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More Dirty Than A Toilet: And YOU Touch It Daily!

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Please don’t hold it against me.  My keyboard is filthy.  As I type this post, I am eating a Gala apple dipped in ooey gooey peanut butter.  Glorious snack, I must say!  But way messy!  I lick my finger and feverishly keep typing.  I look down, and notice the filth I have been typing in. 
Do you eat while you sit at the computer?  Maybe your computer is pretty filthy too?  Eeeeeek.
A recent US study showed the average desk harbours 400 times more disease-triggering dirt than a toilet seat with bacteria levels on the typical office fax machine three times higher than on the bathroom door! A pool in the UK found that only 1 in 10 people cleans their desk, keyboard or phone, creating a breeding ground for harmful germs and bacteria.
You might want to read this article over HERE.
Some startling statistics:
1.Phone: 25,127 germs per square inch




2.Desktop surface: 20,961 germs per square inch


3.Keyboard: 3,295 germs per square inch


4.Mouse: 1,676 germs per square inch


5.Toilet seat: 49 germs per square inch

This quote left me nodding my head, and sick to my stomach: 

“Do you eat while typing on the computer? Do you put your fingers in your mouth while thinking? If your eyes feel tired, do you rub your eyes with your hand? Cold symptoms today? Do you blow your nose with a tissue and go right back to working on the keyboard? Do I have your attention now?”
1.Turn your computer off.




2.Disconnect the keyboard.


3.Gently turn the keyboard over and shake to remove loose dust and particles.


4.Use the compressed air to blow between keys and dislodge dirt trapped underneath.


5.Turn the keyboard over again and shake to remove loosened dirt.


6.Put a small amount of cleaner on the cloth or swab. They should be slightly damp to avoid dripping liquids into your keyboard.


7.Gently clean keyboard keys and other surface areas. Do not use abrasives or scraping action on the keys, or you may risk removing their labels.


8.If there is still grime around the edges of the keys, try using an alcohol-based wipe or a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a dust free cloth. Once again, this may remove or damage the letters on top of the keys, so proceed with caution.


9.Allow the keyboard to dry, if necessary, before plugging it back into your computer.


Tips:


1.  Never submerge the keyboard in water.


2.  Sticky fluids under the keys are nearly impossible to remove. Consider buying a new keyboard.


3.  Some keyboard keys may be removable. Read the directions that came with your computer/keyboard before attempting to remove keys.


4.  Some keyboards are dishwasher safe. If you have a consistent problem with spills and dirt, consider purchasing one of these.


What You Need:


•Dust-free cloth or cotton swab


•Gentle cleaner (water with a few drops of dish detergent work just fine)


•Can of compressed air (available at most office supply stores)


•Alcohol wipes or rubbing alcohol
 
 
 

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Comments

  1. Oh, um… ick. I must go forth and clean them. All of them. NOW. And I just counted them up- 6!! Why do we have 6 computers in this house?!?!
    Thanks for this, I eat at my computer all the time- I won’t change that habit 🙂 – but I will clean it ALOT more often!

  2. Thanks for the great tips on cleaning up our computers.. and YES I am one who is always eating thru lunch at work and totally messing up my keyboard… I use the canned air but haven’t cleaned each key…love the idea of q tip…. As always you have such great info…..

  3. Traci ~
    Thanks for being a follower on my blog. I have “Ordinary Inspirations” in my Google Reader.
    This post is great. Keyboards can take a lot of abuse and just keep working.
    A week or so ago (I mentioned it briefly in a post), my 3-year-old grandson was sitting on my lap as I was on the computer in the evening; no room lights were on.
    He was sucking on a honey stick I had brought him from the county fair.
    Yep . . . the drips were going onto and into the bottom left of the keyboard. Nice. Not. 🙂
    My fault, not his.
    I had a quick lesson in keyboard cleaning.

  5. Love pb and apples, one of my favorites too. I use a laptop so can’t disconnect my keyboard, but it doesn’t look too bad. Germs are gross!

  11. I am currently eating a rice cake with peanut butter on it and I happen to come across this post on Google Reader!Lol

    While that is funny, this information is not! Thank you for the warning!