Can I drink this?
April 21, 2018 12:04 PM Subscribe
Is it OK to drink the water you left out overnight?
Great news: You're going to make it.
Great news: You're going to make it.
I asked my partner (at the time) to get me some water, and then proceeded to hand him a full glass of water. He just looked at me funny. "It's stale." And he shrugged and got me new water. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks water gets stale
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by FirstMateKate at 12:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Wait, is this really a question that people have? What do they think distilled water is? I'm confused, and kinda sad now.
posted by stillmoving at 12:17 PM on April 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
posted by stillmoving at 12:17 PM on April 21, 2018 [17 favorites]
Lonnie Donegan reflects on a question of similar gravity.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
>don't reuse the same glass forever without washing it,
I'll tell you what, unless other peoples' bodies work very differently from mine, this is not a health and safety issue.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
I'll tell you what, unless other peoples' bodies work very differently from mine, this is not a health and safety issue.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 12:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [27 favorites]
DTMFA
posted by rlk at 12:24 PM on April 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by rlk at 12:24 PM on April 21, 2018 [14 favorites]
They point out in the top of the article that stale water tastes like dust but no one seems to come up with the theory that it's because it gets dust in it?
posted by Zalzidrax at 12:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
posted by Zalzidrax at 12:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [38 favorites]
Also, I use filtered water so I don't notice as much difference as I did when I used tap water.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ha! In a world where two billion people do not have safe drinking water in their homes, I guess there had to be a few people overprivileged enough to worry about "stale" water.
posted by pracowity at 12:36 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 12:36 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
The article is strangely silent on what I believe is the chief reason for the different taste, and the staleness:
Air/oxygen that has been dissolved in the water due to its turbulent flow through the pipes and then into a glass, will eventually leave a sitting glass of water. You can sometimes see this as a small bubble forming on the inside wall of the glass. Water that has less air in it tastes flat.
It’s also why one of the steps in making a traditional tea in some cultures is to pour it back and forth to redissolve air in the tea that has been driven out in the boiling process.
posted by darkstar at 12:38 PM on April 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
Air/oxygen that has been dissolved in the water due to its turbulent flow through the pipes and then into a glass, will eventually leave a sitting glass of water. You can sometimes see this as a small bubble forming on the inside wall of the glass. Water that has less air in it tastes flat.
It’s also why one of the steps in making a traditional tea in some cultures is to pour it back and forth to redissolve air in the tea that has been driven out in the boiling process.
posted by darkstar at 12:38 PM on April 21, 2018 [30 favorites]
I'm sure there was something in YouWHAT about this. Oh, yes: Does a glass of water become too old to drink?. 55 answers.
posted by zamboni at 12:42 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by zamboni at 12:42 PM on April 21, 2018
Oh, and reusing a glass without washing it will eventually contaminate it. Every time you put your lips on the rim, or exhale into the glass as you take a sip, you are introducing germs and the food to support them.
Fun fact: tests have shown that office break room coffee cups are often contaminated with E. coli. It seems that the momentary introduction of boiling water isn’t enough to kill germs in a cup before the coffee cools, and there’s this strange folk wisdom that you shouldn’t thoroughly wash a coffee cup, so...
posted by darkstar at 12:42 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Fun fact: tests have shown that office break room coffee cups are often contaminated with E. coli. It seems that the momentary introduction of boiling water isn’t enough to kill germs in a cup before the coffee cools, and there’s this strange folk wisdom that you shouldn’t thoroughly wash a coffee cup, so...
posted by darkstar at 12:42 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
You mean people share unwashed cups?
posted by pracowity at 12:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 12:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
introducing Germans
gesundheit!
(aw, typo got fixed!)
posted by mwhybark at 12:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
gesundheit!
(aw, typo got fixed!)
posted by mwhybark at 12:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Every time you put your lips on the rim, or exhale into the glass as you take a sip, you are introducing Germans and the food to support them.
I keep the Germans out of my drinking water by using one of those hot/cold stainless steel insulated tumblers with a lid and stainless steel straw. Cold filtered water goes in, the lid goes on, I drink with the straw, the water stays fresh tasting/tasteless and cold and no dust or Germans settling in the cup. Also, if I tip it over, it doesn't kill my laptop.
posted by taz at 12:49 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
I keep the Germans out of my drinking water by using one of those hot/cold stainless steel insulated tumblers with a lid and stainless steel straw. Cold filtered water goes in, the lid goes on, I drink with the straw, the water stays fresh tasting/tasteless and cold and no dust or Germans settling in the cup. Also, if I tip it over, it doesn't kill my laptop.
posted by taz at 12:49 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
I've seen people at the supermarket make clerks dig though the bottled water to make sure not only that it was not expired, but selected for the freshest date. WTF, first world problem people?
posted by 2N2222 at 12:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by 2N2222 at 12:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
You mean people share unwashed cups?
Not necessary for the growth of bacteria. If you have your own cup, then you introduce bacteria into it when you use it. If you don’t wash it, then the bacteria can colonize the residues at the bottom of the cup. Over time, the cup has a thriving little niche of bacteria, as indicated by testing.
I don’t know how problematic it is from a practical health standpoint, because we’re probably encountering much more vigorous bacterial loads from using office phones, touching doorknobs, keyboards and computer mice, etc. Our own kitchen sinks are a thriving microbiome of germs, so maybe coffee cups don’t rank highly on the “things to be concerned about” list.
posted by darkstar at 12:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not necessary for the growth of bacteria. If you have your own cup, then you introduce bacteria into it when you use it. If you don’t wash it, then the bacteria can colonize the residues at the bottom of the cup. Over time, the cup has a thriving little niche of bacteria, as indicated by testing.
