The really gross reason why you should never drink coffee or tea at work

Talk about gross.

A nice cup of coffee or tea can be especially helpful to get through the working day, especially as the days get colder. But it turns out the mugs the we keep at our desks are crawling with germs - and it gets even worse (we wish we were kidding). Research has shown that 90 per cent of office mugs are covered in dangerous germs - and 20 per cent of those carry faecal matter. The study was carried out by Charles Gerba Ph.D., a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. He added to Men's Health:

"Colonies of germs are living in your favourite cup."

Dr Gerba went on to explain that washing out your cup with one of the sponges or scrub brushes may even make things worse. Since the cleaning tools are likely covered in bacteria, it will just transfer into your mug - where it can live for up to three days. Ew. But it's not all a lost cause. Dr Gerba also suggested to the publication plenty of ways to deal with the germs - from the length of time to nurse your brew to why an empty cup shouldn't be left out too long. While the cup may be scalding at the start, Dr Gerba advises making sure you're not still drinking it after an hour or so. He also suggests taking your mug home every night and putting it through a hot cycle on your dishwasher.