01/10/2026
There are thousands of different types of bacteria in the world. Most of them you’ll never notice, a lot of them can make you sick, and others could be fatal. There is a 1000% chance that in your life, you have been someplace that does not maintain their beverage equipment properly, and probably came in contact with some from of bacteria without even knowing it. You may have even gotten sick and thought it was just “bad food”. We always think to ourselves, what else could it be?
Think of all the ice machines, soda fountains, coffee makers, water dispensers, that there must be in the world. Now think of every restaurant, fast food joint, convenience store, movie theater, coffee shop, office kitchen, and every other place that has one of these. Do you think all those machines are tested, cleaned, and maintained properly? No, we assume that it is taken care of by someone in charge and we put it out of our mind.
These machines are breeding grounds for bacteria if they are not taken care of properly and just because it’s clean on the outside, doesn’t mean it’s clean in the inside.
Most places do not have any sort of standard for testing these machines for bacteria, they only have the manufacturers recommendations. Those are really just suggestions that owners and managers may or may not do. It costs money to do and that makes it an additional expense, so a lot of times it doesn’t get done. The old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
We currently perform these services, but at places like hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. These places have medical standards that must be met, simply because they are perceived to be at a higher risk. To be honest sometimes even those fall short. So does that mean you’re at a lower risk somewhere else? No, you are actually at an even higher risk because there is less chance that those machines are maintained properly.
Yeah sure we all drank straight out of the garden hose when we were kids. Well how do you feel about drinking out of a machine sitting on a counter somewhere? Running non stop, sometimes for years at a time. At a place that may or may not view maintenance as important. Operated by people that have zero idea how it works or functions. Most people really don’t even care, as long as the water or ice keeps coming out right?
Think about this the next time you’re out somewhere. I promise it will change your perspective on the world.
The more you know…
