Have you ever cleaned out the inside of your Keurig coffee machine? If not, it’s probably home to millions of colonies of bacteria, mold and maybe even E. coli. Um, ew!
A few CBS stations took samples from 29 Keurig machines in Pittsburgh, Dallas and Chicago. These were sent to a lab for analysis, and the results were, well, disgusting. More than half of the coffee machines were covered in millions of bacteria.
But it’s not just K-cup machines you have to worry about. University of Arizona germ specialist Kelly Reynolds told The Huffington Post that “[coffeemakers] are certainly a moist environment where mold and bacteria are known to grow in high numbers,” and in high enough numbers that can even make you sick. Gross, gross, gross.
So what’s the solution? Well, you can always get your coffee to go. But if you’re looking to save money by making it at home, there are a few things you can do. Run white vinegar and water through your machine once a month to remove buildup, or you can even purchase a special descaling solution. And since bacteria love a moist environment, you can wipe down the insides of your machine with an absorbent paper towel when you’re done brewing to try to keep things dry. You can see Keurig’s tips for cleaning its machines here.
In the meantime, I hope you weren’t drinking coffee from your neglected brewer while you read this article!
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