The dangers of cups on the desk

Tea or coffee are familiar drinks for office workers. However, even though coffee cups are cleaned daily, they still pose a risk of bacteria.

It’s cruel to say that your favorite mug for coffee or tea at the office could be making you sick. If you’re constantly forgetting to wash your mug and leaving it for the next day, this habit needs to be changed.

If a used coffee cup is not washed immediately, it will create conditions for bacteria to breed. Photo: Getty.

According to a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona (USA), cups and glasses in offices are breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria.

Speaking to Men's Health magazine, Professor Charles Gerba explained: "The germ base is in your favorite cup. If you keep your cup on your desk without cleaning it, the germs start to reproduce immediately. Bacterial nests develop even if the cup has only a little coffee in it."

Simply scrubbing tea and coffee cups with a sponge is not enough to kill germs. Photo: Getty.

Research by Professor Charles Gerba shows that 90% of office cups and glasses are home to germs. They can survive on the surface of cups for up to 3 days.

In fact, germs and bacteria can still survive even if you clean your cup with a sponge that is shared by all employees.

Professor Gerba recommends taking the cup home every day and rinsing it with warm water to kill any bacteria.

According to Zing.vn