I don’t know how problematic it is from a practical health standpoint, because we’re probably encountering much more vigorous bacterial loads from using office phones, touching doorknobs, keyboards and computer mice, etc. Our own kitchen sinks are a thriving microbiome of germs, so maybe coffee cups don’t rank highly on the “things to be concerned about” list.
posted by darkstar at 12:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Every time you put your lips on the rim, or exhale into the glass as you take a sip, you are introducing Germans and the food to support them.
Soooo tempted to not fix that typo.
posted by darkstar at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Soooo tempted to not fix that typo.
posted by darkstar at 12:53 PM on April 21, 2018 [18 favorites]
Also no mention of the main reason not to drink a glass of water that's been sitting out overnight: the cat has almost certainly been drinking from it while you slept.
posted by fogovonslack at 12:55 PM on April 21, 2018 [57 favorites]
posted by fogovonslack at 12:55 PM on April 21, 2018 [57 favorites]
I keep the Germans out of my drinking water by using one of those hot/cold stainless steel insulated tumblers with a lid and stainless steel straw.
Check out our new Maginot Line of travel mugs!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:03 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
Check out our new Maginot Line of travel mugs!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:03 PM on April 21, 2018 [60 favorites]
Speaking of Germans, I use a pink glass thermos beaker made in Germany right after WWII.
If I didn't have a lid on it, I always inspect the water first to be sure some flying insect didn't make it in there overnight, which happens about 1 time out of 4 when I don't use a lid during summer.
posted by jamjam at 1:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
If I didn't have a lid on it, I always inspect the water first to be sure some flying insect didn't make it in there overnight, which happens about 1 time out of 4 when I don't use a lid during summer.
posted by jamjam at 1:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Instead of drinking filtered or straight tap water i find that metafiltering it before bed ensures a full lucid glass of....
Hell I kinda painted myself into a corner there.
posted by chasles at 1:13 PM on April 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
Hell I kinda painted myself into a corner there.
posted by chasles at 1:13 PM on April 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
>don't reuse the same glass forever without washing it
Ok but is there some rigorous and scientific definition of "forever" for this, asking for a friend
posted by potrzebie at 1:20 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Ok but is there some rigorous and scientific definition of "forever" for this, asking for a friend
posted by potrzebie at 1:20 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I guess nobody owns a bottle?
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
posted by FJT at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
posted by FJT at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
My cat doesn't drink directly from the glass but dips his paw in, licks paw, repeats. Thus water tastes like cat paws.
posted by waving at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
posted by waving at 1:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [39 favorites]
Because water comes fresh and newly created straight from the water factory every time you turn on the tap.
posted by bongo_x at 1:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by bongo_x at 1:25 PM on April 21, 2018 [15 favorites]
there’s this strange folk wisdom that you shouldn’t thoroughly wash a coffee cup
Say what now?
posted by Secret Sparrow at 1:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
Say what now?
posted by Secret Sparrow at 1:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [21 favorites]
I guess nobody owns a bottle?
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
Indeed. I have a plastic bottle with a built in brita filter. Water never tastes stale. Solves this entire problem of "flat" tasting water.
posted by Fizz at 1:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
Indeed. I have a plastic bottle with a built in brita filter. Water never tastes stale. Solves this entire problem of "flat" tasting water.
posted by Fizz at 1:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Given the username I chose for myself I feel compelled to comment. It's funny that I never thought twice about the glass of water I take to bed with me. Until now. I feel a spot of OCD coming on.
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 1:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by MorgansAmoebas at 1:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I use pop-top bottles and actually tend to keep them in the bed with me, always within easy reach. That helps the blurred midnight/morning drinking go down smoothly.
posted by AnhydrousLove at 1:48 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by AnhydrousLove at 1:48 PM on April 21, 2018
.
posted by 4ster at 1:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by 4ster at 1:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mrs. 4ster always drinks water that has been left out all night. I tried it once, but awoke to a cat who was up to his shoulders in my cup. YMMV.
posted by 4ster at 2:04 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 2:04 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
People in Beijing use covers on their cups and mugs. Because of the dust, I'm told
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:05 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:05 PM on April 21, 2018
Every time you put your lips on the rim, or exhale into the glass as you take a sip, you are introducing Germans and the food to support them.
Don't mention the warter!
posted by delfin at 2:09 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
Don't mention the warter!
posted by delfin at 2:09 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
My cat doesn't drink directly from the glass but dips his paw in, licks paw, repeats. Thus water tastes like cat paws.
My friend's dear departed cat drank like this. I didn't really understand it until I caught him drinking from the toilet. Lightbulb goes on: it's cooler and frequently changed.
posted by sjswitzer at 2:18 PM on April 21, 2018
My friend's dear departed cat drank like this. I didn't really understand it until I caught him drinking from the toilet. Lightbulb goes on: it's cooler and frequently changed.
posted by sjswitzer at 2:18 PM on April 21, 2018
Gross thought : cat paws have been all over a litter box.
posted by twoplussix at 2:20 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by twoplussix at 2:20 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
You guys know cats walk on their paws, right? In the litterbox, even?
posted by valkane at 2:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by valkane at 2:22 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
My city's water comes from a lake in the hills so it, uh, gets left out overnight every night.
posted by klanawa at 2:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 2:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [29 favorites]
Y'know fish fuck in that.
posted by adept256 at 2:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by adept256 at 2:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [22 favorites]
Flagged. I think you meant to post this question on Ask Dot Metafilter Dot Com, veggieboy. 🍔
posted by glonous keming at 2:31 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by glonous keming at 2:31 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
You guys know cats walk on their paws, right? In the litterbox, even?
Yeah, I'm also aware that every breath I take has many, many farts from other people in it and breathing through my mouth means I have farts in my mouth. Anyway, cat faeces and urine could be considered grosser, for sure.
posted by waving at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yeah, I'm also aware that every breath I take has many, many farts from other people in it and breathing through my mouth means I have farts in my mouth. Anyway, cat faeces and urine could be considered grosser, for sure.
posted by waving at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
I fill a semi-insulated plastic mug with ice water every night and put it on the night stand. Most mornings I drink the whole thing upon waking. The cup gets washed maybe once a quarter. Cats are banned from the bedroom.
