Amateur mixologists are unknowingly concocting a “microbe-brew.”
Doctors are warning against TikTok’s uber-viral “sink drink” trend because it could be a recipe for a bacterial infection.
For the uninitiated, this DIY booze technique involves MacGyvering a variety of beverages from sangria to horchata in the kitchen — or even bathroom — sink, as seen in videos with millions of views.
In one tutorial with over 55 million views, influencer @realtipsybartender demonstrates how to whip up his signature “Jungle Juice” drink — vodka, Hawaiian Punch, lemonade, pink lemonade, and citrus punch — right in his wash basin.
Unfortunately, these kitchen drinks have raised alarm bells among experts, who say they could essentially serving up a cesspool.
“The kitchen sink is normally considered one of the riskiest places in the kitchen as it’s the place we deposit cooked and uncooked food waste, and wash our hands in after touching raw meats and other spillages,” Dr. Gareth Nye, a Program Lead for Medical Science, told UK kitchen fitter Magnet Kitchens, per Dextero.
He explained that this makes the wash basin an ideal breeding ground for E. coli and Salmonella, explaining: “Ultimately, you are using your kitchen sink to get rid of things and you are likely facing millions of bacteria in and around the sink and plug hole.”
Dr. Nye even cited a study from the National Sanitation Foundation that found that 45% of kitchen sinks harbored coliform bacteria such as E. coli while 27% housed molds that are known to cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues.
This means these home mixologists could inadvertently be making a salmonella spritz.
Indeed, some experts have claimed that the kitchen sink is even dirtier than the toilet.
“In most cases, it’s safer to make a salad on a toilet seat than it is to make one on a cutting board,” Arizona microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba (aka Dr. Germ) told Food & Wine magazine. “People disinfect their toilet seats all the time, but they don’t realize that they really need to pay attention in the kitchen, too.”
As a result, there’s more E. coli in a kitchen sink than in a toilet after you flush it, per Dr. Germ, who attributes this bacterial bouillabaisse to the moist environment and the food people put down sinks.
“Bacteria feed on the food that people put down the drain and what’s left on dishes in the sink,” he said. “That’s probably why dogs drink out of the toilet — because there’s less E. coli in it.”
Sink drains are also generally blocked by either grease or fat, as well as gunk called biofilm that potentially houses listeria, MRSA and Legionnaires in addition the aforementioned bacteria.