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Keyboards Are Disgusting
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Jan 18, 2006 09:18 AM
from the my-spacebar-has-spawned-sentient-beings dept.
from the my-spacebar-has-spawned-sentient-beings dept.
fredr1k writes "
A test carried out by Pegasus Lab on account for Swedish magazine PC För alla showed that a normal PC keyboard was infected by more bacteria than a normal toilet seat. More specific it contained 33000 bacteria per square centimeter, compared to 130 on a ordinary toilet seat. The tests also showed occurrence of up to 3100 fungi per square centimeter." Also note that unless you read Swedish, you still have plausible deniability when asked to windex yours.
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A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:5, Funny)
That's funny, it doesn't taste like McDonalds
Re:A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:5, Funny)
Ew.
Parent
A Taste Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)
I think a taste test (and a tetanus shot) should be an option.
Re:A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:5, Interesting)
and in an office (desk, phone, etc). This was a very diggsian story in that it repeats 10-20 year old information as if it were brand new. The mystery isn't that everything else is so dirty, it's that toilet seats are so clean! And would the results be different if they tested the average Slashdotter's toilet that only gets cleaned twice a year?
Parent
Re:A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:A Test to Verify the Numbers (Score:3, Insightful)
Does the seat stink, or does the bowl? Seriously, the only thing that should be touching the seat is butt cheeks -- the nasty stuff goes through the hole and into the bowl. And since (for guys) the seat goes up for a pee, the seat justs needs a clorox wipe once in awhile to keep it clean. The bowl on the other hand...
I can see why a keyboard can get so many germs. There's no telling where those hands have been, and anything on the fingers ends up on the keys.
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:4, Informative)
Air compressors are very helpful, but ultimately you have to get into the nooks and crannies with a Q-tip or something and that is a time-consuming chore. Of course on laptop keyboards, it's way to easy to knock keys loose and depending on how the little plastic apparatus disconnects from the key cap, you can have all kinds of fun attaching the thing again.
I got one of those silicone roll-up keyboards a few years ago. I actually liked using it. Ergonomically, it worked well for me in terms of layout and feel of the keys. The downside is that it stopped working after a couple of months. I haven't tried another, but a keyboard you can simply wash with soap and water is a great thing.
Parent
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:3, Informative)
Put your keyboard in the dish washer. Make sure the drying cycle is turned off (the heat can damage your keyboard). Allow the keyboard to dry completely.
Workes for me.
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:5, Insightful)
Over-use of anyibacterials encourages the spread of resistance [who.int], and may even lead to conditions such as asthma [parenthood.com].
Parent
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Keep it clean will ya (Score:4, Funny)
I'm having a really hard time envisioning doing it the other way...
Parent
toilet (Score:5, Funny)
Lesser of Two Evils (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
You think keyboards are disgusting? (Score:5, Interesting)
Quick'n'dirty translation (Score:5, Informative)
###
Recent research shows your keyboard is more dirty than a toilet seat
(2006-01-18 09:20) Do you have some dirt between the keys on your keyboard? Spending a few bucks on a new keyboard might be a good idea. The latest issue of Pc för Alla shows that a keyboard can be a major source for contamination.
By Fredrik Agren
A keyboard holds about 33.000 bacteria per square centimeter - 265 times more than a toilet seat.
The computer magazine PC För Alla has examined what exactly is hiding on a keyboard. The task was assigned to Pegasus Lab, which discovered that every square centimeter contained 3.100 fungees.
Not surprisingly, Enter and Space Bar are the most filthy, as they are the keys we use more frequently.
There are many ways to keep your keyboard clean, but those afraid of catching the flu can follow a simple advice from Smittskyddinstitutets Kerstin Mannerquist:
- Wash your hands when you're done with the computer, she says to PC För Alla.
###
Anyway, remember the findings of Mythbusters [discovery.com]?
In the episode Chinese Invasion Alarm [kwc.org] episode, while busting the 5 second rule myth, they discovered that the toilet seat is one of the cleanest spots in your house.
This is really... (Score:5, Interesting)
Did the article bother listing precisely what bacteria and fungi they found? I wouldn't be surprised if they mostly found bacterial species from the genera of Bacillus and Staphylococcus with a few gram-negative rods thrown in for good measure. Oh, Propionibacterium acnes is probably pretty common as well. With the fungi it's more of a mixed bag, although most would probably fall into the general category of Ascomycetes.
As for catching the flu from your keyboard... Viruses such as Influenza don't survive on dry, non-porous surfaces for very long. Once the viral envelope has dried out, the virus is pretty much inactivated. You stand a better chance of catching the flu from talking to the person in the next cubicle or on the elevator.