It’s fine, it tastes fine.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
It’s fine, it tastes fine.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:35 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
there’s this strange folk wisdom that you shouldn’t thoroughly wash a coffee cup
They're the cast iron skillets of the mug club
posted by JoeXIII007 at 2:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
They're the cast iron skillets of the mug club
posted by JoeXIII007 at 2:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [12 favorites]
On the list of things worth worrying about, overnight water does not even register.
posted by Miko at 2:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Miko at 2:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I'm also aware that every breath I take has many, many farts in it and breathing through my mouth means I have farts in my mouth.
Maybe open a window?
posted by valkane at 2:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
Maybe open a window?
posted by valkane at 2:40 PM on April 21, 2018 [24 favorites]
The glass gets cleaned maybe once every couple of weeks, but I put whatever book I'm reading on top of it to deter (or at least, detect, by means of a soggy book and carpet) nocturnal feline visitors. So far, I'm still alive.
posted by parm at 2:41 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by parm at 2:41 PM on April 21, 2018
Maybe open a window?
I'm talking about farts from others, many others over thousands of years. My own farts don't bother me.
posted by waving at 2:44 PM on April 21, 2018
I'm talking about farts from others, many others over thousands of years. My own farts don't bother me.
posted by waving at 2:44 PM on April 21, 2018
You guys know cats walk on their paws, right? In the litterbox, even?
and yet i cannot stop smooching their lil toesies
posted by poffin boffin at 2:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
and yet i cannot stop smooching their lil toesies
posted by poffin boffin at 2:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [33 favorites]
Well la di da
posted by beerperson at 2:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by beerperson at 2:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
...there’s this strange folk wisdom that you shouldn’t thoroughly wash a coffee cup
Say what now?
I wish this were merely hyperbole, drawn from my experience working in offices and noticing the slapdash washing-up many folks do that leaves residue and stains in the cups.
However, no. I’ve had at least three unassociated people in my lifetime tell me that coffee cups shouldn’t be washed thoroughly, so as to let the coffee residue form and “season” the next cup of coffee. My Stepdad thus used to scold anyone who washed his coffee cup.
I don’t know if it was a bit of sympathetic magic or, indeed, just lore associated with cast iron pans, or if folks can actually taste a difference (likely true). Or maybe they just don’t want anyone else using their favorite cup...
posted by darkstar at 2:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Say what now?
I wish this were merely hyperbole, drawn from my experience working in offices and noticing the slapdash washing-up many folks do that leaves residue and stains in the cups.
However, no. I’ve had at least three unassociated people in my lifetime tell me that coffee cups shouldn’t be washed thoroughly, so as to let the coffee residue form and “season” the next cup of coffee. My Stepdad thus used to scold anyone who washed his coffee cup.
I don’t know if it was a bit of sympathetic magic or, indeed, just lore associated with cast iron pans, or if folks can actually taste a difference (likely true). Or maybe they just don’t want anyone else using their favorite cup...
posted by darkstar at 2:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Wasn't there an AskMe about if it was OK that the askers dog drank out of muddy puddles on the ground?
posted by thelonius at 2:57 PM on April 21, 2018
posted by thelonius at 2:57 PM on April 21, 2018
yet i cannot stop smooching their lil toesies
I’ll admit a cats footpads are adorable.
posted by valkane at 2:58 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I’ll admit a cats footpads are adorable.
posted by valkane at 2:58 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Toebeans. Adorable toebeans that have been walking around in a litterbox. I cannot. No matter how cute.
posted by elsietheeel at 3:00 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 3:00 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
It really depends on whether the water was used for, uh, cleaning purposes before you slept.
posted by ambrosen at 3:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by ambrosen at 3:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Unglazed pottery will indeed absorb oils from whatever you put in it, with possible effects on flavour.
However, it's almost unheard of for coffee cups to have unglazed interiors. Sometimes, teapots will have unglazed interiors, but even then they're pretty uncommon compared to glazed teapots.
So go ahead and wash your mugs, especially if you take milk and sugar with your beverage of choice.
posted by tobascodagama at 3:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
However, it's almost unheard of for coffee cups to have unglazed interiors. Sometimes, teapots will have unglazed interiors, but even then they're pretty uncommon compared to glazed teapots.
So go ahead and wash your mugs, especially if you take milk and sugar with your beverage of choice.
posted by tobascodagama at 3:02 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Instead of drinking filtered or straight tap water i find that metafiltering it before bed ensures a full lucid glass of....
I assume one metafilters through a plate of beans?
posted by bowmaniac at 3:04 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I assume one metafilters through a plate of beans?
posted by bowmaniac at 3:04 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
yet i cannot stop smooching their lil toesies
and I cannot resist a li'l toxoplasmo-sies!
posted by pracowity at 3:08 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
and I cannot resist a li'l toxoplasmo-sies!
posted by pracowity at 3:08 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
I can vouch that coffee cup seasoning is a thing people believe. I've made a rule for myself that if I have to make a new pot of coffee at the little kitchenette, I get the first cup but ALSO, I make use of the time waiting for it to brew to clean up the area a bit. I've learned that washing up the cups that are sitting there is the one off-limits thing. I've said it before as a joke, but for some people that's serious shit.
