Ew! Never Touch THIS in Your Office

22-02-2007 - 01:16

Keep your hands off your desk and no one will get hurt--especially you.

The desk you use at work every day has far more bacteria than the toilet in the restroom--some 400 times as much. And if you're a woman, chances are very high that while your desk is neater than the one used by the guy in the next cubicle, it harbors more germs than his. That's the word from a new study from Dr. Germ, a.k.a. University of Arizona professor and microbiologist Charles Gerba.

The Associated Press reports that even though women's workspaces are typically tidier than men's they actually have three to four times the number of bacteria in, on and around their desks, phones, computers, keyboards, desk drawers and personal items as men do. "I thought for sure men would be germier," Gerba told AP. "But women have more interactions with small children and keep food in their desks. The other problem is makeup."

Gerba, who is a professor of soil, water and environmental sciences, tested more than 100 offices on the Arizona campus, as well as in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and Washington, D.C. as part of a $40,000 study commissioned by the Clorox Co.

Prime sources of bacteria in women's offices:

Knickknacks
Cosmetics
Hand lotion
Makeup cases
Telephone
Purse
Desk drawers

Desk drawers harbor lots of bacteria because they are often packed with food. Fully 75 percent of the women Gerba surveyed stashed food in their desks. "I was really surprised how much food there was in a woman's desk," he quipped to AP. "If there's ever a famine, that's the first place I'll look for food."

Prime sources of bacteria in men's offices:

Wallet kept in a pants' pocket
Personal digital assistant

Men's wallets are prime breeding grounds for bacteria because they are stashed in the pocket of their pants, a place that gets so warm it actually serves as a germ incubator. What about the PDAs? "Men tend to play with their Palm Pilots more," Gerba said. "I think they're playing video games or something."

So what can you do? Gerba advises using a hand sanitizer on your hands and once a day swab office surfaces with a disinfectant. "You don't have to go crazy with it, but with the key areas--desktops, phones and keyboards--probably need to be disinfected once in a while," he told AP.

--From the Editors at Netscape