# Would you bring a cup of coffee into the restroom at work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263 "2012-11-07T19:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/21 "2012-11-07T20:44:35Z")
Anywhere else I’ve worked, no. But here it’s a silly long walk to the kitchen and bathroom areas, so I’m not hiking back and forth. I will usually pull out a paper towel to cover it. Actually, I throw away the first paper towel and use the second one. Germovision, it’s inconvenient. ETA: I have been to many, many hotels with coffee makers in the bathroom. Remind me to tell you some time about the one with razor stubble in the water container section. EEeeuch!!! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/22 "2012-11-07T20:47:03Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > If, and only if, the cup has a lid, then I see no problem, though I would avoid doing it if I had a place to set it down first. Why worry about molecules landing in the coffee when you’re actually \*inhaling directly into your lungs \*far more than would ever get onto the lid? Do you put on a medical face mask before entering? > > Boy, that came out snarky for me! Not intended as snark! Well, not much. I know this meme is probably overused here on the Dope, but…great username/post combo! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/23 "2012-11-07T20:49:46Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Anywhere else I’ve worked, no. But here it’s a silly long walk to the kitchen and bathroom areas, so I’m not hiking back and forth. > > I will usually pull out a paper towel to cover it. Actually, I throw away the first paper towel and use the second one. > > Germovision, it’s inconvenient. > > ETA: I have been to many, many hotels with coffee makers in the bathroom. Remind me to tell you some time about the one with razor stubble in the water container section. EEeeuch!!! I have stayed in hotels from the Motel 6 to Hotel Wales in Manhattan and I’ve never seen a coffeemaker in the bathroom. What hotels are these? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/24 "2012-11-07T20:51:19Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I have stayed in hotels from the Motel 6 to Hotel Wales in Manhattan and I’ve never seen a coffeemaker in the bathroom. Me neither. My first thought was: that’s not a COFFEE MAKER!! ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/25 "2012-11-07T20:57:31Z")
I didn’t answer because you didn’t have a category for: “Yes I would, whether it was sealed or not.” I also would brush my teeth in the bathroom at work; as well as put my contacts in there as well. Geez, what a bunch of scaredy cats. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/26 "2012-11-07T21:03:15Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I didn’t answer because you didn’t have a category for: “Yes I would, whether it was sealed or not.” I also would brush my teeth in the bathroom at work; as well as put my contacts in there as well. Geez, what a bunch of scaredy cats. Aren’t you afraid of a big hunk of fecal matter floating by and landing in your eyeball? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/27 "2012-11-07T21:09:04Z")
Nope, not even if it was Kopi Luwak and had already passed through the butt of an Indonesian civit. Once is enough, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/28 "2012-11-07T21:12:09Z")
Count me in on the perplexity over hotels having coffee makers in the bathroom. I’ve never, ever seen that. I stay in hotels several times per year - anything from a Super 8 to pretty high end - and every one of them has the coffee machine either in the sitting area (if there is one) or on the cabinet near the TV. And as far as why I don’t bring it into the bathroom in my own house - I just think it’s gross, and there’s no need to. Bathrooms can be stinky, and even if it’s perfectly safe, I don’t want leftover stink in my coffee cup. Nor do I want particles of whatever landing in there. It’s easy enough to leave the coffee outside the bathroom, so I do that. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/29 "2012-11-07T21:12:13Z")
Ha! I just saw a guy walking into the restroom with an open can of Coke! Gak. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/30 "2012-11-07T21:15:53Z")
I mean, what skin is it off anybody’s back if I don’t want to bring my coffee cup into the bathroom? My mom used to drink her tea while pooping. Come to think of it, my dad did it too. YUCK! I think this is probably part of why I never could do it; it grossed me out from the beginning. I am not telling anyone else they shouldn’t bring their coffee cups into the bathroom. I just won’t bring mine. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/31 "2012-11-07T21:20:39Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Aren’t you afraid of a big hunk of fecal matter floating by and landing in your eyeball? Like Athena said, I think for me it’s probably more a matter of the intermittent stink in there than any germ phobia. I can’t speak for the ladies’ room, but in the gents’ restroom an odiferous tuba solo (or duet, if you’re lucky) is not uncommon. EDIT: Maybe I should have specified a multi-stall restroom in my original post. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/32 "2012-11-07T21:24:47Z")
OK maybe it’s a regional thing. I stayed in a hotel just a week ago, a Holiday Inn Express, and the coffeemaker was next to the sink. The two Holiday Inns I stayed at over the summer had coffeemaker in the very same place. This is Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. ? And my coffeemaker is in MY master-bathroom because it’s a long-ass hike to the kitchen while I’m doing my makeup — and I like having fresh hot coffee at my elbow. Geez, it’s not like I’m pissing in the sink. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/33 "2012-11-07T21:28:37Z")
I don’t see why not - I breathe, after all, and I expect that I am breathing in a whole more air that has bounced off people’s butts that comes in contact with the surface of my coffee. I should add that I work from home, so this is theoretical. And I have personally witnessed coffee makers in hotel bathrooms. Right there, not six feet away from the throne. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/34 "2012-11-07T21:29:53Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > . Geez, it’s not like I’m pissing in the sink. 😕 What? We can’t do that now? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/35 "2012-11-07T21:31:34Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > OK maybe it’s a regional thing. I stayed in a hotel just a week ago, a Holiday Inn Express, and the coffeemaker was next to the sink. The two Holiday Inns I stayed at over the summer had coffeemaker in the very same place. This is Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. ? > > And my coffeemaker is in MY master-bathroom because it’s a long-ass hike to the kitchen while I’m doing my makeup — and I like having fresh hot coffee at my elbow. Geez, it’s not like I’m pissing in the sink. 😕 I might have legitimate reason to criticize you on that! But my house is not so gigantic and it’s not many more steps to the kitchen than it to the bathroom, so that didn’t even occur to me. I also have this mental thing that food belongs in only certain rooms of the house. Food does not go in the bedroom, nor in the bathroom nor the hallway, for example. So it pretty much covers all areas of my life. I also don’t wear my shoes in the kitchen! (or anywhere else in the house - :eek:) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/36 "2012-11-07T21:33:10Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > What? We can’t do that now? Not at work, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/37 "2012-11-07T21:36:20Z")
I’m shuddering at the boiling water and vegetable peelings aimed straight for Miss Anaamika’s bare toes. 😛 Crocs in the kitchen for me! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/38 "2012-11-07T21:39:25Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Not at work, anyway. What is this, an OSHA thing, now? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/39 "2012-11-07T21:46:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t see why not - I breathe, after all, and I expect that I am breathing in a whole more air that has bounced off people’s butts that comes in contact with the surface of my coffee. Indeed, all those vile contaminants that you’re worried about touching your 175 degree coffee is also caressing your face, getting all over your clothes, becoming embedded in your hair, yet somehow we all survive without a “12 monkeys” style shower before returning to work. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263/40 "2012-11-07T21:54:44Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’m shuddering at the boiling water and vegetable peelings aimed straight for Miss Anaamika’s bare toes. 😛 Crocs in the kitchen for me! We’re both of Asian descent and while we are incredibly Americanized this is one thing from our heritage that is soooooo ingrained I think we will never break it. In a Hindu family it’s practically a sin to wear your outside shoes into the kitchen. They wear slippers but I admit if you are always pouring boiling water onto your toes Crocs won’t exacly help either. 🙂 I am a barefoot person to start with. I hate shoes. I hate socks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-bring-a-cup-of-coffee-into-the-restroom-at-work/640263.md?page=3)