Rachael Davis
Chances are at some point - be it on a holiday or a restaurant - you’ve indulged in drinking bottomless, fizzy drinks. The kind where you simply take your glass to the self-serve machine and fill it up to the brim.
But you might think again about using this kind of machine once you’ve seen one American fast food worker’s photo of a drinks dispenser that is mid-clean.
In 2023, a team of researchers from Loma Linda University (LLU) in California found that 41% of water samples from US fast food fizzy drink fountains contained coliforms, an indicator that it’s contaminated with some bacteria.
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Coliforms aren’t likely to make you ill, but they’re a red flag that some unfriendly bacteria might be present.
“We cannot say that soda fountain contamination is only in the eastern Coachella Valley,” Thomas Hile, lead author of the study, is quoted as telling USA Today.
“It’s a general problem that I believe is kind of overlooked.”
A fast food worker’s Reddit post illustrated the point with a photo of what they flushed out of a soda machine.
Posting to the subreddit ‘Moldly Interesting, they captioned the image: "Several pounds of pure slime mold from the soda machine drain pipes at my stupid fast food job.
“The most disgusting thing I've seen let alone had to clean."
It is, indeed, pretty disgusting. See for yourself.
Commenters were soon on-hand to share in the horror.
"What the f**k?" was one pertinent question.
"Bro f**k no," said another. "I'd quit on the spot lol. That s**t is a health hazard."
"This is why I don’t touch those soda fountains,” added a third. “There’s this guy on IG who shows how mouldy the ice is too and it’s disgusting."
Another added: "Sugar snake - the worst parts of those awful fountain machines. I’m horrified and impressed!"
Someone else helpfully compared it to cordyceps, the fungus that can take over ants’ minds and inspired the zombie virus of The Last of Us.
"Woah buddy that’s crazy!” chimed another. “I don’t think you had the PPE required to clean that safely."
The original poster returned to add: "The sound of a vacuum sucking it up like a kid eating jello."
Yeah, thanks for that.
Thankfully, it’s easy enough to clean this kind of gunge.
"I work at a bar but we have an electric kettle that we use to pour down drains at least every other night,” suggested one comment. “Really helps."
Another said: "Remember to pour sanitizer down the drains of your soda machines before you close, fellow wagies."
We can only apologise for ruining drinks machines for you.