(Which can start the "if you care so much, maybe don't leave a thing that clearly needs washing, by the washing-place" vs. "just don't touch other people's stuff, ever, and you can't be wrong" debate, but I just don't bother.)
posted by ctmf at 3:10 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
(Which can start the "if you care so much, maybe don't leave a thing that clearly needs washing, by the washing-place" vs. "just don't touch other people's stuff, ever, and you can't be wrong" debate, but I just don't bother.)
posted by ctmf at 3:10 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
there was a cat related thread here like 10 years ago when someone, and i apologize for potential meta-slander but i feel like it might have been bondcliff, was like "one time i was very drunk and put my kitten's entire head in my mouth just to see if i could" and i don't think i've ever laughed harder in my life
posted by poffin boffin at 3:13 PM on April 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 3:13 PM on April 21, 2018 [25 favorites]
I have a pretty glass pitcher which I got in case I ever have a genteel afternoon party in the summer and want to serve lemonade (note: this never happens), and recently I've adopted it to use as bedside water service; being a middle-aged woman means I am occasionally prone to the sudden need to cool down in the middle of the night, let's say. I keep it filled and on hand if I need it, and frequently I don't, so sometimes it stays around for two or three days.
I just had a drink of three-day-old water for science. Will report if I have ill effects. I'm assuming I won't.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I just had a drink of three-day-old water for science. Will report if I have ill effects. I'm assuming I won't.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
After catching my cats drinking from my nightstand water glass a few times, sometimes with their entire head inside the glass to reach the water, I started leaving out a second, shorter glass just for them on the same table. Works like a charm. But then they also like to lick faucets....
posted by mubba at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by mubba at 3:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I started leaving out a second, shorter glass just for them
That also works for the Christmas tree water. We could NOT keep the cat out of it no matter how much tree-skirt wrapping, safety-pinning, etc. we did until we put the compromise 'just for cat' ramekin of water under the tree. Problem solved.
posted by ctmf at 3:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
That also works for the Christmas tree water. We could NOT keep the cat out of it no matter how much tree-skirt wrapping, safety-pinning, etc. we did until we put the compromise 'just for cat' ramekin of water under the tree. Problem solved.
posted by ctmf at 3:19 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
> I guess nobody owns a bottle?
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
When I started using a plastic bottle by the bed, I uh, supped from the same one for far too long without rinsing it, until one day, looking for the source of an odd smell, I got a blast of morning breath from the cap.
posted by lucidium at 3:23 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
When I started using a plastic bottle by the bed, I uh, supped from the same one for far too long without rinsing it, until one day, looking for the source of an odd smell, I got a blast of morning breath from the cap.
posted by lucidium at 3:23 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
I see now how many people are Klepp in Guenter Grass' The Tin Drum. If you recall, he is so lazy that he makes his spaghetti on a hot plate he can reach from his bed, constantly reusing the same pot and recycling the pasta water (the setting is pre-microwave ovens) until the water becomes too gooey to reuse.
posted by bad grammar at 3:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by bad grammar at 3:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
This thread has made me increasingly queasy. (Picture me as Lucy, running from Snoopy, screaming, "Dog lips! Get the iodine!"
I don't have pets; I do have a normal, non-plastic bubble, amount of dust and would be disinclined to drink uncovered water the next morning. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt me, but it would not taste right. But I wouldn't drink "overnight" water anyway, because it's not cold. I only drink water if it's icy cold. (I don't drink any warm or hot beverages, ever, let alone room-temperature. But I acknowledge that part's weird.) And I wouldn't share a glass with anyone - I'm wearing lipstick most of my waking hours - and I would neither want someone else's germs nor to give someone mine.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 3:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't have pets; I do have a normal, non-plastic bubble, amount of dust and would be disinclined to drink uncovered water the next morning. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt me, but it would not taste right. But I wouldn't drink "overnight" water anyway, because it's not cold. I only drink water if it's icy cold. (I don't drink any warm or hot beverages, ever, let alone room-temperature. But I acknowledge that part's weird.) And I wouldn't share a glass with anyone - I'm wearing lipstick most of my waking hours - and I would neither want someone else's germs nor to give someone mine.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 3:50 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Huh.
Am I the only one than who prefers the taste of water left overnight?
posted by MartinWisse at 3:58 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Am I the only one than who prefers the taste of water left overnight?
posted by MartinWisse at 3:58 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Fun fact: tests have shown that office break room coffee cups are often contaminated with E. coli.
E. coli are friggin' everywhere. Bacteria in general are. They live on the layer of fecal dust that covers the planet. It's a good thing. We evolved to be exposed to bacteria and have them colonize our gut and help us tune our immune system.
People freaking out because now they're detectable leads to people messing up the bacterial mix. The anti-bacterial strategies aren't just a problem because they cause resistance, they mess with the diversity that we should be exposed to.
(Water wise I actually like the taste of old water. I guess other people's brain register stale, mine registers "properly aged.")
posted by mark k at 3:59 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
E. coli are friggin' everywhere. Bacteria in general are. They live on the layer of fecal dust that covers the planet. It's a good thing. We evolved to be exposed to bacteria and have them colonize our gut and help us tune our immune system.
People freaking out because now they're detectable leads to people messing up the bacterial mix. The anti-bacterial strategies aren't just a problem because they cause resistance, they mess with the diversity that we should be exposed to.
(Water wise I actually like the taste of old water. I guess other people's brain register stale, mine registers "properly aged.")
posted by mark k at 3:59 PM on April 21, 2018 [13 favorites]
This was a constant disagreement with my ex. He would drink glasses of days old and bottles of weeks old water. I will not drink it if out for more than 6.
But I water the plants with it. No wasting.
posted by greermahoney at 4:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
But I water the plants with it. No wasting.
posted by greermahoney at 4:26 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
When I started using a plastic bottle by the bed, I uh, supped from the same one for far too long without rinsing it, until one day, looking for the source of an odd smell, I got a blast of morning breath from the cap.
When my bedside waterbottle started to smell like an amusement park water ride I knew it was time to wash it. I felt like I was one sip away from becoming the Lizard Queen.
posted by littlesq at 4:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
When I started using a plastic bottle by the bed, I uh, supped from the same one for far too long without rinsing it, until one day, looking for the source of an odd smell, I got a blast of morning breath from the cap.
When my bedside waterbottle started to smell like an amusement park water ride I knew it was time to wash it. I felt like I was one sip away from becoming the Lizard Queen.
posted by littlesq at 4:45 PM on April 21, 2018 [7 favorites]
And nobody has knocked over something at night?