Parent
Look at the bright side (Score:4, Funny)
Cool. Now I can tell people I have pets.
Parent
What's more disgusting... (Score:3, Interesting)
I knew it... (Score:4, Funny)
Makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)
The parts that touch the toilet seat are mostly shielded from bacteria by two layers of cloth.
Fingers, on the other hand, frequently stray to the places where bacteria flourish.
Re:Makes sense (Score:3, Funny)
But doesn't leaving your pants up when using the toilet seat sort of defeat the purpose going to the toilet in the first place?
Re:Makes sense (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Technical details of coverage (Score:3, Funny)
> Two layers?!?
Consider the butt cheeks. In many cultures these are often covered by an inner layer of
1. underpants or
2. boxer shorts
and an outer layer of
1. trousers or jeans
2. skirt or dress
3. kaftan or burka
In addition, some people also routinely cover their butt cheeks and their upper thighs with an extra layer of
1. panty hose or
2. tights or stockings
3. petticoat or slip
In colder climates, a fourth layer of cloth is also provided by
1. coat or
2. blanket
>
Re:Makes sense (Score:3, Informative)
I would think much of this would be negated if:
a) people pee and mi
Re:Makes sense (Score:5, Informative)
Except in the unusual case of some urinary tract infections, urine does not contain any bacteria. Urine is a sterile liquid. It is antiseptic. It may not smell good, but you cannot catch anything from it.
Parent
Re:Makes sense (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Makes sense (Score:3, Funny)
assistants (Score:5, Funny)
Obligatory Simpsons Quote (Score:3, Funny)
SiO2
Well it makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)
Very bad comparison. Toilet seats are generally disinfected quite often, so should in fact be pretty clean. Keyboards are not disinfected.
Many things are dirtier than a toilet seat. Especially things that get fingers on them all day long. Engage brain and it all becomes quite obvious.
Re:Well it makes sense (Score:3, Insightful)
Generally. But maybe it's time to mention again the research reports [ucdavis.edu] starting in the mid 90s saying that wooden cutting boards are the most sterile surfaces.
These studies have now been repeated by a number of labs. You can find them by googling for "cutting-board bacteria", which right now gets 88,400 hits.
Some of the reports describe smearing a board with bacterial cultures, culturing them overnight in a warm, moist incubato
Anti-septic environments are dangerous (Score:4, Insightful)
A recent study showed that kids who lived on the farm in Germany (or some other European country) grew up with stronger immune systems than those who lived in the cities.
That means the study suggests that they're more resistant to viruses and bacteria than the city folk.
Myth Busters agrees? (Score:5, Interesting)
-Rick
Bacteria Hysteria (Score:4, Interesting)
what does it mean for me (Score:4, Funny)
Maybe it is a good thing (Score:5, Informative)
A few weeks ago I was at a party listening in on some cocktail talk between some doctors and health researchers. They were commenting about how some water borne bacteria was being (they think successfully ) experimented with to boost human immunity. This bacteria is cleaned out water by public sanitation systems.
A few weeks before that my local news had a piece about a girl with a peanut allergy who died after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich earlier in the day.
The after story commentary mentioned how the number of allergies among teens is on the rise and how some ( only some ) experts were looking at the theory that middle class US life is too clean. Antibacterial this and antibacterial that do not allow young immune systems to get stimulated/strengthened.
I'm not an expert and these things are saw are not hard science.
Just introducing a thought, that as with everything else in life you can have too much of a good thing....even cleanliness.
Re:Maybe it is a good thing (Score:5, Funny)
"in my neighborhood no one ever got polio, no one, ever. you know why? cause we swam in the east river. we swam in raw sewage! it strengthened our immune systems, the polio never had a prayer, we were tempered in raw shit."
Parent
Re:Maybe it is a good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
That's actually true, disgusting as it might sound (Score:5, Insightful)
I heard it on the news last year that some German (?) scientist recommended eating nose mucous. As he stated, the nose is the only organ of the body that for the most part does not have a self-cleaning mechanism. The purpose of the mucous is believed to be (among other things) the entrapment of bacteria and other undesirables that would otherwise have entered the body.
By picking, we provide the nasal passages with a method of cleaning to provide new mucous and by -- ugh -- eating we introduce the bacteria into our systems that were otherwise trapped, thus allowing our immune systems to learn about it and, more importantly, learn to defeat it.
I actually discussed this a few days later with a friend of mine who's an Emergency Medical Technician and was a medic in the Army Reserves. After hearing the doctor's explanation, he agreed that it all makes sense. The immune system can't practice its self-defense if it doesn't have any targets to destroy.
