A friend of mine is now a retired oncology nurse, but before that he was a Navy Corpman. During part of his training, he was stationed at the hospital attached to Parris Island & Camp Lejeune. One night a random Chief told him to clean up the ward. As he was winding down, he spotted a filthy coffee cup. So, he scrubbed it until it shined like new.

When his chief returned from a meeting, he was heard to be screaming, Who the ____ cleaned my ___ing coffee cup? One of the surgeons that was passing by said "Don't kill him Chief, he's a good kid deep down." That's when my friend "Proper Coffee Cup Etiquette." He shortly thereafter got transferred to a Marine combat unit for Desert Storm.

Ivan

Call me a heretic. I hate dirty cups.

To me, it’s like taking a fork out of the drawer and seeing yesterdays dried scrambled eggs on the tines. Or, taking a glass out of the cupboard only to see it covered in greasy fingerprints.

In my household, dishes are properly washed.

Don’t understand taking pride in unsanitary habits.

Coffee cups are meant to be occasionally rinsed out. OK to wipe the outside

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

My coffee cup gets rinsed after each use, never gets washed.

I worked for a Sergeant Major who was fond of saying when he wanted his cup refreshed, "put a head on this and don't disturb the mold."

Nasty is nasty......Clean is clean.......I prefer clean..........BUT.....I did grow up drinking from a water hose.

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S&W Accumulator

Navy Chiefs and their coffee. I was working graveyard shift at a glass factory and was about to go home in the morning. We were installing another glass oven and contractors were starting their day.
As I watched, one of the electrical contractors who was gonna be working on a scissor lift came over and put his tools on the lift. Then he grabbed some scrap cardboard and some tape and proceeded to spend 5 minutes constructing a cup holder which he taped to the lift railing. He then went upstairs into the breakroom and made himself a fresh cup of coffee.
When he got in the lift and started to go up, I yelled, "Must be a Navy Chief!" He turned to me and smiled, then asked how I knew. "They're the only ones who love their coffee that much." He didn't seem to like it. He frowned and turned back to his work.

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The best I can with what I got

The more “Salty” the Chief, the moldier the coffee cup……..a smart JO learns to respect a good CPO …. And leave his coffee cup alone……

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"Your other right........."

I made the mistake of not cleaning my cup and got Mono while stationed at Ft. Gordon. Never had a dirty cup again!

"AI Overview

How Often Should You Wash Your Office Coffee Mug? Never ...

An unwashed coffee cup can harbor a significant number of bacteria, with studies showing that a high percentage of mugs are contaminated with germs of various types, including those linked to colds, flu, and even diarrhea. The number of bacteria can vary greatly depending on factors like how often the cup is used, who else might use it, and how it's cleaned.

Here's a more detailed look:

Contamination is common:
Studies have found that a large proportion of coffee mugs, even those used only by one person, are contaminated with bacteria.

Potential for illness:
Some of these bacteria can be harmful, potentially leading to illness, especially if someone is immunocompromised.

Source of contamination:
Bacteria can be transferred to the cup from hands, other surfaces, and even from residual liquids left in the cup.

Regular washing is key:
Washing the cup with hot, soapy water after each use, and drying it properly, can help minimize the risk of bacterial contamination.

Shared mugs pose a higher risk:
If a cup is shared with others, the risk of contamination increases, especially if proper cleaning procedures are not followed."

Me too - but I bet you let the water run for a minute to get cold and the wash out any bugs.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

When I was a 17 years old "Coastie" I was assigned to the Chief's dinning area also. I too cleaned the coffee cups once (just once)

When I was on 3rd Shift there was a donut shop on the other side of the city where the owner was a big fan of the police.

He would be closed, but inside making donuts, early in the morning and those that worked on that side of town would stop in for a visit.

You could get donuts fresh off the fryer for no charge and if you wanted milk it would cost a quarter. And of course he had plenty of coffee if you wanted.

I rarely went because of it being a ways away from my territory which was a pretty busy part of the city. But every now and then I would take a meal break and stop in. It was so rare that Floyd didn't really know me and I would just get what I wanted, chat with other officers and leave.

