bigaldoc Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Three months ago my old coffee maker crapped out so I bought another Mr. Coffee 4-cup from Amazon. Remember the old Joe D. commercials? I have no idea where these things are manufactured but the pamphlet says it was printed in China but Mr. Coffee is in Boca Raton, Florida. Anyway, I've used it without incident for three months except that I couldn't make McDonald's quality coffee if my life depended on it!A couple of days ago I noticed what I thought were 2 or 3 ANTS in the vicinity of the coffee pot. I'm not sure now that they WERE ants because they move so fast and it was hard to see what they really look like. I squashed 'em with the palm of my hand because they moved so fast I couldn't do it with my finger. When I came home yesterday afternoon, there were several more, which I squashed using the palm of my hand. I thought, oh no, another ANT infestation with the weather turning colder and they might be trying to come into the house. But WHY only right there around the coffee pot and nowhere else? I'm usually very careful not to leave spills of any kind because of my history of ant problems.The next morning there was a bigger swarm of them around the coffee maker and I lifted it into the air to see underneath and that's where they were. I think I managed to squash them all but I'm not sure. About that time I got to thinking - is it possible that the coffee maker had an insect nest inside it when I bought it and it's taken all this time for the bugs to "germinate?" I took the thing out to the courtyard and set it on the bricks for "observation." In the meantime, up until I left at 11 am, I saw NO MORE bugs (whatever they are).When I got home that afternoon I got down on my hands and knees in the courtyard trying to examine the coffee maker and the surrounding area to see if I saw any more bugs. Didn't see a thing, so I brought it into the house for a final test. I put it on the kitchen counter over the dishwasher, where there's a lot of clean and empty space. Within an hour, the site was crawling with whatever the doggone bugs are. I killed them all and took the coffee maker out to the garage for a "funeral" in my herbie. Now, I got to thinking - I just opened a new can of coffee (Kroger brand). There have been national news media stories long ago about contaminated coffee. Is it possible that these bugs are in that fresh can of coffee? I put a couple of scoops of the coffee spread out on a couple of paper towels on that same clean space on the counter. I checked it every 30 minutes and saw no more bugs! So I figure the coffee's OK.BTW, I got in the car and drove over to Target to buy a replacement pot. So, that's my sci-fi story of the week. Any ideas? (although I've already trashed the pot!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete! Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Three months ago my old coffee maker crapped out so I bought another Mr. Coffee 4-cup from Amazon. Remember the old Joe D. commercials? I have no idea where these things are manufactured but the pamphlet says it was printed in China but Mr. Coffee is in Boca Raton, Florida. Anyway, I've used it without incident for three months except that I couldn't make McDonald's quality coffee if my life depended on it!A couple of days ago I noticed what I thought were 2 or 3 ANTS in the vicinity of the coffee pot. I'm not sure now that they WERE ants because they move so fast and it was hard to see what they really look like. I squashed 'em with the palm of my hand because they moved so fast I couldn't do it with my finger. When I came home yesterday afternoon, there were several more, which I squashed using the palm of my hand. I thought, oh no, another ANT infestation with the weather turning colder and they might be trying to come into the house. But WHY only right there around the coffee pot and nowhere else? I'm usually very careful not to leave spills of any kind because of my history of ant problems.The next morning there was a bigger swarm of them around the coffee maker and I lifted it into the air to see underneath and that's where they were. I think I managed to squash them all but I'm not sure. About that time I got to thinking - is it possible that the coffee maker had an insect nest inside it when I bought it and it's taken all this time for the bugs to "germinate?" I took the thing out to the courtyard and set it on the bricks for "observation." In the meantime, up until I left at 11 am, I saw NO MORE bugs (whatever they are).When I got home that afternoon I got down on my hands and knees in the courtyard trying to examine the coffee maker and the surrounding area to see if I saw any more bugs. Didn't see a thing, so I brought it into the house for a final test. I put it on the kitchen counter over the dishwasher, where there's a lot of clean and empty space. Within an hour, the site was crawling with whatever the doggone bugs are. I killed them all and took the coffee maker out to the garage for a "funeral" in my herbie. Now, I got to thinking - I just opened a new can of coffee (Kroger brand). There have been national news media stories long ago about contaminated coffee. Is it possible that these bugs are in that fresh can of coffee? I put a couple of scoops of the coffee spread out on a couple of paper towels on that same clean space on the counter. I checked it every 30 minutes and saw no more bugs! So I figure the coffee's OK.BTW, I got in the car and drove over to Target to buy a replacement pot. So, that's my sci-fi story of the week. Any ideas? (although I've already trashed the pot!)A. There are bugs in your coffee pot and something in your kitchen (like food odors) is enticing them to come out.B. There are bugs in your kitchen, and something that attracts them is in your coffee pot.Why not take the coffee pot apart and look! Remove the bread crumbs, or the bugs, (or whatever). