The computer keyboard has more bacteria than a toilet seat
Your keyboard needs to be kept healthy. And its not just about your correct posture and ergonomics.
When it comes to health in the office you should be more concerned about your keyboard than the person at the desk near you who’s coughing and sneezing.
Scientists have revealed the filthy secrets that lurk in PC keyboards and smartphones, with one in six mobiles contaminated with faecal matter.
Most bacteria found were the ones that belonged to a group known to cause pneumonia.
One study at CBT Nuggets found at a computer or laptop keyboard is 20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat.
An electronic office ID card houses 243 times more bacteria than a germ-filled pet toy.
Other studies however have discovered that computer keyboards contain 7,500 bacteria per swab – much more than an average toilet seat, which has 5,400.
John Norris of mouldcheck.co.uk told the Sun recently: ‘It’s no surprise – we eat at our desks, drop all sorts of things on our keyboards and rarely wash our hands before we start using the computer. There are products out there to clean your keyboard, but few bother.’
Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was ‘a reflection of what is in your nose and gut’.
A surprise finding was that handbags contain a high level of bacteria, including E. coli and even traces of faeces.
One iPad had 600 units of Staphylococcus aureus, which creates toxins that can lead to food poisoning.
James Francis, the microbiologist who carried out the resaearch, said: ‘A count of 600 on a plastic device of any sort is incredibly high. It indicates that some people don’t wash their hands a lot.’
The results point to today’s busy lifestyles, such as snacking while typing and rushed toilet breaks. More people are also taking their must-have tech gadgets with them into the bathroom. A recent survey showed that one in six mobile phones is contaminated with faecal matter.
Health experts warn that failing to wash hands properly can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, food poisoning, flu and the spread of MRSA.
Media regulator Ofcom suggest that consumers are so addicted to smartphones and tablet computers that over one in ten – 11% – now view video content on a device such as the iPad in the bathroom. It’s estimated that around 20% of 18-24 year-olds do so on a regular basis.
Keyboard users should tip them upside down and shake them to ‘dislodge any old food crumbs, dust and skin flakes’.
If a swab of a computer keyboard is taken it can have upto 7,500 bacteria per swab. For headphones the number of bacteria seen is 2,550 and the bottom of a handbag can have upto 2,520 bacteria.
In fact, one keyboard had so many germs that it had to be taken away and put into quarantine, after it was discovered that it had 150 times the acceptable limit for bacteria. It was also five times as dirty as a lavatory seat.
The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK found that in some offices mice are not only scurrying over the computer keyboards at night looking for food but they are then leaving their droppings on them.
According to Peter Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, sharing a keyboard can pass on diseases and illnesses between those who work in offices.
Wilson said in a BBC interview, ‘If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it’s more or less a reflection of what’s in your nose and in your gut.’
‘Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you’re very likely to pick it up from a keyboard,’ Wilson further added.
An American company has created a keyboard that you can actually put in the dishwasher. Seal Shield, a provider of infection control products, offers a range of keyboards, computer mice and TV remote controls with facilities such as Bluetooth that you can just pop into the dishwasher or scrub in the kitchen sink while you’re doing your washing up.
Alternatively, you can regularly hold your keyboard upside down and shake it, blow out dirt from between the keys with compressed air from compressed air aerosol and run the sticky side of a Post-it note alongside the key and the space bar to dislodge dirt and crumbs.
TOP PLACES WHERE BUGS LURK
- Dust bin – 25,000 bacteria per swab
- Toilet door – 22,000
- Handle on a London bus – 21,000
- Computer keyboard – 7,500
- Toilet seat – 5,400
- Sofa – 4,100
- Fridge – 3,300
- Headphones – 2,330
- Bottom of handbag – 2,520
Even if the bacterial counts are not consistent in various studies, one thing is certain – there are lots of bacteria on the objects we handle on a day to day basis – make it a habit to disinfect them periodically to avoid being a victim of illness!