There was a huge gas explosion a block-and-a-half away from my building recently. As in destroying a building and blowing out an antique stained-glass window in our foyer huge. I slept through the explosion which was strong enough to knock my window fan onto my bedside table and dump the glass of water there into my bed. I was very confused when I woke up.
posted by bendy at 5:01 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
There was a huge gas explosion a block-and-a-half away from my building recently. As in destroying a building and blowing out an antique stained-glass window in our foyer huge. I slept through the explosion which was strong enough to knock my window fan onto my bedside table and dump the glass of water there into my bed. I was very confused when I woke up.
posted by bendy at 5:01 PM on April 21, 2018 [16 favorites]
This is what water bottles are for. They have covers. Also, a water bottle on your bedside table won't dump water all over your phone/book/medications/etc if accidentally bumped in the night.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
I’ve had at least three unassociated people in my lifetime tell me that coffee cups shouldn’t be washed thoroughly, so as to let the coffee residue form and “season” the next cup of coffee
I've never heard this in my nearly 50 years on the planet and am just flabbergasted at the BS involved. Whoa, it boggles my mind. I'm going to ask others if they've ever heard this.
posted by Miko at 6:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
I've never heard this in my nearly 50 years on the planet and am just flabbergasted at the BS involved. Whoa, it boggles my mind. I'm going to ask others if they've ever heard this.
posted by Miko at 6:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh my fucking god, white people, stop. As mentioned before already billions lack SAFE drinking water (not clean, not filtered, just fucking safe) and this crap is what y'all are obsessed about?
You do know what site you're on, right?
posted by bongo_x at 6:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
You do know what site you're on, right?
posted by bongo_x at 6:28 PM on April 21, 2018 [10 favorites]
Oral sex anyone?
posted by notreally at 6:59 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notreally at 6:59 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
MartinWisse, I often pour a glass of water to leave on the kitchen counter for later.
posted by twilightlost at 7:12 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by twilightlost at 7:12 PM on April 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
Whoa, it boggles my mind. I'm going to ask others if they've ever heard this.
Now you know how I felt when, in my mid-40s, I learned that many people stand up to wipe.
posted by darkstar at 7:27 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Now you know how I felt when, in my mid-40s, I learned that many people stand up to wipe.
posted by darkstar at 7:27 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also, “toebeans?”
*enthusiastically yoinked!*
posted by darkstar at 7:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
*enthusiastically yoinked!*
posted by darkstar at 7:29 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
You know, about seasoning coffee cups, maybe they’re not wrong. Bacteria colonies may have a taste that some people find desirable. They like coffee, we like coffee, and our gut likes them. Maybe the gut is sending up a “This tastes great” signal when the colony is ripe!
posted by crysflame at 7:42 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by crysflame at 7:42 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sometimes I feel I must be the only person on planet Earth who neither craves water during the night, nor wakes up thirsty. Never once, in 48 years on this small spinning globe, have I ever considered setting a glass of water on my nightstand.
I always just thought it was something done in movies.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 7:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
I always just thought it was something done in movies.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 7:48 PM on April 21, 2018 [9 favorites]
I enjoy the bacteria in my house and car since no one else is ever in either. I mean I grew them myself. What's not to love?
posted by bendy at 8:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by bendy at 8:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [8 favorites]
Never once, in 48 years on this small spinning globe, have I ever considered setting a glass of water on my nightstand.
My wife does this, so a couple of years ago she got little decanters and glasses made for this. Which I thought, yeah, good idea. Regardless of the fact that I too never drink water at night. So I filled the little container every night for I don't know how long before I gave it up. But I still will bring a small glass of milk to bed, because you know I'll probably want something to drink before I go to sleep. And then in the morning I bring that glass of milk to the kitchen and pour coffee in it.
I guess one night I'm going to be thirsty, yet not want to get out of bed, and then all those nights of preparing will have paid off.
posted by bongo_x at 8:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
My wife does this, so a couple of years ago she got little decanters and glasses made for this. Which I thought, yeah, good idea. Regardless of the fact that I too never drink water at night. So I filled the little container every night for I don't know how long before I gave it up. But I still will bring a small glass of milk to bed, because you know I'll probably want something to drink before I go to sleep. And then in the morning I bring that glass of milk to the kitchen and pour coffee in it.
I guess one night I'm going to be thirsty, yet not want to get out of bed, and then all those nights of preparing will have paid off.
posted by bongo_x at 8:21 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
Is it OK to drink the water you left out overnight?
Yes, but it is not a good idea if you ran out of contact lens fluid last night and put your contacts in some water until you can go to the pharmacy today. This happened to, uh, a friend of mine.
Also, I don’t understand you people who have cats that would drink from your water glass by night. Any self-respecting cat I have ever known would just push the glass off the table.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:32 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yes, but it is not a good idea if you ran out of contact lens fluid last night and put your contacts in some water until you can go to the pharmacy today. This happened to, uh, a friend of mine.
Also, I don’t understand you people who have cats that would drink from your water glass by night. Any self-respecting cat I have ever known would just push the glass off the table.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:32 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Someone I know IRL woke up one fair morn and went to take a swig of water from a bedside glass containing The World's Biggest Spider. She now only drinks water from bottles. Me, I more suspect housemate-mischief than a divine plague of water-lurking arachnids, but can hardly blame her for avoiding glasses forever.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 8:44 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 8:44 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
If you have your own cup, then you introduce bacteria into it when you use it. If you don’t wash it, then the bacteria can colonize the residues at the bottom of the cup. Over time, the cup has a thriving little niche of bacteria, as indicated by testing.
