Germiest Places in Your Offices

With the cold and flu season in full swing, it is more important now than ever to keep yourself healthy. A great place to start is by prioritizing the cleanliness of the places where you spend the most time: your home, kitchen, and especially your office work space. 

These spaces have been studied by healthcare professionals and published on other germ-focused count down lists. There is plenty of research out there with similar extensive lists, but here are our picks of the top places you need to look out for germs in your office:

Door Handles

Public office building door handles are considered a “high traffic” surface because they are used countless times a day by multiple different people. All of these hands coming in contact with this surface means bacteria is constantly being introduced to the surface and will be transferred to the next person who uses it. 

In a way, using a  public door knob is like shaking everyone’s hands that have recently used it.  Gross!

Elevator Buttons

Elevator buttons are only a concern if you work in a public office building with multiple floors, but it still deserves attention. These buttons are also high traffic surfaces that can be used by anyone and everyone in the office. People oftentimes are not thinking to sanitize their hands before touching a public surface, and that is the start of how germs spread so quickly.

Desktops

Your desktop being one of the germiest places in your office might get overlooked. Not only does your desktop get dirty from you being there so often, but it is also a mix of all the things you have touched before sitting down to do your work.  Desktops have even been found to have up to 400 times more germs than a toilet seat!

Keyboards

Keyboards are probably some of the most touched surfaces in an office. You need to use keyboards for almost everything in an office: log in to your computer, reply to emails, and whatever else your job entails. Just like any of the other surfaces found on this list, keyboards tend to have a higher concentration of bacteria on them just because of how often they are touched throughout the day.

Phones

Personal cell phones and shared office phones may take the cake for the one of the germiest places in an office. Not only are the phones touched by your hands, but they are also held up to your face and mouth. The surface of your phone holds bacteria from places it is kept, your hands, and any saliva particles dispersed while speaking into it. 

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It is no secret that an office place holds a lot of germs, but there are things you can do to limit how far they spread. Wipe down phones and keyboards often, maintain good hand-washing habits, and utilize professional cleaning services when necessary. Check out our website or give us a call when you are ready to make your office space a healthier and happier place to work!