Personally, I'll take my chances with the keyboard instead.
Parent
Germs vs Risk (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a bottle of cleaning fluid that that purports to kill 99.something% of bacteria. Does that make me safer? Probably not; instead I'm helping the natural selection process to breed super-bugs that are resistant to antiseptic.
The specious "germ" argument is exactly the same as the one used to compute risk of intrusion by the number of reported exposures in a software system. What matters is infection/intrusion, not exposure. And it *can* be measured, so why bother to measure the bogus quantities?
Re:Germs vs Risk (Score:3, Interesting)
Bleach is the ultimate bug killer. It can even kill the virus which causes AIDS (though the side effects to the patient aren't good).
Who cares? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not surprised that keyboards are filthy, but frankly, when I was a kid wandering around in creeks hunting crawfish, climbing trees, etc etc I never got sick, and I (almost) never get sick as an adult.
We *need* this exposure. I'm worried for children growing up in sterilized environments today.
Re:Who cares? (Score:5, Interesting)
Pretty good article [blackwell-synergy.com] on the subject. The theory being a clean environment leads to an overactive immune system that can develop into severe allergies.
Parent
So what? They're _my_ germs! Dishwasher? (Score:5, Interesting)
Otherwise, I don't worry: These are _my_ germs, mostly things on my hands that I've already built up an immunity to or have no way of avoiding even if my kbd was sterile. I won't let others use my kbd, and I really try to avoid using others kbds. A much bigger problem is money and door handles. Lots of people touch them and I could get some new virus/bacterium.
BTW: toilet set tops are often very clean. But less so the undersides where women want men to put their fingers to raise and lower toilet seats! Default=up might be more sanitary.
a bit of righteous indignation. (Score:3, Interesting)
One call had me responding to a guy whose keyboard was, bar none, the most disgusting I've ever seen. He had left for the day, and I picked up the keyboard because he'd left a USB device plugged into it. Something like a metric ton of dander, hair, and bread/cracker/cookie crumbs fell out of it.
A few weeks later, the building administrator (read: not my boss) sent me a note explaining to me why I needed (read: ordering me) to go to everyone's keyboard, blow out the keys with compressed air, wipe them down, check every key for motility, and wipe down the monitors. After a brief consultation with my boss, I replied that I trusted our employees to be able to handle those maintenance tasks themselves, although I'd be happy to help if there was a specific problem.
All this is by way of saying: some people just don't think about it, and some people just want it to be someone else's problem. But it's your mess, so clean it up, for chrissake.
Duh. (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are people surprised by findings such as this one?
Obviously the toilet seat has less germs. Everyone associates "grossness" with germs in their head. Going to the bathroom is gross, and fecal matter is gross, therefore it must be full of germs and bacteria. Not the case, in fact, quite the opposite.
There are more bacteria on your face, more bacteria on your hands and more bacteria in your mouth than your buttocks in most cases.
Just put in the context of contact with the germ filled world you can see by common sense why this would be true:
Your rear end gets washed and then has very little exposure to germs. Your hands and face are out there all day making contact with all types of bacteria.
So I guess my point is that you can't say keyboards are dirty just because they are more bacteria filled than a toilet seat, because I don't even think a door knob holds up to that standard.
Now common sense would also side with keyboards being rather bacteria filled, but I hardly would consider that comparison to be an indicator.
Dishwasher! (Score:3, Informative)
Take the electronics and screws out and set them aside. The keys, the base, and the rubber pad are dishwasher washable.
Use 1/4 to 1/3 of the amount of liquid/power for a full load, and put it on the shortest cycle you can manage and even then keep accelerating the cycle a bit. You want the keyboard clean but not baked.
Don't put anything ELSE in the dishwasher--you're shortening the cycle so you won't have the power to wash too much. The plastic may be dishwasher safe (seems to be) but you don't want to take any chances with the rubber.
If you have a white or ivory keyboard, note that it may yellow a bit, so don't do this on a keyboard you don't own unless the person fully trusts you.
Note: This doesn't work with IBM Model M keyboards (the clicky clicky clack kind) for obvious reasons, but you could probably take the keycovers off and wash those.
I'm not responsible if you damage your keyboard.
Keyboard cleaning mini-howto (Score:3, Informative)
Now, we don't want to go nuts and spray lysol all over it because you're just giving the more hardy bacteria hiding under the keycaps a chance to take over and make your incessant spraying worthless.
Instead, you should put it in the dishwasher. The heat will kill everything uniformly and it will come out clean and unstickified.
1) Disassemble your keyboard. This means unscrewing the back. Be careful when seperating the front and back halves to not have keys fly all over the place or