True, but worth considering that the bacteria you introduce to the cup are just your normal oral flora, which is basically just a part of what you are. As long as you're not sharing your cup with other people, the colonies of your own mouth bacteria that you're reconsuming with your coffee aren't going to hurt you in the slightest.
posted by biogeo at 9:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
True, but worth considering that the bacteria you introduce to the cup are just your normal oral flora, which is basically just a part of what you are. As long as you're not sharing your cup with other people, the colonies of your own mouth bacteria that you're reconsuming with your coffee aren't going to hurt you in the slightest.
posted by biogeo at 9:06 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
why do people eschew hygiene. wash your dishes. wash yourselves. clean your homes. it's 2018. please.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 9:14 PM on April 21, 2018 [6 favorites]
Says the cat feet kisser!
posted by elsietheeel at 9:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 9:30 PM on April 21, 2018 [4 favorites]
my fronds i don't even have a cat
posted by poffin boffin at 10:09 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:09 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]
Setting a glass of water on a little table next to the bed says nothing unrestrained shall happen here.
posted by pracowity at 10:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 10:39 PM on April 21, 2018 [5 favorites]
This is one of those seeming "idosyncrasies" people have that turn into an inconvenient reality when you have three children and three cats, and ones who are convinced that water goes "bad" when left out are winning the day and bringing everyone else along for the ride. But, I love em all and will put up with it. It's when it started veering towards the "tap water is bad because it sort of tastes funny like old water" that I had to put my foot down and insist on some proper education.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:43 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:43 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
True, but worth considering that the bacteria you introduce to the cup are just your normal oral flora, which is basically just a part of what you are. As long as you're not sharing your cup with other people, the colonies of your own mouth bacteria that you're reconsuming with your coffee aren't going to hurt you in the slightest.
That's what I thought. But as I recall, when my brother was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, he was instructed to use dixie cups for drinking water, instead of reusing a glass, because he was told his own bacteria could be risky when he was immunocompromised. I don't get it myself, but medical advice is medical advice.
posted by Transl3y at 11:57 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's what I thought. But as I recall, when my brother was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, he was instructed to use dixie cups for drinking water, instead of reusing a glass, because he was told his own bacteria could be risky when he was immunocompromised. I don't get it myself, but medical advice is medical advice.
posted by Transl3y at 11:57 PM on April 21, 2018 [2 favorites]
My ex-father-in-law, who worked for a water company, told me he believed a large number of people in certain areas nowadays thought a faint tang of chlorine was the taste of ‘fresh’ water.
posted by Segundus at 12:02 AM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by Segundus at 12:02 AM on April 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
he was told his own bacteria could be risky when he was immunocompromised.
Normally, you drink from a glass, and a tiny bit of bacteria is left on the rim of the glass and maybe in the water. Over the next hour or so, those bacteria multiply. For most people, the difference between the original amount, which their body was (presumably) okay with, and the multiplied amount, is well below negligible. However, for someone with no immune system, even that tiny amount of increased bacteria can cause problems.
I tend to leave my coffee cup at work (my very well-washed coffee cup) half-full of water when I leave for the evening, and will drink it the next day. Sometimes I leave it out over the weekend and drink it on Monday. I do have a very clean workplace, though - no noticeable dust, no real air movement over the weekend.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:34 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Normally, you drink from a glass, and a tiny bit of bacteria is left on the rim of the glass and maybe in the water. Over the next hour or so, those bacteria multiply. For most people, the difference between the original amount, which their body was (presumably) okay with, and the multiplied amount, is well below negligible. However, for someone with no immune system, even that tiny amount of increased bacteria can cause problems.
I tend to leave my coffee cup at work (my very well-washed coffee cup) half-full of water when I leave for the evening, and will drink it the next day. Sometimes I leave it out over the weekend and drink it on Monday. I do have a very clean workplace, though - no noticeable dust, no real air movement over the weekend.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 12:34 AM on April 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
I used to leave a mug of water by the bed. The cats drank from it, but I did not care. Then the cats started fighting over it and, eventually, broke my mug.
So now I leave a metal dish of water for the cats on my night table and walk to the fridge for water for me.
posted by jeather at 3:53 AM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
So now I leave a metal dish of water for the cats on my night table and walk to the fridge for water for me.
posted by jeather at 3:53 AM on April 22, 2018 [7 favorites]
Does this count as a political post, because WOW.
posted by filtergik at 4:29 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by filtergik at 4:29 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Whenever people discuss leaving glasses of water next to the bed I'm reminded of the time my sister woke up to a dead baby mouse floating in her glass.
So yeah, if I think I'm going to be thirsty I leave a bottle next to the bed, but for the most part I don't drink anything after bed until after I wake, take the dogs out for their walk, feed the birds, and then have my breakfast.
posted by Fence at 4:57 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
So yeah, if I think I'm going to be thirsty I leave a bottle next to the bed, but for the most part I don't drink anything after bed until after I wake, take the dogs out for their walk, feed the birds, and then have my breakfast.
posted by Fence at 4:57 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Obligatory historical note: In Europe and the Western world the custom came up of having covers for standing water glasses. These were round pieces of fabric which had glass or stone beads attached all around the edge of the fabric with decorative tatting. The beads were quite heavy and their weight served to keep the cloth in place when the water glass stood for any length of time. The finely woven cloth kept dust out and the cat was unable to put the cloth back and conceal her depredations.
(At that time house cats were much more likely to be female than male as a litter of kittens every six months was easier to deal with than a cat who sprayed.)
Many illnesses resulted in long periods of bed rest back then. Significant blood loss was one that led to a long stay in bed, as without transfusions the patient would have to wait until the red blood cells replenished themselves. A lengthy confinement post childbirth was another reason why someone might find themselves unable to get up and go get a glass of water. And of course in many households the pump was in the yard not the house, or even down the street, so you couldn't go pump the water without also being able to get up and get dressed to go outside.