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigaldoc Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 A. There are bugs in your coffee pot and something in your kitchen (like food odors) is enticing them to come out.B. There are bugs in your kitchen, and something that attracts them is in your coffee pot.Why not take the coffee pot apart and look! Remove the bread crumbs, or the bugs, (or whatever).Sounds like good detective work to me, Pete! It had to be "A" because I would think if there were varmints in my kitchen, I'd see them elsewhere and I'm clean all around. Unfortunately, it's too late to take it apart (or try) since my trash was picked up yesterday.The replacement I bought, this time from the local Target, is also a Mr. Coffee and I'm keeping a CLOSE eye on it. If the problem recurs, I'm gonna get out my screwdriver, out in the yard of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigaldoc Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Well, it happened! Yesterday morning, after brewing my morning coffee and pouring a cup, I went to the computer to do my email and stuff. After drinking a cup I went back to the kitchen and THERE was another creature right near the base of the coffee maker. I killed it as "gently" as I could with a tissue, wrapped up the tissue, pot, can of coffee in a big plastic bag with a twist tie. This time, instead of taking the one-day old pot apart, I decided to pay a visit to a local entomologist and let HIM take it apart. As soon as he unfolded the tissue and looked at the bug we were both amazed that it was wounded but still alive with legs moving. However, he immediately pronounced it a German cockroach - yuck!He took the bottom off the coffee maker but didn't attempt to remove the electronics because he immediately saw one or two more live roaches inside. I'm not of a notion or in the mood for a long accusatory dialogue with the Mr. Coffee company, so I had him re-bag the whole shootin' match (except my can of coffee) and put it in his garbage bin. He said he didn't need to examine the coffee because I keep it in the freezer and that would kill them if there were bugs in the coffee.Of course my entomologist friend is not of a notion to accuse Mr. Coffee either, because he would "prefer" to come to my house and do an inspection and/or fumigation if any are found. We put that step on hold so I can spend a few days observing my kitchen to see if any more show up. I think (and hope) that it WAS the coffee makers because of my test of standing it in an entirely different location, unplugged and NOT warmed up. But, a few days to a week should tell. One thing for sure, I'll never buy another Mr. Coffee AND when I get over the disgust, I don't know what I WILL buy. Temporarily, I'm getting my morning coffee from McDonald's which is right down at the end of my street. It just means I have to get dressed a bit earlier than I'm used to. Yuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluttermagnet Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Could be a warehouse issue and not the fault of the Mr. Coffee folks. Just a thought...Happy Veterans Day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigaldoc Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 Could be a warehouse issue and not the fault of the Mr. Coffee folks. Just a thought...Happy Veterans Day!My thoughts exactly, so here's the last chapter in this disgusting story. I was dumb enough (it turns out) to buy another Mr. Coffee from my local Target store, thinking that the first one was from Amazon, so a different source would be OK. No Way! The second pot also has roaches and is now history.In order to be a good citizen, I tried to find some way to email Amazon and can't find ANY way to contact them. Amazing. I did go to my local Target store and speak to the manager about this, asking her to pull the Mr. Coffee boxes from her shelves and have some of them inspected. She said she doesn't have the authority to do that but will speak to upper management about it. Yeah, sure...I did find the Mr. Coffee web pages and sent a note to them explaining the whole sad saga, and suggesting a warehousing issue somewhere. I asked them to do a little detective work (not in those words) to see if they can find where the problem is. I VERY SPECIFICALLY said that I don't want anything, I'm just trying to be a good citizen.The email I got from Mr. Coffee proved they never read my input. It was a standard "send us your purchase receipt" and we'll refund or replace. I was so furious that I sent another email asking them to really read my first. I'm positive I'll never hear anything... Somewhere, somehow, there are probably other people with cockroaches, wondering where they came from.PS This time I bought a Black & Decker coffee maker and am keeping it under observation on the vanity in my master bathroom, just in case. So far, so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 (edited) Big Al,I found this page for submitting questions/comments to Amazon by email.HTH Edited November 13, 2009 by mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigaldoc Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 Big Al,I found this page for submitting questions/comments to Amazon by email.HTHWow, great detective work, Mac! Thanks a million... writing to them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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