Everyone has that one mug at work that they use for just about every beverage. And even though you love it, the truth is, rarely does it get taken home for a good wash. Many times we’re scrubbing it at the office with sponges and brushes that have been used by everyone — hello, bacteria. In fact, Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, told Mens Health that twenty percent of mugs carry fecal bacteria. “Colonies of germs are living in your favorite cup,” he told the magazine. That’s why cleaning your office cup is super important. Luckily, there are a few ways to go about this.
Gerba says to bring it home daily to be washed in a dishwasher on the hottest temperature possible. But if you don’t have a dishwasher, one user on Mamapedia said to first fill the cup with hot water and put a teaspoon of baking soda in it, letting it sit overnight. And then, finally wash it in hot water as you normally would.
While it might be a pain to bring this cup back and forth with you everyday, it’s totally worth it, considering what’s lurking inside, and we’d rather be a little inconvenienced than have to deal with getting sick from our daily cup of joy.
