The Unlikely Places That Bugs Are Lurking in Your Office
We’ve all heard that rumour that says that there are more bacteria on your keyboard than there are on your home toilet seat. Well, that isn’t just a rumour. The fact is that offices are breeding grounds for all kinds of nasty germs and bugs, with studies finding four times the amount of bacteria on photocopier start buttons than in your average dog bowl. So if photocopier buttons are a favourite hiding place, what other parts of your office should you be looking out for?
The Keyboard
This one kind of goes without saying, given that we are practically touching it for around eight hours a day, five days a week. Food, dead skin cells and sweat combine to provide a perfect breeding ground for around 3295 bacteria per square inch to thrive. Next time you’re at your keyboard, remember to wipe it down, shake it out and maybe even blow over it with air dispenser.
Water Cooler
Fancy a drink? Not after you hear how many bacteria collect on the handle of the water dispenser. With 185 bacteria colony-forming units per square inch (CFU), this is one of the dirtiest parts of the office, most probably because it never gets cleaned. According to MarieClaire, the best thing to do to combat this is to remove the handle completely overnight and place it in a warm bowl of lemon water.
Office Carpet
Full of dead skin, dust mites and a whole host of bacteria, your average office carpet is the stuff of nightmares. Norovirus, Micrococcus, and even penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus are just some of the bacteria to have been found lurking underfoot. Regular vacuuming will not solve the problem, and it will take a commercial carpet cleaner with specialised products to sanitise and deep-clean the carpet like https://www.clean-able.co.uk/, who provide commercial carpet cleaning in Gloucester.
Photocopier
The winner of the dirtiest part of the office award has to go to the photocopier and in particular its interface and touchpad. Handled by a multitude of different fingers up to 300 times a day, this is fertile ground for the worst type of bacteria, with studies finding over a staggering one million bacteria CFU. Simply wipe over the interface with a wet wipe after use to keep it clean for the next person.
