Of Keyboards and Toilet Seats

Public restrooms — what would we ever do without them? But talk about all the germs!

Turns out much greater risks abound right in plain sight. So says this article:

Keyboards and telephones — especially when they are shared — are among the most germ-laden places in a home or office . . . .

Well, great. I guess it’s time to buy some sort of de-germ-ificator spray. (I wonder what Lysol does to keyboard innards.)

Worried about colds, flu and other germs? Go ahead and touch those doorknobs and elevator buttons, but watch out for the telephone, fresh laundry and sinks . . . .

What?! Fresh laundry, too?

And few people know just how dirty laundry is — clean laundry.

“Most people don’t realize that they actually should wash their hands after they make dinner and also after they do the laundry,” Gerba said.

Americans have moved to short-cycle, cold-water washes to save energy and wear and tear on clothing, but this leaves viruses and bacteria largely intact.

“Water at 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) will sanitize laundry,” Gerba said. But only 5 percent of Americans use hot water for laundry.

And viruses such as hepatitis A, rotavirus and bacteria such as Salmonella — all of which cause stomach upsets and diarrhea — can easily survive the average 28-minute drying cycle.

These are all carried fecally. “There is about a 10th of a gram of feces in the average pair of underwear,” Gerba says. “You don’t want to be doing your handkerchiefs with your underwear.”

Sorry. I know that’s sick. But that’s news you can use if ever there was.

But let’s go back to keyboards, shall we?

“Keyboards are a lunch counter for germs,” Gerba said. “We turn them over in a lot of studies and we are amazed at what comes out of a keyboard.”

In fact, the average desk harbors 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat . . . .

Wow! I wonder if this fellow is right.