Kevin's Watch

I realize not everyone drinks soda. I realize not everyone that drinks soda will drink it out of a can. But for those of you who DO imbibe soft drinks via aluminum vessels I put this question to you...how far will you go to clean off the top of your soda can?

I bring this up because I noticed recently that I tend to go the extra mile. I didn't always take such care. When I was a kid I'd just pop the top and let 'er rip. Then I worked at a local grocery store. One of the jobs of a "bag boy" was to fill the soda machine. We'd go to the "back room" grab a stack of soda cases, wheel them over and fill the machine. I noticed back then that the cans were frequently covered with "crap"dust, droppings of different sorts, spider webs etc. Ever since that time I've tried to wipe the top of my soda cans as thoroughly as possible. When available I'll run the top under running water then wipe it with a paper towel but at the very least I'll use the bottom of my t-shirt in a pinch.

I must sound like I've got a disorder but then again...

I didn't wipe off the one I just popped open. But it came out of a factory-sealed 12-pack, so I assume the top was fairly clean.

I usually don't bother wiping the top of the can unless there's visible scoodge. But I do know people who wipe the top of the can every time. I have an unscientific theory that they tend to be the same people who use extra paper towels to shield their hands from the bathroom door handle.

aTOMiC wrote: I must sound like I've got a disorder but then again...

Nope.
It's called common sense.
My brother-in-law manages a Stop&Shpt warehouse.
He told me to wash all fruit and veggies that are exposed to the air and especially the tops of all cans or I can pretty much expect to die horribly.

He knows of what you described.

I always visually inspect the top. At a minimum I run my finger over it (which makes very minimal sense if any) but I have been known to wash the visibly dirty ones off in the sink with soap & water. Whatever my little brain thinks it takes...

If I remember to look, and I see some dirt, dust, I might blow it off. Only time I ever wash them is if it looks like another can has leaked on top of it.

Clean my own can? No thank you! I have puny humans do it for me!

I wipe it off, but don't worry too much if they come in a sealed case and look clean. On the other hand, I almost never buy soda in the can. It tastes like aluminum to me.

Try opening it, then drinking what's inside.

I don't worry about it. I think that trying to insulate yourself from germs too much just just makes your immune system weaker. The soda itself is probably a lot worse for you than anything on the outside of the can.

aliantha wrote:I have an unscientific theory that they tend to be the same people who use extra paper towels to shield their hands from the bathroom door handle.

I can partially discredit that theory - At work and in public in general, I use the paper towels I dry my hands with to open the bathroom door unless it is a push-open door hinged outward, in which case I will use my arm, not my newly-clean hand.
99.44% of the canned sodas I drink come from boxes in my fridge, so I don't usually even check the top.
I'm much more concerned about the cold and flu viruses and E. coli swimming from the unwashed (m)asses that open men's room doors than I am the occasional nugget of bubonic-plague-infested rat feces on a long-suffering can of soda. And since I drink only diet soda, which has an expiration date, I don't come across many cans that collect such statistically unlikely crud-ites.
It might just be my perception, but it appears that since I adopted this fastidious little habit of mine, I haven't gotten nearly as many viral or bacterial baddies, even in the height of their respective seasons - at least, not until I visit with my niece and nephew, both toddlers...

dw

Malik23 wrote:I don't worry about it. I think that trying to insulate yourself from germs too much just just makes your immune system weaker. The soda itself is probably a lot worse for you than anything on the outside of the can.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Germaphobe I am not.

--A

I won't drink anything out of cans.

Then again, I don't drink any product sold in cans, so it's no longer an issue. That said though, back when I did, I'd give the can a good wipe. I worked in a liquor store and a bar back in college, and drinking from a can is like licking the bottom of people's feet and tossing a lot of vermin salad.

Mr Green wrote:Try opening it, then drinking what's inside.

DukkhaWaynhim wrote:At work and in public in general, I use the paper towels I dry my hands with to open the bathroom door unless it is a push-open door hinged outward, in which case I will use my arm, not my newly-clean hand.

I am right with dw on this one. And I don't need any statistical (quantitative) data on its positive impact on my health to motivate me to do so.

I only wipe it off it is visibly soiled, and even then, I don't spend a lot of time on it.

Lyr wrote

On the other hand, I almost never buy soda in the can. It tastes like aluminum to me.

That's funny, 'cause I have the opposite issue. I try to avoid plastic bottles, because it makes the soda taste all "plasticy". I much prefer the taste from cans.

Mortice Root wrote: Lyr wrote

On the other hand, I almost never buy soda in the can. It tastes like aluminum to me.

That's funny, 'cause I have the opposite issue. I try to avoid plastic bottles, because it makes the soda taste all "plasticy". I much prefer the taste from cans.

I can't stand either one!
I go out of my way to buy my soda from fountains, think 7-11 or Burger King dispensers.
Fountain soda has that nice syrupy flavor.
They now advertise that they use filtered water and I add a lot of ice to my drink.
That way I'm having more fresh water and not just soda.
Soda has no electrolytes, no nothing really (I drink diet) and who knows what kind of water they use.
I'm sure it's clean but it's also been sitting in a can/bottle full of chemicals.

Avatar wrote:

Malik23 wrote:I don't worry about it. I think that trying to insulate yourself from germs too much just just makes your immune system weaker. The soda itself is probably a lot worse for you than anything on the outside of the can.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Germaphobe I am not.

--A

Hear hear.

Aluminum versus plastic is a worthy debate, but I always remember drinking soda out of glass bottles as a kid in the 60's. That really tasted great (but then again everything does when you are a youngster...)

Real Coke (with sugar, not HFCS) out of a glass bottle is the bomb.

Always glass if I possibly can.

--A