Whenever I go out to eat with my dad, he always asks for a cup of ice. I started to notice that most restaurants actually don't give you ice in your water--but why?? Well, the reason will make you never question this decision ever again because you won't want ice from a restaurant after reading this (sorry, dad!).
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According to this health site, ice machines in restaurants are not cleaned thoroughly or as often as they should be. Therefore, they can spread germs and bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, Shigella, and the Norwalk virus. Well then...
But what's so hard about cleaning ice machines?!
Ice machines should be cleaned 2-4 times a year to prevent and germ or bacteria build up, which means that's cleaning once every 3 months. Doesn't seem like too much of a burden, especially for a place that has health code standards to meet, right??
Well, most restaurants just don't do it. Cleaning the ice machine is pretty low on the list of things that need to get done to keep the restaurant functioning.
Also, most restaurants simply don't think cleaning the ice machine is a big deal. But the longer the ice machine goes without a proper cleaning, the more likely bacteria and germs are growing and spreading through your drink. Yuck!
Next time you want some ice for your water at a restaurant, just skip it (you read that, dad??).