My first time there I felt bad about not paying for what he was providing. I know it sounds funny but I would buy the soda at the convenience store in the bottle to avoid not being able to pay for the one out of the soda machine. Always figured these folks were in business to make money.

So i get my donuts and milk and ask how much. I get told that you don't pay here, followed by a sharp tongue lashing for the question.

So before I leave I see this old coffee mug up on top of one of the machines that was dirty and looked like it hadn't been used in years. I slip a couple dollars in it and leave.

The area SGT called me later and told me I shouldn't go back there again anytime soon as Floyd had pulled down his coffee to take a big drink and was none to happy about the dollar bills floating in the cup.

I stayed away for a while.

It remains a strange personality quirk to me.

Not exclusively but frequently associated with Navy or military history.

Wonder if the nastiness of your coffee mug is symbolic of seniority and experience?

Yep, it’s definitely a Navy thing! I did my mess crank duty in the Chief’s quarters and was instructed that the cups are just rinsed out with water and set down on a towel. Never, ever send them over to the scullery!

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Plastic tastes soapy for a time or two if washed so I only rinse.
Production manager looked in my fat old Aladdin mug and commented that he wouldn't extrude fecal matter into that cup.
I replied best that he didn't.

It must be a Navy "thing". My old hunting buddy (Umpy), an old WWII/Pacific Navy vet, always brought HIS old coffee cup with him when we went on our hunting trips. During these trips I did all of the cooking, cleaning and straightening up. Umpy was like an adopted father to me so I didn't mind taking care of him. On one of our deer hunting trips to KY, I had already filled one of my tags so I slept in while Umpy went out for the morning hunt. After my breakfast I proceeded to straighten up the camper. This included washing our breakfast dishes, the coffee pot and I saw his old coffee stained cup on the counter so I scrubbed all the old coffee stains out of it. I was happy to clean the nasty old thing up for him.
When Umpy got back to the trailer near noon, the first thing he reached for was his old coffee cup and to say he was upset would be a tremendous understatement. Umpy accused me of washing all the flavor out of his cup and he pouted the rest of the day. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was to never do anything to his cup other than RINSE it out.

I rinse my mug after each use. But by the end of the week it goes in the dishwasher.

When I went to my 1st duty station , NAS Whidbey Is , Wa , I reported to the sheet metal shop . The gunny didn't know what to do with me so he told me to clean up . So I picked up , swept and mopped . Then I saw the percolator , yes many years ago , and some coffee cups . Thinking I was doing a good thing I took it all out and scrubbed the h*** out of them . The gunny came back and went unglued . I told him I didn't know , I don't even drink coffee . I was never asked to clean up again , at least by that gunny .

You don't wash coffee pots either

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Any germ that could survive the black tar lava the Navy chiefs drank in the mess hall in Diego Garcia deserved to live.

And to get rid of the rubber/vinyl flavor.

Clean coffee cups for me.

Just rinsed out is never good enough for me. Wash whatever it is, rinse, then was again. I work on greasy dirty machinery along with crawling into nasty well houses and under crawl spaces. Yet my hands look as clean as an accountant. I first start by hosing them down with carburetor cleaner, then starting fluid then soap and hot water. When I was young and studly I would often shower with my young wife "to save hot water". Now I am old and wrinkled I shower with our trash cans. I do not have OCD. I have CDO, that is OCD put in proper alphabetic order as it should be.

I used to work with a guy that had been an aircraft crew chief on a Carrier . He said the big coffee urns rarely got cleaned but one day the mess guys pulled a couple of them down for cleaning and found a sock in the bottom of one . True story ? I don't know ...

It is not a Navy thing, or Army, or Air force or any military thing...it's a question of taste...Like a pipe...The left over residue after a rinse out only over time leave a flavor coating in the cup..

All serious coffee drinkers know this and that's why they may just break your legs if you "wash their cup"

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Hipcocked & Locked

my late father was of the opinion that his properly "seasoned" coffee cup at the office really only needed hot water to be coffee.. was a bit upset when my mother cleaned it when he was in the hospital.. lol

I wash mine about once a week, or after I dunk cookies in it.