Most nursing was done at home and these water glasses were considered good invalid gifts - or even something that the invalid herself sitting up in bed could create to amuse herself. If you want to recreate one of these look for a string of vintage flapper beads - even genuine stone or glass beads produced since then tend not to have the same weight. Heavy beads went out of vogue due to the number of injuries that happened when flappers were over-enthusiastically dancing when the heavy beads swung about and hit the dancer or her partner in the face. They could actually break teeth.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
(At that time house cats were much more likely to be female than male as a litter of kittens every six months was easier to deal with than a cat who sprayed.)
Many illnesses resulted in long periods of bed rest back then. Significant blood loss was one that led to a long stay in bed, as without transfusions the patient would have to wait until the red blood cells replenished themselves. A lengthy confinement post childbirth was another reason why someone might find themselves unable to get up and go get a glass of water. And of course in many households the pump was in the yard not the house, or even down the street, so you couldn't go pump the water without also being able to get up and get dressed to go outside.
Most nursing was done at home and these water glasses were considered good invalid gifts - or even something that the invalid herself sitting up in bed could create to amuse herself. If you want to recreate one of these look for a string of vintage flapper beads - even genuine stone or glass beads produced since then tend not to have the same weight. Heavy beads went out of vogue due to the number of injuries that happened when flappers were over-enthusiastically dancing when the heavy beads swung about and hit the dancer or her partner in the face. They could actually break teeth.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:10 AM on April 22, 2018 [32 favorites]
I guess I'd just suggest that if someone is going to toss overnight/"stale" water out, maybe just think of ways to use it that don't add it directly into the sewage stream. So it could be used to water houseplants, or in a humidifier reservoir, or set aside for soaking laundry. Or even dump it into the toilet tank so at least it can be used before going down the drain.
posted by Miko at 6:18 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Miko at 6:18 AM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Any self-respecting cat I have ever known would just push the glass off the table.
That's if they find the water too stale ...
... so as to let the coffee residue form and “season” the next cup of coffee.
That residue is some nasty-smelling stuff, especially if it's residue of coffee adulterated with cream & sugar. This idea of a 'seasoned' coffee mug looks to me like an excuse for slovenliness.
I enjoy the bacteria in my house and car since no one else is ever in either. I mean I grew them myself.
I assume you never go out to a store, or pump your own gas, or get mail, since every activity like that introduces new critters to your person and home.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:20 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's if they find the water too stale ...
... so as to let the coffee residue form and “season” the next cup of coffee.
That residue is some nasty-smelling stuff, especially if it's residue of coffee adulterated with cream & sugar. This idea of a 'seasoned' coffee mug looks to me like an excuse for slovenliness.
I enjoy the bacteria in my house and car since no one else is ever in either. I mean I grew them myself.
I assume you never go out to a store, or pump your own gas, or get mail, since every activity like that introduces new critters to your person and home.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:20 AM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Stopped leaving glasses of water bedside when the cat discovered that knocking one over onto my face made an excellent alarm clock.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:04 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:04 AM on April 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
Years ago, I worked in a place that had, once upon a time, been a dwelling, but had been for decades basically a grungy machine shop. One morning, a coworker picked his coffee cup off the counter, rinsed it out in the faucet, glanced in it and winced, and rinsed it out again, this time with a dollop of some orange degreaser/hand cleaner stuff to scrub out some of the grunge. The only kind of soap we really had around.
Once it was sufficiently clean, he poured himself a fresh cup, and took a sip. He kind of furrowed his brow and said, "Eh, it tastes like orange coffee", to which we all giggled. Then he took another sip, started nodding and said, "You know, it's really not bad..." and went on with his day.
Point is, I guess you really can season a coffee cup.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Once it was sufficiently clean, he poured himself a fresh cup, and took a sip. He kind of furrowed his brow and said, "Eh, it tastes like orange coffee", to which we all giggled. Then he took another sip, started nodding and said, "You know, it's really not bad..." and went on with his day.
Point is, I guess you really can season a coffee cup.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:49 PM on April 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Never once, in 48 years on this small spinning globe, have I ever considered setting a glass of water on my nightstand.
I will not go to bed without having a full glass of water available. But I've never been under the impression that it would be unsafe in the morning - it tastes a little dusty, sure, because it presumably has dust in it.
The thing I get shit for is reusing the same glass for two weeks at a time but that's an overcorrection from when I was a kid and I'd drive my mom nuts by using six glasses a day and leaving them all over the house.
posted by atoxyl at 2:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I will not go to bed without having a full glass of water available. But I've never been under the impression that it would be unsafe in the morning - it tastes a little dusty, sure, because it presumably has dust in it.
The thing I get shit for is reusing the same glass for two weeks at a time but that's an overcorrection from when I was a kid and I'd drive my mom nuts by using six glasses a day and leaving them all over the house.
posted by atoxyl at 2:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
It seems that the momentary introduction of boiling water isn’t enough to kill germs in a cup before the coffee cools
Yes, but that doesn't matter if you fill it with wine.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:18 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yes, but that doesn't matter if you fill it with wine.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:18 PM on April 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also my cat's water dish gets a clear coat of slime on the bottom after a week or so. I attribute this to food particles being knocked into it, and also cats very rarely brush their teeth.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:28 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
I take my coffee black and I'm lax about my morning coffee mug (I keep my work coffee mug scrupulously clean) and it is indeed seasoned with a fine patina of ghost coffee. I'll clean it maybe once every month or two. About the same schedule as my drip coffee maker.
I wash the 5 or 6 plastic water glasses scattered around my apartment - in various instantaneous states of water fullness/emptiness - much more frequently. Usually at least once a week - its the buildup around the rim rather than anything on the inside. Same with my daily stainless travel coffee mug.
My vodka glass, maybe once a month.
Despite coffee tasting 'brighter' from a clean mug, I think that I'm kind of fond of the 'darker' taste normally.
I drink much better coffee at home than what we provide at the office.
posted by porpoise at 4:01 PM on April 22, 2018
I wash the 5 or 6 plastic water glasses scattered around my apartment - in various instantaneous states of water fullness/emptiness - much more frequently. Usually at least once a week - its the buildup around the rim rather than anything on the inside. Same with my daily stainless travel coffee mug.
