This is why you should never drink out of office mugs

Coffee can be one of the only things that gets us through a morning, and if you work in an office, chances are you sip that life-saving brew out of a cup you found in a communal kitchen.

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Well, prepare to never use one of those cups again - and possibly spit out your current mouthful in disgust - after research from the University of Arizona uncovered some stomach-churning findings.

Professor of Environmental Microbiology Charles Gerba carried out the research, which found that 20 percent of those communal cups carry faecal matter.

Yes, faecal matter.

While we all had an inkling work cups weren’t perhaps the cleanest, this finding – as well as additional results showing up to 90 percent of mugs in office kitchens are germ-infested – is pretty horrific.

The culprit for this germ infestation is none other than the often dirty and old sponge, which is used to clean the cups.

Word to the wise: lay claim to a mug and take it home to wash properly through a dishwasher at night.

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