Inside Edition tested several coffee machines - including our own - and the results were astounding.
High-end machines that make a quick cup of coffee are everywhere, including homes and offices.
But when Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville poured a cup from the office coffee maker, she was alarmed by what she saw.
“I grabbed my coffee — I always go for the super black — put it in and was horrified by how disgustingly dirty it is here," she said. "This machine is so gross. I said, 'We've got to test the coffee machine.'”
The Inside Edition Investigative Team swabbed areas of the machine, including the cup holder and the water dispenser, and sent them to a lab for testing.
Swabs were also taken from machines at other offices and homes.
Vania Mendez, an actress who lives in New Jersey, is a coffee fanatic and a clean freak. Inside Edition swabbed several areas of her high-end coffee machine, including its water reservoir.
Swabs were also taken from a machine used by an office in Long Island, N.Y.
When the results came back, the coffee machine at Inside Edition tested positive for five different types of bacteria including E. coli.
“Oh my god!” Norville responded when hearing the news. “E. coli can make you sick.”
Inside Edition broke the news to Mendez that her machine had five different types of bacteria. Two of them can cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and even lung infections.
“Oh my god, that's why you didn't want coffee when you got here,” Mendez responded when hearing the news.
At the office in Long Island, the tests showed that the machine had five different types of bacteria including E. coli.
“That's what I was afraid of,” the shocked worker said.
There are simple things that you can do to keep your machine clean. Meaghan Murphy, the executive editor of Good Housekeeping, suggests the following tips.
No. 1: Dry out your coffee machine after each use by lifting the handle and wipe off any moisture from the reservoir lid and the rest of the machine.
No. 2: Clean the machine regularly with soapy water.
No. 3: About once a month, run vinegar through the machine to clean it from the inside.
“So if you clean it regularly, [you'll get a] better tasting cup of coffee and prevent all that mold, yeast and bacteria,” she told Inside Edition.
Keurig and other coffee machine manufacturers say you should follow the specific cleaning instructions that come with their products.