My vodka glass, maybe once a month.
Despite coffee tasting 'brighter' from a clean mug, I think that I'm kind of fond of the 'darker' taste normally.
I drink much better coffee at home than what we provide at the office.
posted by porpoise at 4:01 PM on April 22, 2018
No glasses of water on the night stand for me, but I fill a jug of water from the tap and keep it in the fridge. Much nicer than fresh from the tap and with the added benefit of not having to wait for the temperature of the water to change
posted by peppermind at 5:32 PM on April 22, 2018
posted by peppermind at 5:32 PM on April 22, 2018
My vodka glass, maybe once a month.
Vodka glass eh?
My my, aren't we fancy.
I buy my vodka from the liquor store, where they sell it in one-time use bottles. I just throw it in the recycling when I'm done. Easy and hygenic!
posted by some loser at 6:13 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
Vodka glass eh?
My my, aren't we fancy.
I buy my vodka from the liquor store, where they sell it in one-time use bottles. I just throw it in the recycling when I'm done. Easy and hygenic!
posted by some loser at 6:13 PM on April 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's okay to drink it, but you probably shouldn't. I, myself, have several water vessels scattered about my apartment, and I know when the aliens come I'll be ready for them.
posted by lesser weasel at 12:33 AM on April 23, 2018
posted by lesser weasel at 12:33 AM on April 23, 2018
At work I generally take my coffee black. I used to call the residue that forms on the inside of the cup "Good karma." Eventually (after years) I found that the residue can become thick that it form cracks/scales and more eventually bits of it can break off into the coffee.
After discovering that, I limit myself to about a month's worth of good karma at a time (shudders).
On the subject of cat spit, we permanently keep one glass on a spot in the kitchen island specifically for one cat to drink from. He really seems to enjoy drinking from "our" water glasses and rarely touches the water bowls. After we discovered how expensive a urinary blockage can be we do all we can to encourage him to drink. When I change the water, I always take a sip from it just before putting it down. If he sees me, he heads straight for the glass to immediately drink.
posted by nobeagle at 1:28 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
After discovering that, I limit myself to about a month's worth of good karma at a time (shudders).
On the subject of cat spit, we permanently keep one glass on a spot in the kitchen island specifically for one cat to drink from. He really seems to enjoy drinking from "our" water glasses and rarely touches the water bowls. After we discovered how expensive a urinary blockage can be we do all we can to encourage him to drink. When I change the water, I always take a sip from it just before putting it down. If he sees me, he heads straight for the glass to immediately drink.
posted by nobeagle at 1:28 PM on April 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Late to the party but here to add that my four year old dubbed stale overnight H2O "Zombie Water" and refused to drink it.
And he called heels "foot-shins".
posted by Wetterschneider at 5:25 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
And he called heels "foot-shins".
posted by Wetterschneider at 5:25 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I like the idea of foot-shins. You know how much it hurts when you bark your shins on something? A few days ago I slammed the storm door on the back of my ankle/foot-shin and it was excruciating.
Also my cats have a fancy water fountain but the orange one still prefers to drink out of the toilet. Unless there's coffee around. Then he wants the coffee. Never, ever leave a cup of coffee unattended when my cat is around.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also my cats have a fancy water fountain but the orange one still prefers to drink out of the toilet. Unless there's coffee around. Then he wants the coffee. Never, ever leave a cup of coffee unattended when my cat is around.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:35 PM on April 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
As someone who spent the first 13 years of life drinking water that had been
posted by aspersioncast at 5:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
- hauled in a massive plastic tank from a shared town water supply that was basically filtered lake water
- stored in a concrete cistern in which giant orange centipedes and dead mice could occasionally be found
- brought to the house in a 5-gallon stainless steel milk bucket
- with the aid of an enameled ladle, poured from said bucket into a plastic drinking cup that was washed once a week
posted by aspersioncast at 5:44 PM on April 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Mmm... mousewater.
posted by darkstar at 11:18 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by darkstar at 11:18 PM on April 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
stored in a concrete cistern in which giant orange centipedes and dead mice could occasionally be found
I know we had the occasional frog in the cistern, but I didn't mind the thought of drinking frogwater. Dead mice, though? I hope not.
posted by pracowity at 11:59 PM on April 23, 2018
I know we had the occasional frog in the cistern, but I didn't mind the thought of drinking frogwater. Dead mice, though? I hope not.
posted by pracowity at 11:59 PM on April 23, 2018
my dad grew up on a farm that had an on-site cistern as the water supply. Once a year he had the task of draining it and cleaning it, which very definitely included removing various rodent remains.
posted by mwhybark at 3:02 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by mwhybark at 3:02 AM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]
I always found the centipedes more disturbing, although in retrospect they probably helped minimize the animal proteins in the water.
Unless they were responsible for the mice, which is possible; those suckers were 8-9" long.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:57 AM on April 24, 2018
Unless they were responsible for the mice, which is possible; those suckers were 8-9" long.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:57 AM on April 24, 2018
hauled in a massive plastic tank from a shared town water supply that was basically filtered lake water
stored in a concrete cistern in which giant orange centipedes and dead mice could occasionally be found
brought to the house in a 5-gallon stainless steel milk bucket
with the aid of an enameled ladle, poured from said bucket into a plastic drinking cup that was washed once a week
But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe you.
posted by zamboni at 4:59 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
stored in a concrete cistern in which giant orange centipedes and dead mice could occasionally be found
brought to the house in a 5-gallon stainless steel milk bucket
with the aid of an enameled ladle, poured from said bucket into a plastic drinking cup that was washed once a week
But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe you.
posted by zamboni at 4:59 PM on April 25, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by Greg_Ace at 12:09 PM on April 21, 2018 [3 favorites]