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Toilet seats are cleaner than keyboards

Pernicious peripheral peril
Thu May 01 2008, 13:00

COMPUTER KEYBOARDS can be home to more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, says UK consumer watchdog, Which.

Tests on 33 keyboards at the organisation's offices found four that posed a health hazard and one playing host to five times more germs than the office's toilet seats. It was ordered to be removed, quarantined and cleaned after tests showed it exceeded recommended bacteria limits by 150 times.

"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and in your gut," Dr Peter Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital told BBC Radio. "Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."

Which said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was the increase in the number of people eating lunch at their desks.

The survey also found that 10 per cent of people said they never cleaned their keyboard, with a further 20 per cent admitting to never cleaning their mouse. Almost half cleaned their keyboard less than once a month. µ

L'Inq
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Soap and H2 ... oh ?

The solution is simple, it involves a soapy solution ...
.. washable keyboards and washable mice, too, used in hospitals, etc.

http://www.sealshield.com/default.htm

posted by : David , 03 May 2008 Complain about this comment
The Daily Mash does it again :)

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/office-workers-told-to-stop-shitting-on-each-other%92s-keyboards-20080501919/

Language not work safe.

posted by : Mike Fishcake, 02 May 2008 Complain about this comment
Curious

Some weird numbers there, 10% never clean their keyboard, which seems a low number to me, and yet 20% never cleans their mouse, which is infinitely more easy and quick to clean, so that seems a bit off, people en-masse clean their keyboards but then don't bother with the mouse? Does that sound plausible? But perhaps the respondents meant they turn their keyboards upside-down and shake out the crumbs when they reply 'yes' to 'cleaning' it , and you don't do that with a mouse.

posted by : W.-, 02 May 2008 Complain about this comment
Kryten! Sh!tei Not Again!

That's what me gets for poking in a polling station! The Podi-correct, elite selectric lorries are out to scrub me off the face of the dearth! I keep pressing Escape but nothing happen...

posted by : Karlsbad, 01 May 2008 Complain about this comment
mice

A TV program did something similar a while ago, the found the MRSA superbug on the mouse of a family computer.

posted by : Dan, 01 May 2008 Complain about this comment
More Toilet Seat Cr*p

This is the same old nonsense as that ad about "your chopping board harbours more germs than your toilet seat". The ad was banned as clearly untrue.

Anyway who would use anything other than a vintage IBM keyboard which has removable key caps. You dump em in a bucket of hot water and detergent for as good as new.

As are the keyboards -- made in Greenock Scotland and some dating from 1985 (when they cost £150 plus tax). Still turning up in flea markets for a quid (that's $2 american). 

Buy one and wave you keyboard bacteria worries adieu.

posted by : fihart, 01 May 2008 Complain about this comment
Must be a slow day

I seem to remember this story from some 4 years ago, apparently the keyboards are still filthy and you can still eat your lunch of the toilet.

posted by : Efros, 01 May 2008 Complain about this comment
Wash you hands after using the computer.

As every year around this time there's a shocking news connecting an item of everyday use (computer) with... , errr, an item of everyday use (toilet seat). We could read this a year ago (http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/02/are_toilet_seat.html) , two years ago (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/16/toilets_are_cleaner_than_computers/) and even back in 2002 (http://www.geek.com/your-toilet-seat-is-cleaner-than-your-keyboard/).

Seems it is not easy to clean up this stuff.

posted by : Jacek, 01 February 2008 Complain about this comment
From the dept for the bleedin' obvious?

It's hardly a shock it is... A toilet seat is a nice shiny, simple surface, which lends itself to easy cleaning.

The keyboard has over 100 individual keys, and huge gaps in between which collect all manner of things from sandwich crumbs to paper clips.

I wonder if they have ever checked door handles, or car steering wheels? I bet they're equally good for scaremongering.

A bit of exposure to a few bugs is generally good for the immune system.

However hospitals, the breeding and collecting point for nasty bugs (or is that just in the UK?), should obviously get easy clean flat touch style keyboards, or touch screens like you get in restaurants.

posted by : Steve, 01 February 2008 Complain about this comment
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