Why your office phone is filthier than the toilet

Working from home has its advantages -- no dress code, commute, or distracting meetings. You may also avoid those seasonal flus and colds because of reduced exposure to people (and their germs). But if you do work in an office, it helps to be aware of the sneaky places bacteria and viruses hide.

Below are six of these sickness vectors you might not have considered. One place you don't have to worry about? The toilet seat. "People wipe it down all the time," says Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona. 

Your personal space

In his research on office germs, Gerba found that the phone is the single dirtiest part of the office. "Apparently, nobody ever cleans or disinfects an office phone," he says. So stock up on disinfecting wipes that you can stash in your desk drawer. While you're cleaning your phone (and headset!), wipe down your entire desktop and keyboard. Gerba says most folks only clean them when they're ... sticky. "We routinely find cold viruses on desktops during the cold season." So if you're eating lunch at your desk without cleaning it regularly, you're likely adding a side-dish of influenza to your sandwich.

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Break-room surfaces

Coffee pots, sink faucets, refrigerator handles, and microwave handles are some of the filthiest parts of a typical workspace, says Brad Reynolds, North American Platform Leader for The Healthy Workplace Project, conducted by Kimberly-Clark Professional. "On average, these items have at least four times the bacteria levels of the average toilet seat," he says (Seriously, who knew the toilet was so freaking clean?)

"Although many employees use the office break-room on a daily basis, it is generally not cleaned but once a day by the cleaning staff and rarely by the actual users, allowing contamination to build up and pass from person to person throughout the course of the day," Reynolds says.

Meeting rooms

Not only are conference rooms another place where people -- and germs -- mingle, but meetings themselves may begin and end with a professional handshake. That's a superbly efficient way to transmit germs. "Everyone should sanitize their hands before and after meetings in order to eliminate bringing germs back to their desks," Reynolds says. 

Buttons people push

Buttons for the elevator, copy machine, or coffeemaker are the same as handshakes; they pass germs like its their job. Now, we're not suggesting you start wearing gloves, Howard Hughes-style. 

"Proper hand-washing with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds, is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs in the workplace, even more so than the use of hand-sanitizing agents," says Amy Costello, an analyst with Staples Advantage, a unit of the office-supply company that has conducted surveys on office health. (If you need more motivation to wash regularly, might I suggest a viewing of Contagion.) 

If you're in a position to do so, you might also want to suggest some office upgrades. "Company restrooms can be be outfitted with touch-free fixtures and motion-sensor soap and paper towel dispensers so employees limit the surface areas they touch," Costello notes.

The office candy bowl

In a story for ABCNews.com, Gerba said he found intestinal bacteria -- the kind found in human waste -- in one employee's candy bowl. Kill two health birds (weight gain and the flu, say) with one stone by skipping the office treats. Perhaps after reading this they won't look so tempting?

Your commute

Research from Kimberly-Clark Professional found that 60 percent of gas pumps carry large amounts of illness-causing bacteria. If you stop for gas (or coffee, or at the ATM), make sure your first stop at work is the restroom to scrub in -- whether you're an ER doc or a desk-jockey working in an office.

Photo courtesy of Flickr User SNarvasa

[jmailbox]

I do't believe any of this nonsense. Without those germs we would not exist. Bacteria breakdown our food for us. Bacteria on our skin to make the skin better. Yes there is bad bacteria, but that's the 0.01%. Hand sanitizers only make bad bacteria even worse, and make oportunisit bacteria also worse.

Good old soap and water is the way to clean, buy reducing the total number of bacteria and virus's on the skin in general. Hand saniters are ineffective agains: Rabies virus, Norovirus's, and others as well.

[vpcharan]

I bet the phones of GOP candidates and their partners in congress are worst than toilet.

[Wookiee-1138]

Any IT techie worth his salt will tell you to put your keyboard through the dishwasher at least once every 6 months.

It's perfectly safe as long as the temp isn't too high and it's completely dry before plugging back in and the batteries are taken out in the case of wireless keyboards.

[djseavy]

With all the "sanitizers" on the market, all that's really happening is that we are allowing germs to become resistant. And people tend to forget there is healthy bacteria that we need in our system. Common sense would solve the problem, if there really is a problem. Sometimes it's more hype than anything.

[uvaid]

It is also known that most bacteria and viruses are transmitted through the air yet most people still only wash their hands in an attempt to prevent catching colds and flu. While office equipment harbor germs, the most logical way for this germs to into your body is for you to touch these items then stick your fingers in your eyes or up your nose. Alternatively we are always breathing in air filled with germs but virtually no one does anything to prevent this more common method of germ invasion. When people are sick it would be appropriate to wear a face-mask to prevent the transmission of germs but no one in the western world practices this preventative measure except professionals in the medical world. To change the culture would take an act of congress... forget that! Nature actually provides a built in defense called photo-oxidation. When skin is exposed to sunlight, melanin produces hydrogen peroxide which in turn kills invading bacteria and viruses. Statistics prove out the effectiveness. Nothing herbal or man-made is more effective than common sunlight for preventing colds, flu, sore throats, and even ear infections. When possible get out in the sun is only for a few minutes and expose you ear, nose and throat to the sun.

[credibility2]

All of the filth is due to one thing...filthy people who don't practice proper hygiene, including thoroughly washing their hands after each and every bathroom episode...further, improper cleaning of work surfaces by janitorial staff...

[starbuk95]

I think the button you press on the bathroom air freshener can has to have the most germs and never gets cleaned.