Germs Abound on Office Phones, Keyboards, and More
April 5, 2002 -- There's a whole lot more than clutter and dust on your desktop. In fact, this very minute, your hand at the keyboard has some 10 million germs swarming around it.
You're sharing space with a big batch of bacteria -- 400 times more than the average toilet seat, a new study shows.
"For bacteria, a desk is really a laptop of luxury," says Charles Gerba, PhD, an environmental virologist with the University of Arizona, in a news release. "They can feast all day from breakfast to lunch and even dinner."
Gerba's one-of-a-kind study -- funded by The Clorox Company -- took a look at typical office sites in several locations across the country. Each included the usual mix of cubicles, open spaces, and private offices. The cleaning routines in these offices were, to put it nicely, pretty much nonexistent.
During the three-month study, one group of office workers at each location was asked to clean their desks with disinfecting wipes. The other group left theirs alone. Bacterial samples were taken several times a day from just about every surface, handle, and knob.
Results? Telephones came in as the No. 1 germ-ridden site, followed by desks, water fountain handles, microwave door handles, and computer keyboards.
Biggest surprise -- toilet seats consistently had the lowest bacteria levels of all.
On the desks that were cleaned daily with disinfecting wipes, bacteria levels decreased dramatically -- 99.9%. In those work areas where wipes weren't used, bacteria levels increased between 19% and 31% everyday.
"We don't think twice about eating at our desks, even though the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet," says Gerba. "Without cleaning, a small area on your desk or phone can sustain millions of bacteria that could potentially cause illness."
