of the coffee. I also have a stainless steel spoon for making of said coffee that I don't remember ever washing (kept in desk drawer). It starts off silver at the tip of the handle and ends up a colour I can only describe as dirty at the other end. I never ever wash my water bottle - what is the point of washing something that only holds water, with water? Plus, it's aluminium so I can't see the slime on the inside.

I had to give a speech at a conference a couple of weeks ago and got my suit out only to find that it had mouldy spots all over the pants.

posted by dg 29 October | 16:17

I haven't had my suit cleaned since I got this job. I wear it every other day. It's been six months.

That's the upside of suits--they don't really need to be cleaned that often. Once a season is the rule of thumb I've heard.

posted by mullacc 29 October | 16:32

I knew a guy who lived in a wood heated cabin with no water, and he licked his plate and utensils clean after meals.
posted by StickyCarpet 29 October | 15:22

I made an awesome discovery on a camping trip last summer: A handfull of moss is a great natural brillo pad. After wiping plates and cooking gear with moss, they don't need washing untill you get home from the trip. Also, it saves water.

posted by pieisexactlythree 29 October | 17:06

Does he use them at his desk, TheDonF, spitting into the bin?

No, but he keeps them in a pot on the divide between our desks so I have to look at his toothbrush all day. I suppose I really should ask him to move them. Or maybe come in at the weekend and scooch around the urinals with the brush. Ar a guess, I'd say he uses it 2 or 3 times a day. He's a strange, strange guy.

posted by TheDonF 29 October | 18:32

If I were to elaborate further about Crazy Woman, things could get ugly... it's like a fucking Comedy Piece. I'd need to copyright it somehow in advance.

Crazy Woman yelled at me for opening a new kitchen roll because there was already one open (behind the curtains). I pointed out that we get through it at a fair clip, so it was no big deal. No. I was wrong. There was ALREADY A ROLL. NOW, there was a new open roll under the sink. Which. Would. GET. DUSTY.

/copyright 2007

posted by chuckdarwin 29 October | 19:55

I'm not afraid of my own germs, but I am scared of others' germs. The idea of using an unwashed coffee mug doesn't bother me nearly as much as the idea of NOT WASHING THE PLASTIC UTENSILS THAT HAVE BEEN KEPT IN A SMALL SHALLOW BIN INTO WHICH EVERY HAND IN THE OFFICE HAS REACHED AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE LAST POTLUCK. Do you know where those hands have been? Some of them have been used to block coughs and sneezes. Some of them have been sighted leaving bathroom stalls without washing on their way out. Some of them have been even worse places. And ALL of them have fondled that disposable spoon you're using to bring your coworker's homemade mashed potatoes from plate to mouth. Might as well lick your cube-mate's keyboard.

posted by treepour 29 October | 23:02

I wash my water bottle every couple weeks and my spoon essentially never, just a quick wipe with a kim-wipe after each use.

I also only wash my towels once every ten days or so though I do have two that I alternate so that I have a dry one on those days I take two showers.

posted by Mitheral 29 October | 23:02

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