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Super Snooper

^^^^^^What he said ^^^^^^

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James
On the Llano Estacado

A white coffee cup stained brown has character; a reflection of its owner. If the coffee is as hot as it should be, germs shouldn’t be an issue.

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213th FBINA

Never, ever put any kind of soap in a coffee pot. Ya might as well toss it. Some stuff is intended to be left to age properly.

As an aside, the promotional exam included a practical section.
The candidate was required to drink a cup of coffee, smoke a stogie, dip (or chew), and eat an ice cream cone at the same time. It could be done and guys did it.

My ex washed my thermos one night and didn’t get the soap out. Next day my thermos tasted like soap and I was stuck with no coffee. Looking back, I think that was the start of the divorce.

On one of my tours of sea-duty my cup got so groty that it ate the bottom out of the cup.
(You can always tell a good cup of Navy coffee by the light sheen of fuel oil floating on the surface.)

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I wash my cups and glasses.

Why?

I own two dogs and lawns front and back and I always noticed that a cup or glass, when sitting out unused,

the rim, is usually the 1st place that a fly intering the area, will land, after
coming in from outside.

Do you get my drift?

A new young housekeeper we had, washed and bleached my
father's fav. cup.
will never forget, how mad he was
RIP Dad !!

One of my first jobs involved the "proper" cleaning of the double barrel coffee urn. Every night one of the urns inside the water jacket would be drained, filled with plain water and left for several hours to leach the bitter oils out of the metal pores. The night after, the other urn would be cleaned.

Comparing the first batch of coffee out of a clean urn to that of the other urn was eye opening. In a good way.

ETA: one night on the job I retired from, I was bored and decided to clean the coffee maker. (The person who'd previously done it had retired.) Took a couple of hours, I was horrified at what I'd found and it certainly explained the quality of the product. Had a cup out of the cleaned maker and never drank another.

Geeeeeez, a thread with no pictures

Attached Images

mug.jpg (48.9 KB, 38 views)

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

My wife's cup looks like Pete's when she drinks a coffee/hot chocolate mix.

Ivan

Who in the world would share a coffee cup with someone else.
Yuk !!

You sound like my Wife. Next you'll be telling me that the coffee pot needs to be washed too

Well, I don't have a special cup for myself but a couple of things might fit in here. When I turned 50 my daughter gave me a coffee cup that was white with yellow lettering in a black panel that said WHAT? ME, 50? Not remarkable in any way but I have kept it all these years and this year SHE hit the big 5 0. She got this cup back.
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Every military duty station I've had since boot camp and every place I've worked I was in charge of the coffee on my shift or for my crew. I knows my way around a coffee pot you could say. I was an E-3 stationed at the clinic at Camp Schwab on "The Rock" (Okinawa) 1963.

We got a new 3rd class petty officer and when he came into the clinic he set his coffee cup down in the enlisted lounge by the coffee maker. That night as I cleaned up the area I washed his cup along with all the others.

Let me offer a little advice here. Never....NEVER EVER EVER wash a sea going sailor's coffee cup. I mean it.

He jumped me the next morning and I didn't know if I was gonna get killed or court martialed...or both. It's about the worst cussin' out I ever got. He told me, amongst a lot of other things, that the cup had never been washed with soap, only rinsed out. When I told him that from the looks of it I believed him that didn't help us bond none.

Those guys take pride in the patina in their coffee cups Anyway I promised upon pain of death to never do more than give it a quick rinse. He held it up to my face and then threw it on the floor and broke it to smytherines and gave me until 1pm to get him a new cup there and to keep my hands off of it after that.

I did and I did.

As a side note I got really drunk one night soon after the confrontation and power puked watermelon all over the guy while he was asleep in his rack. He never found out it was me.

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Real men love cats!

Cleaning a coffee cup and Cast Iron skillets are similar but, to quote Cool Hand Luke, "You got to know your limits".

God, I really miss my time in the Navy sometimes!

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597