By the time you’ve left the house for work, you’ve probably already done a fair amount of cleaning. You’ve wiped down the kitchen counter, thrown in a load of laundry, and washed your hands a couple of times. Then you get to work where, unfortunately, the cleaning stops and you spend 8 to 12 hours a day in a workplace often rank with germs and grime. This kind of stuff that’s not only nasty to see and touch, but might be making you sick!
Germs love offices, which are a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, and viruses. One of the biggest germ repositories the researchers discovered was the phone. “Phones top the cake because nobody ever cleans or disinfects them,” says Dr. Charles Gerba, professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson and an expert on disease-causing organisms.
That goes for other objects on the desktop, which is typically ignored by cleaning crews because it is considered an employee’s personal space. Left uncleaned, germs jump easily from the phone to the keyboard, mouse, photocopier, and beyond.
The researchers found that, overall, women’s desks are moldier than those occupied by men. Gerba believes that’s because women tend to eat biodegradable foods like cake and fruit at their desk, while men prefer snacks like gum and candy.
Do the germs translate into illness? They can, especially when more than one individual uses a particular surface, like a shared desk or conference table. One of the shared areas most favored by germs is the break room, which Gerba calls “basically an unregulated restaurant” with lots of people (and their germs) moving in and out all day.
In many cases, coffee prep areas were dirtier than restrooms. Among microbial culprits is E. coli, which grows on sponges or wiping cloths used by people who have not adequately washed their hands. As surfaces are wiped, germs from the sponge are spread.
The researchers also found significant fecal bacteria on coffee cups wiped out with dirty cloths or sponges, a practice Gerba strongly discourages. Then there’s the break room refrigerator, where rotting leftovers can lurk for months. Food that is cooked and left out presents another health risk.
For one study the University of Arizona team covered a “push plate” door entry to an 80-person office with a virus–the kind that can be tracked–but doesn’t make you sick. Within 4 hours the virus could be detected on 50 percent of hands and surfaces tested, including the handle of the office coffee pot. Gerba concludes that when it comes to office buildings, “The hand is quicker than the sneeze.”