PSA: My office coffee machine exploded mid-pour and I had to mop my break room floor

Honestly, I was just trying to grab a quick cup before my 10 AM meeting at my desk in the Toronto office. I put my mug under the spout, pressed the button, and boom, a huge cloud of steam burst out followed by hot coffee spraying everywhere. The machine just made this loud hissing noise and then water started leaking from the bottom onto the counter and floor. I panicked for a second, then grabbed a bunch of paper towels and tried to soak it up, but it was too much. Ended up having to find the custodian closet and use the actual mop and bucket, which took like 15 minutes. My whole break was gone by the time I cleaned up, and I still didn't get any coffee. Has anyone else had a machine just give up on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_murphy20h ago

Man, that sucks. Our machine does the same thing every few months, just randomly decides to spew hot water everywhere and we have to shut the whole thing down for a day.

amy_coleman2120h ago

@fiona_murphy I gotta push back a little on the "randomly decides" part. I know it feels random, I really do. But in my experience these machines usually give you some pretty clear signs before they blow. Like a weird noise, or the pressure gauge acting jumpy. We had a tech tell us once that "random" failures are almost always something we missed, like a loose fitting or a valve that's been corroding for months. Not saying you're doing anything wrong, it's just easy to miss the little stuff when you're busy. Your mileage may vary but I'd bet if you really look hard at the pattern, there's a cause you can track down.

sarah_hart18h ago

Honestly I used to be all about blaming the machine too. Thought it was just bad luck or a lemon. But reading this actually makes me rethink things. Tbh I've had a few close calls where I heard something off but was too busy to stop. Your point about the pressure gauge is spot on, I never paid it any mind until I saw it jump right before a blowout last month. Ngl I feel kind of dumb for ignoring what was probably obvious to anyone paying closer attention. This really changed my perspective, I'm gonna start keeping a log of every little noise now.