Another peril can be added to the hazards of the innocent-looking computer keyboard. Not content with encouraging repetitive strain injury, the type-pads sometimes harbour more filth than the average loo seat and house millions of bacteria which can cause diarrhea and vomiting, a study has shown.
A microbiologist carrying out research published for Which? Computing magazine examined samples from 33 keyboards and found a variety of bugs including E coli and S aureus, which can cause skin infections and make people ill.
The scientist swabbed a loo seat and a toilet door handle in a typical London office for comparison. One of the keyboards in the experiment had to be removed from the office because it was five times dirtier than the lavatory seat and home to 150 times the acceptable limit of bacteria…
The research showed that the chief culprit for contamination was people eating at their desks and dropping crumbs which lodge between keys and encourage the growth of millions of bacteria.
Other causes included poor personal hygiene, particularly people failing to wash their hands after using the toilet. Dust, which traps moisture, also provides ideal conditions for the growth of bacteria.
Eeouugh!
How come everything tested in the environment is dirtier than a toilet seat?
There was an episode of Penn and Teller’s Bullshit! where they compared samples from toilet seats to several peoples hands, face, and butt.
The average person’s hands are nasty compared to their butt or a toilet seat. Most bacteria can’t survive on a dry plastic/porcelain/metal surface for very long.
I’d have thought a toilet seat would be fairly clean. Not only are they usually cleaned regularly, but people tend to pee on it (which I’d have thought would be too acidic for most germs, but maybe I am wrong) rather than poo on it…
“Most bacteria can’t survive on a dry plastic/porcelain/metal surface for very long.”
And toilet seats just don’t really touch anything germy. Your butt goes from your pants to the seat, but your hands touch things other people’s hands have touched and god knows where people’s hands have been.
Good points all above. that’s why I wash my hands BEFORE I go to the bathroom. Keeping everything clean.
I understand the dirtiest thing we come into contact on a regular basis is — money. Fecal material, cocaine==its all there.
Isn’t this is what immune systems are for?
If this slight contamination bothers you, research no further! You really do not want to know about hot zones in hospltals!
TIP:
Turn your keyboard upside down, shake it and see what comes out. If more than a 1/8 teaspoon of crud comes out, you need to decrap it further with a can of pressurized air.
Also, examine the crud to determine it’s origin to avoid future problems. Do not try to eat it as granola because it may have fingernails in it.
#5 is right about cash. It bothers the hell out of me when I witness food handlers also running the register. Cash is filthy.
Another bullshit piece from paranoids that have little clue about what pathogens are all about.
Keyboards are dirty, but consider things like Blackberry devices and cellphones that get carried *and used everywhere*, not just at someone’s desk.
Eat lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else or eat at the desk using the computer? I may be antisocial, but I’ll take my chances with the germs.
Keyboards are filthy. But the content on the interwebitubes is even filthier. That’s why I’m typing this using just my left hand. (My right hand is is “busy”).
Hey! I am trying to eat lunch here, cripes!
#9. right-o. Notice all the food handlers wear plastic gloves. The only good the gloves do is to keep the persons hands clean. They touch everything else along with your food.
BTW, I run my keyboards through the dishwasher, top shelf, upside down(air dry) then hang it up somewhere dry for a week or so to guarentee all moisture is dried out. Works great, although keyboards are so cheap now, not sure if it’s worth the effort.
#16, Airman,
Many of us get very attached to a specific keyboard. The way the keys push back, the click as they depress, the way they fit your finger tips, the exact distance to the “Backspace” key, and so forth. Many spend more time touching their keyboard than they do their other thing.
Me? Hey, just give me any old keyboard and I’m happy.