Computer keyboards can be dirtier than a toilet: study

[Monseratto]

How often do you clean your keyboard?

CANBERRA (Reuters Life!) - Think twice before eating those dropped crumbs off your computer keyboard -- you might as well be eating off a toilet seat, according to a new study on the amount of germs on keyboards.

A study by British consumer magazine "Which? Computing" asked a microbiologist to examine 33 keyboards in a typical London office, a toilet seat and a toilet door handle, for bugs generally found in unhygienic places.

Four keyboards were judged potential health hazards and the microbiologist recommended the removal of one keyboard as it had 150 times the pass limit of bacteria -- five times filthier than the swabbed toilet seat.

"Most people don't give much thought to the grime that builds up on their PC, but if you don't clean your computer, you might as well eat your lunch off the toilet," said Sarah Kidner, editor of "Which? Computing" in a statement.

The study found that eating lunch at desks is the main cause of a bug-infested keyboard. Dropped crumbs and food encourages the growth of millions of bacteria.

Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, may also add to the dirtiness of keyboards.

But despite the health hazard of a dirty keyboard, a survey of 4,000 people by the magazine found one in 10 people -- or 11 percent -- never cleaned their keyboard while another two in 10 never cleaned their mouse.

Almost half -- or 46 per cent -- cleaned their keyboard less than once a month.

To clear out bugs, the magazine recommends users unplug keyboards, turn them upside down and shake them.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage...StoryId=116925

[Jun aka Pekto]

How often do you clean your keyboard?

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage...StoryId=116925

Well, it's just like using a telephone that's not your own. Who knows what horror's lurking at the mouthpiece? Someone may have sneezed or coughed on it. Or it may have even been used as a toy in phone ***.

As for keyboards. I wipe ours with alcohol towelets every week.

[userfriendly]

Well, it's just like using a telephone that's not your own. Who knows what horror's lurking at the mouthpiece? Someone may have sneezed or coughed on it. Or it may have even been used as a toy in phone ***.

As for keyboards. I wipe ours with alcohol towelets every week.

you just made me clean my phone and keyboard.

[v6dreamer]

This is true. Computer keyboard are one of so many. There was a question before that say's....what is the dirtiest part of your house. 90 percent said, the toilet, wrong...our toilet we cleaned it everyday and we used a dissenfectant to kill bacteria. The correct answer is the kitchen since this where we do our food, and bacteria are attractable to food. Sure we've cleaned our kitchen but we cannot eliminate every bacteria that come from vegetable, meat, fruit, utensil, chopping board, knife, table top and many more.

[StraightSix]

Or it may have even been used as a toy in phone ***.

If they used rubber, it should be safe.

---

I clean my keyboard in a bucket of soap and water.

[chua_riwap]

Di mas lalo na yung mga computers/keyboards sa internet cafe's. Kung sinu-sino ang gumagamit doon.

I'll treat my keyboards with Lysol nex time.......

[Dr.Kamiya]

I understand the article is meant to be informative, and promote good keyboard hygeine but sometimes this crap is downright misleading. There's a big difference between bacteria from a toilet seat and bacteria you find on your keyboard. Regardless of the number of organisms, common bacteria that can thrive on desk surfaces are much more benign than e-coli or other nasties in the toilet.

[Taurus]

Mine too. I just got an ant upon shaking my keyboard

[morrissey_05]

ay, ano pa kaya yung mga mouse.

[badkuk]

sa office namin....you can guess what the owner was snacking on for the past few weeks by examining the ...residue left on the mice. di man lang nagpunas ng daliri matapos magsubo