After seeing some of the items we were showcasing for our rollout of the Team Run Smart rewards program at MATS, I really took a liking to the spill-proof coffee mug that was among these items. Being that we spend a lot of hours on the road and a lot of us drink at least one cup of java a day, it is only fitting that most of us would have a 
favorite mug. After all, how long will a styrofoam cup really keep your coffee warm for? Not to mention that the little plastic lid on those C-store cups doesn’t really do the best job of thwarting off spills on the bumpy highway. Last night I was cleaning out my favorite mug when I discovered that I was getting a little extra surprise in my coffee.
It had happened once before on the same kind of mug, so it was not something I was oblivious to. With my last set, I would run lids through a sanitation cycle on the dishwasher, as recommended by 
the manufacturer. I happen to drink flavored creamer with my coffee, which I noticed started to build a film inside the mug. Deeper inside however, where there are springs and small moving parts for the spill-proof action, the film gathered and turned black into some sort of nasty goo! I disposed of this set and bought the current ones, 
which I pay special attention to clean thoroughly with a tiny baby-bottle brush while hand-washing. Last night while cleaning I found that this set, even with the new deeper cleaning regimen, was doing the same thing!
Be sure to pay special attention to this buildup in your favorite mug, as this is common in a lot of brands. I am not sure if this goo poses any health hazard, but it just seems disgusting to have black chunks unknowingly floating around in my coffee (If you look close enough in this picture you will see some that I captured on a paper towel). If it becomes a recurring problem you may have to do what I have done, in where I now plan to just replace them every six months, or as soon as a film starts to develop from the creamer. Darn…I knew I should have grabbed that new one from our MATS display after the show ended!