May 2, 2008 11:35 am US/Eastern
Study: Some Keyboards Dirtier Than Toilet Seats
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
A British study shows that computer keyboards are so germ-ridden they can carry more bacteria than a toilet seat.
The British consumer magazine "Which? Computing" asked a microbiologist to inspect 33 keyboards in a London office and compare them to inspections of a toilet seat and a toilet door handle.
The magazine reported that some keyboards were so dirty "they could even make the user ill."
Four were deemed potential health hazards. A fifth keyboard was so disgusting it had more than 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - making it five times dirtier than one of the office's toilet seats.
The major factors behind the infestation - people eating lunch at their desk and poor personal hygiene, like not washing your hands.
The magazine found those crumbs that pile up in the keyboard encourage the growth of millions of bacteria. The types of germs found could cause diarrhea and other stomach problems.
"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," "Which? Computing" editor Sarah Kidner said in a statement on the magazine's
Web site.
For more tips on how to keep your computer clean, click
here.
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