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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren vog Obam Here. People love their coffee,

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Speaker 1: but most don't extend their profound affection to its trusty receptacle,

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Speaker 1: the coffee cup. Office workers are often guilty of such neglect,

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Speaker 1: merely rinsing and reusing their mug day after day, or worse,

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Speaker 1: just dumping out the old coffee and filling their cup

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Speaker 1: up with new brew. While it seems that the mug

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Speaker 1: would be just fine with such treatment, after all, hot

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Speaker 1: water kills germs and you're the only person who uses

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Speaker 1: your mug, thank you very much, the truth is perhaps

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Speaker 1: more eye opening than the beverages inherent caffeine. A mostly

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Speaker 1: empty mug, left to its own devices, can quickly grow

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Speaker 1: its own microbiome. Of course, most bacteria are harmless, but

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Speaker 1: there are those that aren't. We spoke by email with

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Speaker 1: Melissa Maker, host of the YouTube channel clean my Space.

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Speaker 1: She said all sorts of germs in bacteria can live

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Speaker 1: on and in your cup, especially if you are in

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Speaker 1: a shared space. Cold and flu germs tend to travel

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Speaker 1: and can easily land honor in your cup. Plus germs

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Speaker 1: from your mouth and hands will also transfer to your cup.

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Speaker 1: The warmer and damper the environment, the more pleasing for

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Speaker 1: bacteria to fester. Indeed, the laundry list of possibilities is daunting.

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Speaker 1: We also spoke via email with Dr Terry D. Connell,

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Speaker 1: professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Buffalo.

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Speaker 1: They said strep staff and any number of resident or

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Speaker 1: transient oral bacteria, which may include potential pathogens, may reside

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Speaker 1: in unwashed cups, and of course, if someone else should

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Speaker 1: drink from one's cup, bacteria from their mouths can be

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Speaker 1: transferred into it. Office environments are particularly conducive to the

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Speaker 1: spread of bacteria. Dr Childs Gerba, a professor of microbiology

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Speaker 1: at the University of Arizona, published research findings back in

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Speaker 1: the Continue to Rock Our Worlds Today. His team assessed

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Speaker 1: bacteria found in office coffee cups and coffee preparation areas,

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Speaker 1: and they discovered that fort of cups tested or contaminated

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Speaker 1: with coliform bacteria otherwise known as vehicle bacteria. And most

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Speaker 1: of the time these bacteria are not harmful to people,

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Speaker 1: but they certainly can be, especially to those with weakened

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Speaker 1: or compromised immune systems. The kicker Dr Gerba's team found

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Speaker 1: that a small office cup washer sort of like a

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Speaker 1: mini dishwasher was all it took to eradicate these and

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Speaker 1: other types of bacteria. The problem is most people think

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Speaker 1: of simple rinse and wipe is enough to keep germs

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Speaker 1: at bay. However, this approach is definitely not enough to

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Speaker 1: tackle such formidable opponents. Dr Connell said bacteria can adhere

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Speaker 1: to the surface of the cup. Washing with soap is

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Speaker 1: essential to remove those bacteria. That's why public health officials

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Speaker 1: in England put out a plea back in January for

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Speaker 1: reusable cup users to thoroughly wash receptacles after every single

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Speaker 1: drink to prevent the spread of illness. This was in

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Speaker 1: response to a spike in reusable cup use since the

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Speaker 1: nation started in posing a so called latte tax on

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Speaker 1: disposable cups. Proper cleaning grows even more critical if the

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Speaker 1: coffee in question has been doctored with cream or sugar.

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Speaker 1: Dr Connell explained both of those substances contain nutrients for

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Speaker 1: bacterial growth. While water washing will remove most of the sugar,

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Speaker 1: the oils and proteins in milk or cream require the

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Speaker 1: use of soap to remove. Soap is what's known as

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Speaker 1: a surfactant. Molecule of soap can grab hold of oily

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Speaker 1: particles at one end and molecules of water at its

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Speaker 1: other end, thus helping dissolve and rinse away even stubborn grime.

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Speaker 1: So here are the easy steps to lessen the germs

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Speaker 1: in your coffee mug. Wash your cup with soap and

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Speaker 1: water after every use. Wash with a paper towel rather

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Speaker 1: than a shared sponge. Dry the cup with a paper towel.

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Speaker 1: And if your cup has a lid, remember to wash

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Speaker 1: that too. Today's episode was written by Aliyahit and produced

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Speaker 1: by Tyler. Playing brain Stuff is a production of I

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Speaker 1: lots of other topics that help you break things down,

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Speaker 1: visit our home planet how stuff works dot com. And

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