Where do you think your office is dirtiest? The first thing that crosses your mind is probably the toilet or the trash can. These two are not necessarily correct, although they are, after all, the most appropriate places to dispose of all human and non-human waste. What several bacterial studies have shown, however, will certainly come as a surprise to you.
Studies have shown that there are dirtier places than toilets and waste bins. The study, conducted by template manufacturer Hloom, discovered that coffee pots have four times as many bacteria as toilets.
Many other studies have concluded the same results, so it's hard to deny that something is going on. These hotspots for bacteria in your office can be very difficult to avoid. At the very least, it requires thorough andregular cleaning. To make things easier, we've compiled an overview of the dirtiest places in your office so you know what to look out for.
Elevator buttons, yourkeyboard, buttons on vending machines and "start" buttons on photocopiers are bacteria's favorite breeding grounds. In the same study by Hloom, they found that buttons on photocopiers contain 1.2 trillion CFU (colony forming units) per square centimeter. That's more than toilets, which only have 3,200 CFU.
Furthermore, a study by Kimberly-Clark Professional revealed that vending machines have an ATP count of 300 or higher. A score on this scale means they pose a high risk of spreading disease.
The next time you get coffee at work and press the button, it's important to remember to wash your hands.
This may not come as a surprise to you as these items are the ones we use the most. Handheld electronic devices include computers, phones, keyboards and mice.
In the same study by Kimperly-Clark Professional, keyboards were found to have a high level of bacterial contamination. 27 percent of keyboards involved in the study had an ATP count of 300 or higher. Together with vending machines, this poses a high risk of causing diseases and infections.
If you think about it, you'll find that what these things have in common is that they are all exposed to a lot of traffic on a daily basis. More importantly, they also involve direct contact with human hands. It just goes to show that a safe way to spread germs is through physical contact.
It's impossible to avoid germs completely, but there are things you can do to protect yourself and stay healthy. Observing proper hygiene, frequent hand washing and frequent cleaning of your workstation will go a long way.