What Bacteria is in your Coffee Machine? The Importance of Cleaning and Maintenance

In our modern world of convenience and one-touch operations, far too often we skim over some really important stuff. For instance, cleaning our coffee machines. Let’s be honest, we bought these machines for their easy-operation; the fact you can click one or two buttons while your eeyes are still opening and have the magical concoction decanted into your cup to wake you up. Then we go off to work and forget about our home machine, and the cycle repeats itself on a much grander scale with the 50 people at your office clambering for some fresh brew. Yeah yeah, it’s all fun and games until someone takes a microscope to the machine…

Bacteria in Coffee Machines

Foxnews reported on this problem and mentioned that “ According to a swab test conducted by KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, over 4 million colonies of harmful bacteria and mold was founding lurking in the water tank, coffee pod compartment, spout and tray on more than half of the 28 machines tested.” I find that pretty terrifying. Now considering that this amount of harmful, pathogenic bacteria was found on such a small (and usually home-based) coffee machine, can you imagine the amount we could possible find on larger, higher-use coffee machines we share with hundreds of colleagues?

Star2.com also explained how dangerous bacteria find it easy to thrive in moist, dark environments such as coffee machines. They mentioned:

“Regardless of the machine model, the results were the same: “All the machines revealed a significant bacterial diversity, with the total number of identified genera ranging from 35 to 67″, i.e., a “moderately to highly abundant” quantity. These included “bacterial genera with pathogenic properties,” meaning that they can cause disease such as urinary tract infections, meningitis and other infections from the pathogens Enterococcus, Clostridium and Pseudomonas.

This is a surprising discovery as caffeine, which is contained in coffee, tea and some fizzy drinks, has known antibacterial properties.”

Affects of not Cleaning my Coffee Machine

Now that we’re aware of the dangers of bacteria being present in our coffee machines, what other affects can damage or alter the quality and taste of my coffee? Well, if you’re using a bean-to-cup coffee machine, you run the risk of coffee lipid build-up. Not only will this make the taste of your coffee very bitter, but the oily build-up can look gross on an expensive machine and eventually erode some of the exposed parts. Your home based capsule machine may “inexplicably” start clogging or not even dispensing coffee due to product build-up. The spread of pathogenic bacteria means you run the risk of contracting some minor, yet very uncomfortable diseases, such as diarrhoea or even urinary tract infections. While these may seem small, constant exposure to these types of bacteria can culminate and result in a more sever problem.

How Do I Clean a Coffee Machine?

Some tips for keeping your capsule machine in tip top shape:

• Clean your machine regularly; you should ideally be doing a basic rinse, daily. Follow that up with a weekly deep clean (with either a cleaning tablet or cleaning pod) and lastly a monthly de-calcifying cycle.
• Change the water after each use. This works two-fold; you will get into the habit of making sure your water is always fresh – and you can reduce or even eliminate the risk of leaving water stagnant in the machine overnight.
• Use filtered water rather than water straight from your tap; this helps to present lime and calcium deposits from building up.
• Leave the lid off to allow the machine to air out – getting rid of moisture build-up helps reduce your risk of bacteria growth.
• Run white vinegar through your rinsing system to help sanitize surfaces.
• Wipe the machine down daily. People carry germs on their hands and can easily cross-infect machines. Using a clean cloth to wipe down exterior surfaces helps in fighting this battle.

While this article might have given you the “heeby-jeeby’s”, it’s important to know how crucial proper cleaning of your coffee machine is.