If you’re a fan of Sam’s Club’s soda fountains, a recent TikTok might have you second-guessing your next refill.
In a video posted by TikTok user @gettyworld, the Sam’s Club customer fills their cup with Mountain Dew at a soda fountain. As the carbonation clears, it reveals tiny black particles floating in the drink.
Even more concerning is that this wasn’t an isolated incident. In a post uploaded just one week prior, the TikToker documented the exact same issue at the same location. This suggested the store hadn’t cleaned the soda fountain in a while.
“What’s even more nasty is coming back to the same one a week later to see if they ‘cleaned it’ properly like they said they would,” the TikToker captioned the video, which garnered just under 7,000 views.
Viewers weigh in on the video
In the description of one of the videos, the Sam’s Club customer claimed they had a conversation with management. The employee admitted that staff clean the fountains only once every three months. This schedule horrified viewers, particularly those with food service experience.
“That is 100% mold if you’ve ever worked fast food you know you clean those faucets everyday and if you don’t they get absolutely disgusting,” one commenter wrote.
“Definitely mold. I used to work in a gas station and we were required daily to clean the fountains and I can tell you they mold up quick,” another shared.
“Inspection would shut them quick,” a third remarked.
@gettyworld Replying to @bella2sheistyyy 🤢🤮what’s even more nasty is coming back to the same one a werk later to see if they “cleaned it” properly like they said they would #samsclub @Sam’s Club #fyp ♬ original sound – 💰
One person couldn’t resist comparing the warehouse club to its chief competition.
“Costco would never,” they said.
How often should Sam’s Club clean its soda fountains?
The concern around dirty soda fountains isn’t new. According to a Delish article, a 2010 study found that close to half of the soda machines they tested were positive for coliform bacteria. More recent testing shows that this problem persists, with 41 percent of the machines testing positive for the same bacteria.
To avoid contamination, industry experts recommend cleaning soda machines on a daily basis. This includes sanitizing high-contact areas, such as “nozzles, drip trays, and dispensing valves.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Sam’s Club via email and to @gettyworld via TikTok comment.
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