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Is Your Computer Keyboard Making You Sick?
If you are squeamish or a germaphobe, don't read this!
Now that we're at the height of cold and flu season, you might want to take a closer look at what's living on your keyboard.
A series of studies called "Germs in the Workplace" found that the following four office surfaces had the most bacteria. (Ironically, none of these items are in the restroom.)
- Phones
- Desks
- Computer keyboard
- Computer mouse
Obviously these are items you touch all day, every day. Germs and dirt from your hands and mouth get transferred easily onto these items, and vice-versa, making them breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.
A company named Which? swabbed more than 30 keyboards in its own office and found that four keyboards were "potential health hazards" because of high levels of bacteria. A microbiologist hired by Which? suggested the company get rid of one keyboard as a precautionary measure because it had 150 times more bacteria than acceptable limits and was five times dirtier than a toilet seat the company swabbed for comparison.
If you find the prospect that germs lurk under your fingertips too much to bear, there are steps you can take (and products you can buy, of course) to help keep them-and your keyboard-relatively sanitized.
The best advice isn't to worry about compulsively cleaning your keyboard, experts say. Equipment like keyboards and telephones can harbor bacteria and viruses, but using "good old soap and water on our hands is the best way to prevent transmittingillnessto someone else," says Ardis Dee Hoven, a member of the American Medical Association's board of trustees.
Carrying portable hand sanitizers and using them regularly-particularly if you're in a public place, frequently shaking hands with others-may also be a good idea, she says. Hoven says those who are particularly concerned about germs might also want to wipe their keyboards and phones down with a bleach solution every so often. But if you don't regularly clean your computer equipment, you're not alone.
Which? asked more than 4,000 people how often they clean their keyboards. Forty-six percent said they do it less than once a month, 22 percent do so once a month, and the remaining 32 percent clean their keyboards more than once a month.
The Bottom Line: to lessen your chances of picking up colds and flu this flu season, clean your phone, desk, mouse and keyboard with disinfecting wipes regularly and practice common-sense handwashing techniques.
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